World Rally Championship: Sebastien Ogier out of Rally of Germany
Sebastien Ogier's title celebrations are on hold for at least two weeks after he crashed out of the Rally of Germany.
Last Updated: 23/08/13 1:23pm
Ogier leads Thierry Neuville and Jari-Matti Latvala by 90 points after dominating most of the season but he had a rare lapse of concentration on Friday's first stage and damaged his suspension in a crash.
He attempted to repair the damage ahead of the next stage, and got his Volkswagen running again, but it broke down in the middle of the road and nearly caused havoc for Neuville, running behind Ogier on the stage.
"I missed the braking point," said Ogier, who took the lead on Thursday's opening two stages.
"I didn't have it in my notes. I went into the vineyard a bit and hit something and damaged the front."
The crash handed the overall lead to Latvala with Neuville losing a bit of time as he made his way around Ogier's stricken car on the next stage.
"It was soon after a high-speed crest and I was surprised to see him (Ogier) there," Neuville said.
"I had to slow down to drive around it, and perhaps I slowed too much. Okay, we're in a good battle now but I need to get some feeling in the car, I don't feel comfortable all the time."
Ogier's next chance to win the title comes in Australia in a fortnight.
