PARIS (Reuters) - France's Sebastien Ogier extended his world championship lead when the M-Sport driver won the Rallye de France on Sunday, his third victory in four races this season.
Five-times world champion Ogier, also a winner in Monte Carlo and Mexico, now has 84 points with Belgian Thierry Neuville second overall with 67 points after finishing third.
Estonian Ott Tanak (Toyota) is third overall on 45 points after taking second place on Sunday.
"It has been a good weekend, I am very pleased with the performance we had on Friday and it is very good news that the car has progressed - it was faster than last year," said Ogier, who led from start to finish and won by 36.1 seconds.
His compatriot and nine-times world champion Sebastien Loeb, who returned this season after retiring from full time WRC competition at the end of 2012, saw his victory hopes dashed after a crash on the second stage.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
