A punctured tyre denied Thierry Neuville a potential maiden FIA World Rally Championship victory on Rallye de France Alsace yesterday afternoon, yet has opened up an intense four-way fight for victory that sees the top three split by just 1.5 seconds and the top four by five seconds after 255.56 kilometres of competition. Jari-Matti Latvala snatched the lead in the final stage this evening and heads Dani Sordo by four-tenths of a second with Sebastien Ogier 1.1 seconds further back in third. Sebastien Loeb rounds off the top four, setting the scene for an immense battle for victory on Sunday.Neuville led the crews into Saturday’s second full day of competition, which included two identical loops of three stages before a short street stage in Mulhouse. The Belgian was setting an impressive pace throughout the morning until he sustained a slow puncture that eventually resulted in the tyre coming off the rim after an impact. He lost a heart-wrenching 90 seconds as well as the lead and dropped down to fifth. Around him the competition has also been fierce and Sordo then took over the lead, heading the field until the final street stage when Latvala hit the front. The Finn hasn’t won a stage during the day but the ferocity of competition saw him take the advantage for Volkswagen Motorsport. Ogier climbed into third having battled with Loeb throughout and with just a handful of seconds separating all four rivals, Sunday’s victor, as well as the podium positions, are impossible to predict.Neuville is now in a lonely fifth position with a comfortable margin to the chasing pack. The final day of competition today takes in two identical loops of three stages, concluding in Haguenau, the birthplace of out-going FIA World Rally Champion, Loeb.Rallye de France Alsace – Unofficial Results after Day 31. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila2. Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio3. Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia4. Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena5. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul6. Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor7. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen8. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson9. Andreas Mikkelsen/Paul Nagle10. Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst