Ogier wins Rally France to cut Loeb's lead

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Ogier wins Rally France to cut Loeb's lead

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Sebastien Ogier held off a strong challenge from Daniel Sordo of Spain to win the Rally France.

03 October,2011 02:40 am

Citroen driver Sebastien Ogier rekindled his bid for a first world championship title by winning the Rally of France on Sunday while former champion Petter Solberg was controversially disqualified.Overnight leader Ogier finished six seconds ahead of Spaniard Dani Sordo in a Mini Cooper with Norways Solberg third, over a minute off the pace, in his privateer Citroen.But Solberg, the 2003 world champion, was later disqualified when his car was found to be four kilos too light.We dont understand, we weighed the car many times. It is a catastrophe for Petter and our team because we have already had problems with a budget to finish the season, team manager Ken Rees said.The decision meant that Ford Focus driver Mikko Hirvonen was promoted to third in the race standings and now has 196 points in the championship standings, the same as leader Sebastien Loeb with two races left in Spain and Great Britain.The 27-year-old Ogier claimed his seventh rally victory and is three points behind Loeb and Hirvonen.It was a very long weekend with a lot of pressure, said Ogier before Solbergs disqualification.Dani and Petter made life difficult for me, it was hard to take the rally lead and hold it. I feel relieved and happy to have managed this race well without taking too many risks.He added: Its a very good feeling. It was difficult at the end because there was a lot of pressure after the problem for Seb (Loeb). Its very important for the championship but now I must do two good rallies.Loeb, chasing an eighth world title, was forced out of this 11th leg of the season after his Citroen suffered engine problems on Friday.Ogier, who comes from Gap in southern France, won 10 special stages and gained a bonus point by finishing third in the event closing Power Stage which was won by Finlands Jari-Matti Latvala.