Oliveira and his co-driver Carlos Magalhaes came to grief in the 15th special stage with the pair having to be removed from their Mini Cooper by organizers.

There was no immediate confirmation of any injuries but one of Oliveira's entourage told France Bleu Alsace radio: "He is conscious and that's the most important thing." Ogier took control of the overall standings after posting the fastest times in stages 14 and 15 to surge seven seconds clear of Spaniard Dani Sordo in a Mini Cooper.

Sordo picked up the 12th stage earlier Saturday to take a two tenths of a second lead over Ogier who had emerged as the main challenger after annexing stages nine and 11.

Sebastien Loeb, chasing an eighth world title, was forced out of this 11th leg of the world rally championship season after his Citroen suffered engine problems on Friday.

Loeb heads the race for the 2011 drivers' title on 196 points, 15 points clear of Ford's Finnish driver Mikko Hirvonen, who is sixth, 1:47 off the lead, going into Saturday's afternoon action in Alsace.