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Ogier takes eighth victory of season in Wales

Rallying - Wales Rally GB - FIA World Rally Championship - Wales - 14/11/15 France's Sebastien Ogier and France's Julien Ingrassia of Volkswagen Motorsport during SS13 at Chirk Castle Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Peter Cziborra Livepic

LONDON (Reuters) - Volkswagen's world rally champion Sebastien Ogier secured his eighth victory of the season in the final round in Wales on Sunday.

The Frenchman beat Citroen's Northern Irish driver Kris Meeke by 26 seconds on a wet afternoon in South Wales. Norway's Andreas Mikkelsen was third in a Volkswagen.

"Victory here is the best way to finish the season but there is no point to celebrate anything today. We have other things on our mind. It has been a difficult weekend," said Ogier, referring to Friday's Paris attacks that killed 129 people.

He displayed a French flag on his car's windscreen afterwards.

Ogier's team mate Jari-Matti Latvala won the final power stage, worth three bonus points, to finish second overall in the championship.

Mikkelsen and Poland's former Formula One driver Robert Kubica took the other bonus points.

Ogier had already won his third consecutive title in Australia in September while Volkswagen have retained their manufacturers' crown.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)