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Sebastien Ogier crash ends M-Sport Rally Finland test early

M-Sport's Rally Finland pre-event test has ended early after World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier crashed heavily on Thursday afternoon.

The Frenchman was on his final run of the test when he hit a rock he'd pulled out into the road on his previous pass of the stage.

Committed to the corner in sixth gear, Ogier hit the rock, which broke the suspension and sent him off the road and into a tree. Ogier was uninjured in the accident.

The car was substantially damaged and can't be repaired in time for Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen to test on Friday and Saturday respectively.

While Evans will now start Rally Finland without a pre-event test, M-Sport is hoping to get Suninen's Fiesta WRC out to Jyvaskyla early in order for him to test in that car.

Ogier's team-mate Ott Tanak tested earlier in the week.

Ogier starts next week's Rally Finland leading the drivers' championship by 11 points.

In recent years, Finland hasn't been the happiest of hunting grounds for the four-time world champion.

After taking his first Finland win in 2013, Ogier lost out to fellow Volkswagen driver Jari-Matti Latvala in the next two seasons and then slipped off the road and out of third place 12 months ago.

Zdroj: autosport.com