The road accident
Great fear for Sebastien Ogier and his co-pilot Vincent Landaiswho on Tuesday morning, while they were carrying out the usual reconnaissance before the Rally Poland (scheduled from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 July) were involved in a road accident. The eight-time world champion collided head-on with another car, which was driven by a man and a female passenger.
Everyone is calmer
In the hours following the crash, neither the causes of the crash nor, above all, the conditions of the people involved had yet been clarified. To reassure everyone, the official press release from the Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT team arrived, which specified what happened via its social pages: “TGR-WRT crew Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais have been brought to hospital for tests following a road accident which occurred on Tuesday morning during reconnaissance for the Polish Rally – it is read – Two occupants of the other vehicle involved, members of the public, were also taken to hospital for medical checks. The accident occurred as Ogier and Landais were preparing for the Goldap special stage, which makes up SS10 and SS14 of Saturday’s rally. Ogier and Landais were driving a road car, as is the practice for rally reconnaissance. All reconnaissance cars are equipped with GPS tracking, which indicates that speeds were within established limits. All those involved were subjected to instrumental tests which did not reveal any serious injuries. The safety and well-being of everyone involved remains the team’s top priority.”
The reigning champion returns
While Landais was already discharged during the day, Ogier spent the night in hospital under observation. Although his condition is not worrying, the Frenchman will still not be able to participate in the Rally Poland. Consequently, the team has also announced who will be the crew’s replacements, namely the reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen.
