Julien Ingrassia describes the dramatic seconds following the serious accident involving Sébastien Ogier, who briefly lost consciousness after the crash
Shaken up but unharmed: Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia narrowly escaped disaster last Saturday at Rally Finland, the tenth round of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC).
On the 17th special stage, the duo veered off the road at high speed and drove into the woods, where the Toyota GR Yaris rolled over several times. For Ogier in particular, the consequences of the violent crash were more dramatic than even Ingrassia initially suspected.
“I saw Seb get out and realized I wasn’t injured, so I followed protocol,” he told the French newspaper L’Equipe. “I pressed the OK button in the car, which signals to officials that we don’t need emergency assistance, so the special stage can continue. But as soon as I did that, I saw Seb fall into the grass and lose consciousness.”
Dramatic moments: “There was no sound and no picture”
From that moment on, the accident took on a whole new dimension for Ingrassia, who had been competing alongside Ogier in Finland for the first time since 2021. “I immediately pressed the emergency button and ran over to Seb. His eyes weren’t blinking anymore—there was no sound and no image,” he reports.
The terrible accident involving Ogier and Ingrassia! circuitomotor R800AM pic.twitter.com/eknbmRuTDA
— carlos zayas (@carloszayasf) August 1, 2026
With the help of some spectators, Ingrassia stabilized his co-driver’s head, while he himself fanned Ogier with the note pad. “That was a worrying moment,” recalls Ingrassia.
“I’d never dealt with anything like that in my life, but I knew it was important to stay calm. After raising the alarm, I called the team to give them a medical assessment of the situation,” said the Frenchman. “I also turned off the car because there was a risk of fire. Little by little, as people talked to him and everyone gathered around him, Seb regained consciousness. At that moment, the emergency responders also arrived.”
A rutted track was likely the cause of the accident
They transported Ogier by rescue helicopter to a hospital, where no injuries were found. Ogier remained in the hospital overnight for observation. Ingrassia also had to spend the night in the hospital. Ultimately, however, both were given the all-clear.
Ingrassia, who hadn’t competed in the World Championship for five years, admitted that “the impact was severe” after they had entered the curve at “about 140 km/h.” As things stand, neither a technical defect nor a driving error was the cause of the spectacular crash.
“A rutted track had formed in the turn, which catapulted the car to the left instead of allowing it to steer to the right. That’s why the onboard footage looks so strange,” Ingrassia reported.
In closing, he thanked the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and manufacturer Toyota for the high level of safety in the Rally1 cars, which spared him and Ogier from more serious consequences. “The latest generation of vehicles is incredibly stable, and that really helped us,” said Ingrassia.
