Ogier takes charge in Portugal

Championship leader Sebastien Ogier of France extended his advantage in the Rally of Portugal on Saturday and will take a 34.8sec lead over Volkswagen teammate Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland into the final day. Finnish Citroen driver Mikko Hirvonen lies third at 1min 08.5sec as he bids for a maiden world title at the age of 32. The 29-year-old Ogier opened the season with a second place finish at Monaco before wins in Sweden and Mexico and is now within range of a 10th career win. Defending champion Sebastien Loeb is only driving in a limited number of races as his run of nine consecutive world titles is set to come to an end. Source: AFP