Sebastien Ogier will contest all four remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship in pursuit of a record tenth title, three days after the heaviest crash of his career left him unconscious in a Finnish forest.
The nine-time champion and stand-in co-driver Julien Ingrassia went off the road on SS17 at Vastila on Saturday afternoon while leading Rally Finland, their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 rolling through trees at high speed. Both were released from hospital on Sunday morning after an overnight stay for observation.
Toyota technical director Tom Fowler says the car was not to blame.
"I have seen a lot of conspiracy theories going around about this crash, but the car is in our workshop with all four wheels still pointing in the same direction," Fowler told DirtFish. "The suspension system and the mechanics of the car are all still fully functional."
Fowler put the accident down to the narrowest of margins on one of the fastest sequences on the route.
"The main point about this place in the road is that it's a combination corner: left, right, very fast. And as soon as you have any kind of oversteer situation, you're already pointing the wrong direction for the next part of the combination. We're not talking like he's gone there too, too fast. It's like we're talking a couple of kph situation and you just start to lose the rear."
Ingrassia, who came out of a five-year retirement at short notice to replace the absent Vincent Landais, offers a different reading of the same corner. Speaking to L'Equipe, he said the crew entered at around 140km/h and that the road surface, rather than any error, sent them off line.
"We've looked into what happened at that corner. As far as we know, there was no failure on the part of the car, the driver or the co-driver," Ingrassia said. "A rut had formed in the corner and launched the car to the left instead of allowing it to turn right. That's why the onboard footage looks so strange."
It was what happened after the car stopped that turned a big accident into a frightening one.
"I saw Seb get out, I realised I wasn't injured, so I followed the procedure. I pressed the car's OK button, which tells them we don't need emergency assistance and allows the stage to continue," Ingrassia said. "But by the time I'd done that, I saw Seb lie down in the grass and pass out."
"I immediately activated the emergency beacon and went over to Seb. His eyes weren't blinking anymore. With the help of two or three spectators, we held his head still while I fanned him with my pace notes. It was a worrying moment."
Ingrassia also switched off the car because of the fire risk. Ogier came round before the emergency services reached the stage.
Both men credit the Rally1 safety structure with the outcome. "Once again, I think we've shown that the Rally1 car and the philosophy of the safety regulations, which are copied and pasted into 2027 cars, means the cockpit of the car is in absolutely pristine condition," Fowler said. "There's not a single intrusion."
Ogier's own verdict, issued through his team, was similar. "This was not the way that we wanted to end this weekend especially after everything was going so well. But the most important thing is that we are both OK, so a big thank you to the team for building such a strong car. I also need to thank Julien for taking good care of me immediately after the impact and reassuring my family I am well."
He is going anyway. Having originally planned a 10-round part-time campaign, Ogier confirmed on social media he will extend it, with Landais back alongside him.
"After a great run, Rally Finland obviously didn't end up like planned, and our championship hopes are more or less gone. Still, there are four remaining rounds this season and Vincent Landais and I will be there, with only one target: win them all."
Fowler expects him at Rally Paraguay in Encarnacion later this month, an event Ogier won last year. "His entry car is built ready in the workshop," he said. "Personally, I think we all know Seb quite well in this team and I would think that if there's one thing that isn't going to stop him, it's something like this. This is the sort of thing that would make him even more determined."
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/ogier-vows-to-win-all-four-as-toyota-clears-his-finland-crash). Visit for full coverage.*