A dramatic turn of events has unfolded at Rally Finland, with Elfyn Evans recovering from a harrowing roll to claim third place, while Sebastien Ogier was taken to hospital after a severe crash.
Championship leader Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were fortunate to escape unscathed when their Toyota rolled over three times on stage 14, getting stuck in a ditch. However, thanks to the quick-thinking of spectators and meticulous repair work by the team mechanics, they were able to rejoin the competition, setting the fastest time on Saturday's final stage.
Meanwhile, Ogier's accident occurred on stage 17, when the nine-time champion and co-driver Julien Ingrassia ran wide on a fast right-hand corner, crashing their Toyota into trees. The stage was immediately stopped, and both Ogier and Ingrassia were taken to hospital for checks, fortunately emerging conscious and generally okay.
As a result of Ogier's withdrawal, Sami Pajari inherited first place and now leads his home event with a 46.4-second advantage over Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg. Evans moved into third place ahead of Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux, demonstrating remarkable resilience in pursuit of his first WRC title.
The final standings after stage 18 are as follows:
- Sami Pajari (FIN) - 2:00:38.0
- Oliver Solberg (SWE) - +46.6 seconds
- Elfyn Evans (GB) - +1:36.3
- Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) - +1:40.1
- Takamoto Katsuta (JPN) - +2:54.5
- Thierry Neuville (BEL) - +3:52.9
- Josh McErlean (IRL) - +3:54.4