Rallying-Ogier eyes first win as Loeb menaces close behind

LISBON May 29 (Reuters) - French driver Sebastien Ogier held on to the Rally of Portugal lead on Saturday but with Sebastien Loeb closing in behind him he has plenty of work to do on the final day to seal a first victory.

Ogier, the Citroen driver who narrowly missed out on a win in New Zealand earlier in May, holds a lead of 21.1 seconds ahead over compatriot Sebastien Loeb.

Six-times world champion Loeb, who leads the championship standings, was the fastest driver in four stages on Saturday but said Ogier might be hard to catch on Sunday.

"I have to push tomorrow but the gap is big and he is going very well," Loeb told the World Rally Championship website (www.wrc.com).

Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala, who is second in the drivers' standings and won in New Zealand, lost control of his car in the day's second stage and careered backwards into a tree some 40 metres from the road.

The damage to the Finn's car may prevent him from taking part on Sunday, which would mean a second consecutive retirement in Portugal after he suffered a spectacular crash in last year's edition.

Spain's Dani Sordo also ran into trouble when the tyres on his Citroen wore down, forcing him to slow and drop to fourth, 13.5 seconds behind Norway's Petter Solberg.

(Reporting by Shrikesh Laxmidas; editing by Kevin Fylan)