Ogier out early in Sardinia as Latvala leads

Alghero, Italy: World champion Sebastien Ogier suffered a dramatic early exit from the Rally of Italy on Friday after breaking his Citroen's suspension by hitting a rock.

The Frenchman, who has won the last six world titles, led at the start of the day after winning Thursday's opening super special.

But he struggled as the first man out on the roads and slipped to ninth before seeing his race come to a premature end.

The 35-year-old Ogier came into the week with only a two-point lead in the overall standings at the midway point of the season from Estonian Ott Tanak.

But it was Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala who seized the lead after five special stages, just 2.8sec ahead of Tanak, who is bidding to leapfrog Ogier in the title race.

Belgium's Thierry Neuville, who is just 10 points behind Ogier in the championship, was sixth, 14.1sec adrift, heading into the afternoon's four specials.