Loeb closes in on title

Strasbourg - Sebastien Loeb of France has extended his overall lead over his Citroen teammate Dani Sordo to 42.8 seconds on the second day of the Rally of France and looks set for a seventh consecutive world championship title.

Loeb won two special stages on Saturday while his closest rival in the drivers' standings, fellow Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, retired with suspension problems.

Under the world championship rules, Ogier will be allowed to start Sunday's last stage but is lagging 11 minutes, 14.1 seconds behind Loeb in sixth place.

With three races remaining this season, Loeb leads the standings over Ogier by 43 points. A third-place finish will be enough for Loeb to claim the title if Ogier can't do better than sixth overall.

Four more special stages are scheduled on Sunday.