Latvala defies championship-seeking Ogier

Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala won three afternoon stages to lead Rally Australia on Friday as he bids to slow Sebastien Ogier's charge to a third consecutive world title.

Latvala's Volkswagen Polo ended the morning stages almost 11 seconds behind Kris Meeke in a Citroen DS, but he stormed home in the latter stages to lead the Northern Irishman by two seconds after the eighth stage.

Championship-leader Ogier, also in a Polo, was 4.6 seconds behind Latvala in third position, after recovering from sixth place following the early stages.

The Frenchman only needs to finish ahead of Latvala this week to clinch the world title for the third time in a row.

But he will have to be on top of his game to overhaul the Finn, who warned he would be even faster on Saturday.

"This morning I didn't have the spark and lacked the last two percent to attack," Latvala said.

"But I attacked in the first three afternoon stages. In the last stage I didn't have the best feeling because my tyres were used.

"I calculated if I didn't lose more than five seconds I'd be happy -- I dropped only 4.7 seconds to Ogier, but was faster than Meeke."

Meeke, who led after the first four stages, said he had been hampered by the dusty conditions in the afternoon.

"I couldn't see the end of the bonnet," he said. "Driving in sixth gear when you can't see anything isn't easy."

Norway's Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth in his Polo, three seconds clear of Spaniard Dani Sordo.

Young Frenchman Stephane Lefebvre was the only major casualty after he was forced to retire when he hit a rock and broke the front right wishbone in his Citroen DS3.

Lefebvre was a last-minute replacement for Mads Ostberg, who was ruled out after cracking two ribs in a crash during practice. 

Source: AFP