– Sebastien Ogier will be back at the start with his long-time co-driver Julien Ingrassia at the World Rally Championship (WRC) round in Finland next weekend.
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As the reigning world champion announced, Ingrassia will take over Vincent Landais’ co-driver seat at Toyota. Landais has to miss the Rally Finland for personal reasons. He had been Ogier’s permanent co-driver since Rally Japan 2022.
“Here we are in Finland – unfortunately without Vincent for personal reasons,” Ogier explained in a video on social media. “He won’t be able to participate in the rally this week. That’s why I’m happy that my old friend Julien has agreed to get back in the seat and will be my co-driver this week. I’m really looking forward to rekindling this partnership.”
Ingrassia had retired from the top class of the WRC at the end of 2021, after he and Ogier had jointly secured their eighth world championship title with Toyota.
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Since his retirement as co-driver, Ingrassia has remained with the WRC, taking on TV roles for the WRC’s own channel and the French broadcaster Canal+. In addition, Ingrassia played a key role last year in the founding of the World Rally Drivers Alliance (WoRDA), the WRC’s counterpart to Formula 1’s Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
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Among other things, this contributed to WRC drivers successfully campaigning to overturn FIA rules regarding fines for swearing during interviews at the end of special stages.
This year’s Rally Finland will be Ingrassia’s first WRC appearance since Rally Monza 2021. “Being at the start here in Finland will certainly be a challenge for me, but I’m hugely excited to drive with Seb again and help Vincent and the team. See you on the stages!” said Ingrassia.
Ogier travels to Finland as fourth in the world championship standings. He is currently 38 points behind overall leader Elfyn Evans.
