SS13: Ogier sneaks ahead in France

Sebastien Ogier is back in front on Rallye de France Alsace in his Citroen DS3 WRC.

The Frenchman is 0.9s ahead of MINI John Cooper Works WRC driver Dani Sordo after he set the joint fastest time through the test with Citroen privateer Petter Solberg.

Briton Kris Meeke has gone off the road on a patch of gravel in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle are both uninjured although their car came to a rest some distance from the road and cannot continue.

Meeke’s exit hands 10 vital points to Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen in his efforts to close the gap to Sebastien Loeb in the overall championship standings. World champion Loeb retired on Friday’s third stage when his Citroen suffered an engine failure.

Portugal’s double Production Car world champion Armindo Araujo is up to sixth in his Motorsport Italia MINI.