Rally Finland saw significant incidents on Saturday as the competition entered its final stages, with two drivers encountering major accidents on the Finnish roads.
Nine-time world champion Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were involved in a heavy collision during stage 17, the penultimate stage of the day. The pair ran wide on a fast right-hand corner, resulting in their Toyota crashing into trees. The stage was halted following the incident. Both occupants were able to exit the vehicle unassisted and were transported to hospital for medical evaluation, with Toyota confirming they remained conscious and in generally satisfactory condition.
With Ogier’s withdrawal from competition, Sami Pajari inherited the lead position. The Finnish driver, fresh off a victory at the previous round in Estonia, now holds the top spot heading into the final day. Pajari leads his domestic event by 46.4 seconds over Toyota teammate Oliver Solberg, with two stages remaining on Sunday.
Elfyn Evans, competing for his first World Rally Championship title alongside co-driver Scott Martin, currently holds third place. Evans moved up the standings after setting the fastest time on Saturday’s final stage. The Welsh driver’s advancement came despite his own earlier incident on stage 14, when he ran wide on a corner causing his vehicle to roll over three times before becoming lodged in a ditch. Following assistance from spectators and extensive repairs by team mechanics during the service break, Evans and Martin managed to continue with a time loss of approximately two minutes.
Other driver retirements included M-Sport’s Martins Sesks, who crashed on stage 14. Josh McErlean, also competing for M-Sport, currently sits in seventh position overall.
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