Ogier needs to finish ahead of his fellow Volkswagen driver Latvala at this weekend's Rally de Espana to secure his second straight title.
And, despite a superb performance from Latvala which saw the Finn win four of Saturday's six asphalt stages, Ogier takes a lead of 27.3 seconds into the final day of action in Spain.
Latvala was unable to match Ogier's pace on Friday, but immediately set about piling the pressure on the Frenchman a day later.
Ogier was forced to drive the final 20 kilometres of the 50km Escaladei test with a delaminated tyre, but still managed to fend off Latvala's relentless attack.
Speaking after Saturday's racing, Ogier paid tribute to his team-mate's efforts.
"I have to congratulate Jari-Matti because he did a good job," said the 30-year-old.
"The plan was to control from the front but there were sections I didn't control too much because I had to drive very fast to stay with him - he was flying.
"But my plan was to have a 20-second lead tonight and we have more than that so it's good."
Ford's Mikko Hirvonen finished the day in third place, one minute and 18.6secs adrift of Ogier, while Mads Ostberg was fourth and Dani Sordo ended fifth.