World champion Sebastien Ogier won three of Friday morning's four stages to maintain his lead in the Rally of Finland, with 10 seconds covering the top three drivers.

The Frenchman led in his Volkswagen Polo by 5.6sec from team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, with British Citroen driver Kris Meeke third, 10.6sec off the lead.

Only local hero Latvala was able to dent Ogier's dominance of the morning session, taking the second special, the first of the day.

But Ogier hit back, reeling off the next three in a row, including the fourth, the mythical Ouninpohja stage.

All the leading contenders are still in the running, with the exception of Norway's VW driver Andreas Mikkelsens, who veered off the road in the early section of the fifth special, but was unhurt in the accident.
Source: AFP