New points scale on Sunday: how does it work?

In 2023, the observation that the WRC run into the wall has been (finally!) admitted. There have been a large number of discussions around the future of the discipline between the FIA, the promoter (Red Bull Media House) and the different stakeholders (manufacturers, sponsors, organizers, federations, etc.). Crew members were invited to the debates. They gave their opinions, made proposals… for nothing.

In response to their complaints and desires for a change of format in WRC, they were surprised to see a new points system appear. This is broken down into two parts. A first distribution will take place on Saturday evening. The first 10 in the ranking will be rewarded... if they finish the rally Sunday where two new prizes will be made, first at the end of the stage, then at the end of the Power Stage. Over a weekend, it will be possible to score a maximum of 30 points.

Concretely, the ten best ranked crews on Saturday evening will be candidates for the first units (1)… but to do so they will have to complete the event. So far, it was: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 at the end of the race on Sunday. From now on, during this last day of Sunday, the 7 drivers who are the fastest will be rewarded (2). Finally, the principle of the Power Stage is retained (3) and its scale unchanged. The winner of the rally remains the one who has been the most efficient against the clock, but you will have to take out the calculator to find out who will have carried out the best accounting operation at the end of the weekend.

1. Points awarded on Saturday evening

1st = 18 points
2nd = 15 pts
3nd = 13 pts
4nd = 10 pts
5nd = 8 pts
6nd = 6 pts
7nd = 4 pts
8nd = 3 pts
9nd = 2 pts
10th = 1 pt

2. Points awarded at the end of Sunday

1st = 7 points
2nd = 6 pts
3nd = 5 pts
4nd = 4 pts
5nd = 3 pts
6nd = 2 pts
7th = 1 pt

3. Points awarded at the end of the Power Stage

1st = 5 points
2nd = 4 pts
3nd = 3 pts
4nd = 2 pts
5th = 1 pt

Examples:

Case #1 – Perfect weekend: Sébastien Ogier is ranked 1st on Saturday evening, achieves the best cumulative time on the Sunday specials and finishes 1st in the Power Stage: 30 points (18+7+5, maximum allocation).

Case no. 2 – Abandonment on Sunday: Sébastien Ogier is ranked 1st on Saturday evening, but gives up on Sunday: 0 points

Case n°3 – The winner does not score the most points: Sébastien Ogier won the rally by being classified 4th on Saturday evening, achieved the best cumulative time on the Sunday specials and finished outside the Top 5 in Power Stage: 17 points (10+7+0). Elfyn Evans finished 2nd in the rally while being classified 1st on Saturday evening, achieved the 4th cumulative time on the Sunday specials and finished 1st in the Power Stage: 27 points (18+4+5).

Case n°4 – Big points despite a withdrawal: Sébastien Ogier retires on Friday or Saturday, starts again in SuperRally on Sunday, achieves the best cumulative time on the Sunday specials and finishes 1st in the Power Stage: 12 points (0+7+5).

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