Juha Kankkunen believes Sebastien Ogier’s crash at WRC Finland 2026 looked highly unusual and has confirmed Toyota will carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the SS17 Västilä 2 incident.
Ogier crashed while leading the rally by 20.9 seconds over Sami Pajari. According to Kankkunen, the nature of the location raised questions because a driver with Ogier’s experience and consistency would not normally go straight off the road at a relatively straightforward flat-out left-hander.
“You don’t normally see a driver like him go straight off at such a straightforward flat-out left unless something isn’t quite right. We need to find out what happened,” Kankkunen said.
Toyota had not yet been able to inspect the car directly when Kankkunen made his comments. The team intends to examine several possibilities, including a technical issue, whether the skid plate struck the ground, or another factor that could explain why the car suddenly left the road. “It looked highly unusual because that’s not normally a place where drivers of that calibre go off,” he added.
Kankkunen also provided an update on Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia following the accident. He said he had spoken to both and described their condition as about as good as could be expected after such a major impact, although Ogier remained subject to further medical checks at a hospital in Tampere.
Despite the car appearing heavily damaged externally, Kankkunen said initial images from inside showed that its main structure remained intact. He explained that much of the visible damage came from detached body panels, while the bodyshell and chassis showed no distortion.
Saturday had already been difficult for Toyota after Elfyn Evans rolled on SS14 Leustu. Evans was able to continue after repairs but lost second place. Kankkunen also described the overall number of accidents at WRC Finland 2026 as unusually high, with several leading Rally1 and Rally2 crews encountering trouble throughout the event.
Read Also
Sami Pajari leads WRC Finland 2026 after Sebastien Ogier's crash and takes a 46.4-second advantage into Sunday's final two stages.
Sami Pajari strengthened his WRC Finland 2026 lead after SS18 Leustu and will take a 46.4-second advantage into Sunday's final two stages.
Sebastien Ogier crashed on SS17 Västilä at WRC Finland 2026 and was forced out of the rally, while Sami Pajari set the fastest stage time.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!