Rallying: Ogier stripped of bonus points at Rally Mexico

[March 13, 2018]    (Reuters) - Championship leader Sebastien Ogier's M-Sport team have appealed after the Frenchman was stripped of four bonus points from Sunday's Rally Mexico, leaving him four clear of Hyundai's Thierry Neuville in the standings.

Sebastien Ogier of France talks to journalists during the shakedown of Rally Sweden, in Torsby, Sweden February 09, 2017. TT News Agency/Micke Fransson/REUTERS

Stewards imposed a 10-second penalty on Ogier for hitting a chicane in the final Power Stage, in which he had been second fastest.

Neuville gained an additional bonus point as a result of Ogier's demotion out of the top five in the stage, leaving the rally winner on 56 and his Belgian rival on 52 after three rounds.

The next rally is Corsica on April 5-8.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.