Ogier keeping Latvala at bay

Sebastien Ogier closed in on his second World Rally Championship title with a solid run through the opening two stages on the final day of the Rally of Spain.

Ogier had his lead cut by title rival Jari-Matti Latvala by 4.6 seconds on Sunday's first test before conceding a further eight tenths to the Finn on the following stage, which will be re-run later today as the power stage.

The Frenchman nonetheless still holds a comfortable lead of 21.9sec with only two stages left to run, needing only to finish ahead of Volkswagen team-mate Latvala in Spain to wrap up his title defence with a round to spare.

Mikko Hirvonen continues to hold a lonely third, over 90 seconds down on the leading duo in his M-Sport Ford, having gained further ground on Mads Ostberg during the morning. The Citroen driver saw his advantage over home hero Dani Sordo narrowed as he struggled with an apparent brake issue, with 12.4sec now separating the pair.

Things are closer still in the battle for sixth between Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen, who is now just 4.4sec in arrears of the Belgian after dropping out of podium contention with a puncture yesterday.