Ingrassia passed fit for Finland

Current leader of the FIA Co-Drivers Championship Julien Ingrassia has been passed fit to contest next weekend's Rally Finland alongside regular driver and Driver's Championship leader Sebastien Ogier.

Ogier (R) and Ingrassia (L) winning Rally Portugal

Having broken his collarbone whilst out on his mountain bike in Corsica, it was initially feared he would have to miss Rally Finland, the WRC's fastest rally. Nicolas Klinger, Theirry Neuville's former co-driver, was drafted in to co-drive for Ogier on a recent VW test while Ingrassia recovered.

Although understandably keen to tackle Finland, he admitted he would give the event a miss if it transpired to be “dangerous or stupid” to compete, in order to be able to complete the season.

Even though the Frenchman's collarbone is being held together by a titanium plate and nine screws, he completed a medical examination two weeks ago at the Bad Nauheim Sports Injury Clinic in Germany and also completed a test on Saturday. With this in mind, Ingrassia's team of doctors have passed him fit to compete in Finland.

“I am so relieved that I have managed to get back to full health in time for the Rally Finland. My thanks go out to the doctors for the great job they have done on me and the whole Volkswagen team, who have always supported me and sent me their best wishes. Now, I cannot wait to get back out on the road with Sébastien.” he said.

Ingrassia's team boss Jost Capito was keen to see his Championship leading co-driver return to the #8 Polo R WRC, saying:

“The whole team is very happy that Julien is back to full health and can start racing again. Our main priority is always the well-being of our drivers – we never want to take any risks. In the worst case scenario, it would have been better that Julien sits out one race than risk being out for a long time. You can only start a World Championship rally if you are in good health. That's why in Nicolas Klinger we would have had an excellent replacement.”

Capito thanked Klinger for his “great levels of commitment” in testing with Ogier. It was expected Klinger would co-drive for Ogier in Finland until news of Ingrassia's recovery broke.

“I would like to thank Nicolas for the great levels of commitment he demonstrated in the most recent test runs and for his willingness to step in for Julien in Finland if needed.” he said.

Image credit: Willy Weyens