WALES Rally GB will see the thrilling title battle for 2019 FIA World Rally Championship ratchet up another notch or two as the crews head to the forests for the series’ 12th stage.

Sébastien Ogier’s stirring victory at the sweltering Rally Turkey has reignited his hopes of a seventh straight crown. The Citroën star’s first victory since March sees him climb back to second place in the standings, closing the gap on series leader Ott Tänak to just 17 points, with a maximum 90 available from the final rounds in Wales, Spain and Australia.

“We really needed this win if we were to have a chance of getting back into contention in the championship,” said Ogier, who will now be looking to maintain his momentum at Wales Rally GB, an event that he has won a record five times.

“We are still quite some points behind Tänak, but the Championship is still alive, and this is a rally that I really like. It suits me well, so I hope I can carry on and continue to put pressure on him.”

After back-to-back wins in Finland and Germany, Tänak’s hopes in Turkey fell by the wayside as his Toyota Yaris ground to a halt with an electrical problem.

“It was disappointing,” admitted the series leader, who also had to retire when leading in last year’s Wales Rally GB. "We always want to fight back and fight back hard. There are three rounds left and there is nothing we can do other than push to the maximum and do our best.”

The intense heat on rock-strewn mountain tracks also derailed championship rival Thierry Neuville who languished in eighth after a costly off-track excursion. Slipping to third in the title race, the Hyundai top gun did manage to claw back a few precious points on Tänak.

“We’ve seen so many situations between us three this season for the championship it’s crazy,” he said. “We have three rounds of the season left, so let’s move onto Wales and see what happens.”

Despite Neuville’s failure to take maximum advantage of Tänak’s misfortune, he remains within striking distance of the pace-setting Estonian. Victory in Wales would put him right back in contention.

Adding to the tension, both Hyundai and Toyota are also locked in a duel for top Manufacturers’ honours - a title the two rival car companies value even more highly than the coveted Drivers’ crown.

Both teams have three high-quality entries in Wales, with the top two finishers scoring points. Andreas Mikkelsen and Craig Breen line up alongside Neuville in Hyundai’s trio of light blue i20 Coupes while Tänak’s team-mates in the red and white Toyota camp are ex-Rally GB winner Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke.