Sebastien Ogier could complete the successful defence of his title as early as this weekend, at Rally de France.

To do so, the Frenchman must score six points more than main rival Jari-Matti Latvala, who is also his team-mate at Volkswagen.

For example, victory and at least second place on the Power Stage would suffice to wrap things up, re­gardless of other results.

As far as Latvala is concerned, he must finish ahead of Ogier in order to keep his title chances alive.

Volkswagen Motorsport director Jost Capito has predicted a fierce duel between Ogier and Latvala, adding that both drivers had been given a free hand to go for the title.

“The fans can look forward to an­other thrilling episode of the duel between the champ and the chal­lenger,” said Capito.

“Both are capable of beating each other. Having won the Manufactur­ers’ Championship, we at Volkswa­gen can now focus fully on this truly extraordinary duel, which has been the story of the season.”

For Ogier, it will be a very emo­tional event given that it is based in his home country.

The French­man said: “The home rally is always very special for me. The interest in you as a person is always great than usual – both from the fans and the media.

“My goal is to be crowned World Champion in my own country again. To do this, however, I must score six points more than my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.

“I think Jari-Matti will once again be my fiercest rival.”

Team-mate Latvala added: “I have a score to settle with asphalt rallies, as the rally in Germany was disappointing. It was going sensa­tionally well and I was leading, and then everything was over in a flash after my crash.

“Having come so close in Germa­ny, I am now determined to score my first win on asphalt.

“I can still become World Cham­pion this year, but I don’t really think that is a realistic possibil­ity. For that to happen, an awful lot would have to go wrong for Sebast­ien, whilst everything would have to be perfect for me.

“One thing is certain, however: as long as there is still a mathematical chance, I will carry on fighting and do my very best. You never know what might happen.”

The interest in the team cham­pionship has waned given that Volkswagen have already wrapped up the title, but Citroen Total Abu Dhabi, who are 194 points behind Volkswagen, will now want to put in the kilometres ahead of the 2015 campaign.