Ogier dominates in Corsica rally to close in on title

World championship leader Sebastien Ogier closed in on a fourth consecutive world title by setting the pace in the first four specials at the Rally of France in Corsica on Friday.

The Volkswagen driver looked primed to clinch the overall title come Sunday night with three races to spare after taking control early under bright blue skies compared to last year's heavy rain.

The French driver has a 59-point lead over Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway in the standings.

"There are always little things we can improve, but in terms of the result, yes, we are completely satisfied," said Ogier, a winner in Monaco, Sweden and Germany this year.

"We have some work to do on the set-up to make it perfect but it's a good start," he added, after cautiously navigating the twisting, walled, country roads on the Mediterranean island.

Belgium's Thierry Neuville, who won June's Rally of Italy, is the nearest challenger to Ogier but trails the Frenchman by 44 seconds with Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala almost a minute down in third.

"I don't know how he does it, it's incredible. I can't go as fast as him," said Ogier's Volkswagen team-mate Latvala.

Kris Meeke had been sitting second after two stages but the Northern Irishman suffered a puncture on the third special and fell out of contention.

Four more stages are scheduled for Saturday with the concluding two specials on Sunday.

Corsica is the 11th rally on the calendar with the previous Rally of China cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, and there are three dates left in Catalunya, Wales and Australia.

Rally of France standings (after four of 10 stages):

1. Sebastien Ogier (FRA/VW Polo-R) 1hr 37:52.8, 2. Thierry Neuville (BEL/Hyundai i20) at 44sec, 3. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN/VW Polo-R) 58.0, 4. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR/VW Polo-R) 59.3, 5. Craig Breen (IRL/Citroen DS3) 1:18.7, 6. Hayden Paddon (NZL/Hyundai i20) 1:26.2, 7. Eric Camilli (FRA/Ford Fiesta RS) 2:00.7, 8. Elfyn Evans (GBR/Ford Fiesta R5) 2:36.3, 9. Dani Sordo (ESP/Hyundai i20) 2:39.1, 10. Mads Ostberg (NOR/Ford Fiesta RS) 2:41.9

Source : AFP