Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala took charge of the Rally of France on Saturday as newly-crowned world champion Sebastien Ogier and predecessor Sebastien Loeb were locked in a tense fight for third place.

In the overall standings, just five seconds separate the top four drivers.

Latvala, the Volkswagen teammate of Ogier, leads Spain’s Citroen driver Dani Sordo by just 0.4sec.

Ogier is down in third, 1.5sec off the lead with nine-time champion Loeb, who quits the sport this season, in fourth in a Citroen, five seconds behind Latvala.

Overnight leader, Belgium’s Thierry Neuville, suffered a puncture on his Ford Focus on Saturday afternoon and ended the day in fifth place, more than a minute off the lead.