Sebastien Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia were taken to hospital after a heavy crash at the end of stage 17 of the Rally Finland, the WRC announced.
The WRC said both men managed to get out of the car themselves and were conscious when transferred to hospital for medical checks. The stage was immediately red-flagged to allow rescue services to reach the car.
Juha Kankkunen, deputy team director at Toyota, told Canal+ that Ogier was more shaken than anything else and that neither driver had broken anything. Canal+ also reported that Ogier was airlifted to hospital while Ingrassia was taken there by ambulance.
Toyota said on its social media channels that car number one had left the road on stage 17 and that both Ogier and Ingrassia were out of the vehicle.
Ogier had been leading the rally by more than twenty seconds over Toyota teammate Sami Pajari at the time of the crash. The retirement could end his bid for a tenth world title, though he had already skipped two rallies this season.
Ingrassia was standing in for Ogier’s regular co-driver Vincent Landais, who was absent for personal reasons. The Rally Finland also claimed Esapekka Lappi and Elfyn Evans in rollovers, though Evans, the championship leader, was able to continue after his accident.
