Rally of Turkey stage guides - Saturday

Day two in Turkey starts at 0857hrs, when the first car leaves the overnight parc ferme in Pendik. Ahead lie 145.82 competitive kilometres arranged over eight timed special stages.

In the morning, crews will tackle a loop of four consecutive stages in the countryside north of the Service Park before heading back for a 30-minute midday service. In the afternoon crews will repeat the same loop before a 45-minute end of day service.

Here are our wrc.com stage notes for Saturday’s stages. Under the summaries you'll find our list of essential website links to help you follow the rally via the wrc.com live results service.

SS10/SS14: Gocbeyli. 18.17km
The opening 14kms are on an asphalt public road - a surface which could seriously damage the competitors' gravel tyres. The surface is old and has had a lot of repair work over the years so it's bumpy and very abrasive. There's a lot of loose gravel by the roadside which will be dragged onto the racing line - especially on the corners. The stage switches back to gravel for the final 4kms which are a mixture of tight and twisty and quicker, flowing sections.

SS11/SS15: Ulupelit. 12.98km
After a narrow and twisty 2kms at the start, this stage opens out into classic flowing, cambered roads, not unlike those of Rally New Zealand. This should be a popular stage with drivers because there's a chance to get into a good driving rhythm. In the last few kilometres the stage goes over the top of a hill before descending through a gorge to the finish. The gravel surface is generally smooth and will clean to benefit the cars further down the running order.

SS12/SS16: Bozhane. 14.59km
Another mixed surface stage; Bozhane starts from a small town on a very narrow, rough gravel road. Organisers have put down a lot of fresh gravel here and in some places it’s about 30cms deep. The opening 8.6kms are on the gravel but there are many different grades, from small and smooth to very big sharp rough stones. Punctures could feature here if drivers aren't careful. Any road cleaning will be intermittent - with the deepest gravel sections not improving at all. The final 6km are on asphalt, with the same sort of bumpy, abrasive surface seen on Gocbeyli.

SS13/SS17: Riva. 27.17km
Riva stands apart as the longest and toughest stage of the rally and has the potential to cause some serious upsets - especially on the repeat pass. The road is made of thick gravel and big, sharp stones from beginning to end. But despite the rough surface Riva is extremely fast - flat-out for most of the way with only a few chicanes to bring down the average speed. The opening 10kms are wide, fast and flowing, but the huge stones on the road could cause punctures if they're hit too hard. Road cleaning won't be an issue here because the gravel is too heavy. After skirting the Black Sea coast the stage becomes tighter with a smoother surface, so it will remain quick. The final two kilometres are actually on the beach, with the waves rolling in on one side and a few jumps before the flying finish in a holiday resort.

Source: WRC