Sébastien Ogier is set to make his return to the World Rally Championship at Rally Paraguay next week, just a few weeks after a heavy crash at Rally Finland.
The reigning world champion was leading the Finnish round when his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 went off the road at high speed and rolled several times. Ogier and stand-in co-driver Julien Ingrassia were able to get out of the car without assistance and were taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks. Both were later cleared and released.
Despite the severity of the accident, Ogier has recovered well and is now ready to get back behind the wheel. He will be reunited with his regular co-driver, Vincent Landais, as Toyota looks to continue its strong season.
The crash was a major setback for Ogier's championship ambitions. With the incident costing him valuable points, his hopes of securing a record-breaking tenth WRC drivers' title have been severely damaged. He currently trails championship leader and Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans by 62 points.
However, Ogier's focus has quickly shifted towards helping Toyota achieve its goals. The Japanese manufacturer is fighting for another manufacturers' championship title, and a strong result in Paraguay could be crucial in that battle.
"Rally Finland didn’t turn out the way we hoped after what had been a very good rally until the point that it ended for us, but the most important thing is that Julien and I were both OK", Ogier said.
"Now we’ve had some time to rest and recover and I’m ready to compete in Paraguay together with Vincent.
"Even if our championship hopes are more or less over, we still want to aim for the top step in each of the remaining rallies this year, and help the team secure the manufacturers’ title.
"We experienced a great first rally in Paraguay last year, with an amazing atmosphere as well as challenging stages and conditions, and we will try our best to repeat our victory there".
Photo Credits: Toyota
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