World Rally Championship organisers have red flagged stage 17 at Rally Finland after Sebastien Ogier suffered a high-speed crash from the lead.
The reigning world champion and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were heading towards the end of stage 17 when their Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 car fired off the road at speed. The car was pitched into a series of rolls heading towards the trees.
Toyota has confirmed that Ogier and Ingrassia exited the car unassisted and are conscious, but will be transported to hospital for further checks.
"Both driver and co-driver were able to get out of the car unassisted. They are both conscious and generally OK, and will be transported to hospital for further checks. The team will provide further updates in due course," read a statement from the Toyota Gazoo Racing.
A statement from the FIA added: "During SS17 ‘Västilä’ at WRC Rally Finland, the crew of car #1, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, were involved in a high-impact accident.
“Both crew members received immediate medical attention at the scene. The driver will be airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital, while the co-driver will be transported by ambulance for further examination.”
Ogier had been leading the rally by 20.9s from Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari.
Toyota deputy team principal Juha Kankkunen has spoken to Rally.Tv offering an update on Ogier and Ingrassia after their SS17 crash.
"We contacted them and we spoke with them, Seb was more shocked than anything else, nothing broken,” he said. “They are in the helicopter on the way to hospital to be checked out, which is important after this kind of accident.
"I don’t know what was the reason for it, [if there] was anything technical or anything like that. He didn't need to push very hard anyway, so something happened, we will sort it out later.”
