Sébastien Ogier crashed out of the lead of Rally Finland on Saturday, handing first place to Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari with two stages remaining on Sunday.

Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were running wide on a fast right-hand corner on stage 17 — the penultimate stage of Saturday — when their car went off into the trees. Race officials red-flagged the stage after the impact (Motorsport.com). The pair climbed out of the car unassisted and were taken to hospital in Tampere for precautionary checks, conscious and described as generally OK (WRC.com). Ogier had led the rally from the very first stage on Friday (Dirtfish).

Pajari, driving on his home event, inherited the lead and held a 46.4-second advantage over Oliver Solberg, also in a Toyota, with two stages to go on Sunday. The Finn was on course for a landmark result in front of his own fans.

Elfyn Evans, the World Rally Championship points leader heading into the weekend (WRC.com), survived his own Saturday scare. He and co-driver Scott Martin rolled their Toyota three times on stage 14, landing in a ditch. Spectators helped haul the car back onto the road. Evans lost roughly two minutes in the incident but carried on, then set the fastest time on Saturday's final stage to climb into third place.

After 18 of the rally's 20 stages, the order stood: Pajari first, Solberg 46.6 seconds back, Evans a further 49.7 seconds behind in third, then Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) 1:40.1 off the lead, Takamoto Katsuta, Thierry Neuville and Josh McErlean (BBC Sport). Ogier, Martins Sesks and Esapekka Lappi were all listed as did-not-finish.

Rally Finland is one of the fastest events on the WRC calendar, run on wide gravel roads through the forests north of Jyväskylä. Its combination of high speeds, blind crests and commitment-required jumps means the margin between a stage-winning line and a trip into the trees is often a matter of inches. Both of Saturday's major incidents came on stages where cars are carrying serious pace through fifth- and sixth-gear corners.

For Pajari, the chance to seal a home victory on Sunday is the story. For Evans, third place after a roll that cost him two minutes is a remarkable salvage job — and one that keeps his championship lead intact despite a day that could have been far worse. The remaining two stages will determine whether Pajari can convert, and whether Evans can hold off Fourmaux's Hyundai for the final podium spot.