– Sebastien Ogier plans to participate in the four remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in pursuit of a record-breaking tenth world championship title – starting with the Rally Paraguay at the end of August.
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The news comes just a few days after the current world champion was involved in a high-speed crash while leading at the Rally Finland. Ogier and his interim co-driver Julien Ingrassia were able to leave the vehicle under their own power but were taken to hospital for precautionary checks, where they stayed overnight before being discharged.
After retiring from the Rally Finland, Ogier dropped to fifth place in the championship standings – 62 points behind the leader and Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans.
Ogier had previously indicated that his part-time program this year would include only ten rounds, one less than the previous year. However, the desire for a record-breaking tenth world title prompted the 42-year-old to consider expanding the program – which has now been confirmed.
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“After a great streak, the Rally Finland obviously did not go as planned, and our hopes for the championship are more or less gone. Nevertheless, there are still four rounds left this season, and Vincent Landais and I will be there – with only one goal: to win them all,” Ogier said in a post on social media.
The current world champion will be supported again by his regular co-driver Vincent Landais in the season finale. Landais was absent in Finland for personal reasons, which led to Ogier’s former co-pilot Ingrassia coming out of retirement for what is expected to be a one-time appearance.
Ogier’s Toyota teammate Sami Pajari secured the victory after the Frenchman’s crash and led a team one-two-three ahead of Oliver Solberg and Elfyn Evans, who completed the podium.
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