Daniel Grataloup, co-driver of French Rally driver Francois Delecour, was in a stable condition today after the duo's Rally Australia jinx struck again with another spectacular crash.
Grataloup was airlifted to hospital by helicopter Friday with multiple injuries and placed in intensive care after the Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Delecour slammed into a tree stump before catapulting across a forest track into another tree.
Rally officials said early Saturday Grataloup had fractured his pelvis, right leg, two ribs, a shoulder blade, a vertebrae in his upper spine, as well as having a small fracture to the base of the skull.
He also had bruised lungs and a wound in his right groin.
But Mitsubishi said in a statement Saturday night Grataloup had been transferred from an intensive care unit to a general ward in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
"Orthopaedic surgeons have done further examinations and there are no plans for any surgery to be carried out at the moment," the statement said.
"Daniel's right leg has been put in plaster, a precautionary measure to protect a small fracture.
"Following further scans by neurosurgeons, it is not totally clear whether Daniel has fractured his skull. It is often difficult to see hairline cracks. However, doctors are quite happy with his condition.
"Surgeons have yet to re-assess Daniel's chest, but he is not needing much pain relief.
"He remains in good spirits and Francois has visited him a number of times today."
Mitsubishi team doctor, Paul Trafford, said the injuries received by Grataloup, 42-year-old father of three, were not as serious as initially feared.
The crash was near the small forest town of Dwellingup, about 100 kilometres (66 miles) south-west of Perth, the Western Australian capital.
By a remarkable coincidence, the French pair were in a similar crash on the Wellington Dam stage of Rally Australia, also in Western Australia's south-west, the previous year.
Delecour walked away uninjured, but Grataloup received three broken ribs, a broken collarbone and shoulder and a collapsed lung. He was in hospital for a week.
"Last year when we had the accident I was unconscious, so I did not know what was happening, but this time I saw everything," Grataloup said Saturday.
"We were going so fast, about 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph) and we hit a very big tree and I knew the car was going to be bad.
"When we stopped I couldn't speak and Francois was slumped in the seat next to me.
"I thought my injuries would be worse than they are. I would like to thank everyone who helped us."
Mitsubishi said Delecour, who received severe bruising, was able to stay in his Perth hotel overnight.
A hospital spokesman told AFP Grataloup's condition had improved overnight.
The impact of the smash destroyed the car and tore the engine from the chassis, dumping it several metres away.