WRC Rally Finland: Ogier's wild off-road causes next drama

– Dramatic Saturday afternoon at the Rally Finland, the tenth round of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC). After Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier had led the rally since Friday morning, he spectacularly crashed on the penultimate special stage of the day, giving up a victory that seemed almost certain.

At the top is now his teammate Sami Pajari, who goes into the two final day stages with a clear lead over Oliver Solberg (+46.4 seconds) and Elfyn Evans (+1:36.3 minutes, both Toyota). For the young Finn, it would be his second consecutive WRC win at his home rally, catapulting him right into the fight for the WRC title. (to the results)

For Ogier and his substitute co-driver Julien Ingrassia, who replaced the regular co-driver Vincent Landais in Finland, the 17th stage “Västilä 2” proved to be their downfall. With a lead of 20.9 seconds over Pajari, the eight-time world champion duo started the stage.

Ogier and Ingrassia taken to hospital for examination

But in a fast right-hand corner, the dream of victory at their first joint start since 2021 came to a bad end. TV footage showed Ogier’s Toyota driving straight at high speed, flying into the forest and rolling several times there. The exact cause of the crash was not visible.

The car was heavily damaged in the accident, and the stage was stopped for safety reasons. After minutes of suspense, Toyota then released the reassuring news:

“Both the driver and the co-driver were able to leave the car without external help. Both are conscious, are doing well under the circumstances, and are being taken to hospital for further examinations,” said a statement from Toyota.

Speculation at Toyota about cause of the accident

A statement from the FIA, the world governing body for motorsport, was a bit more specific: “Both crew members received immediate medical attention at the accident site. The driver is being flown by helicopter to a local hospital, while the co-driver is being transported by ambulance for further examinations.”

Deputy Toyota team principal Juha Kankkunen later gave the following information to Rally.TV about Ogier and Ingrassia: “We contacted them and spoke to them, Seb was mainly in shock, nothing is broken,” he said. “They are on their way to the hospital by helicopter to be examined, which is important after such an accident.”