WRC
A boon for Tänak and Neuville, a disaster for Ogier… who benefits from the new WRC scale?
Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville, mixed fortunes with the new scale. © DPPI
Coming into force at the start of the year, the new points allocation formula has caused a lot of discussion since the first round contested in Monte-Carlo. The initial goal? Add spice to Sundays rally, by awarding up to 12 points for Sunday alone, enough to boost the poor performers from Friday and Saturday. The problem ? He has completely distorted the discipline, to the point that a rally winner can find himself at the end of the weekend with fewer points than his runner-up.
In Portugal, as in Sweden earlier in the year, it was not even the winner who scored the most points over the weekend, with a Ott Tänak second but rewarded with 26 points compared to 25 points for the winner Sébastien Ogier…and 24 points for Thierry Neuville, third. In Finland, Sebastien Ogier, winner, for example, scored only one point more than second Thierry Neuville... A method of awarding points which has the effect of densifying the classification and preventing drivers from making gaps in the championship.
By finishing 2nd in the rally last weekend, the Belgian took advantage of the zero points from Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans to do the right thing and take his place in the championship. His new runner-up is also called Sébastien Ogier, who has only taken part in 6 of the 9 rallies contested this season. If the Habs admitted to thinking about the possibility of participating in all the remaining rounds – more to please Toyota only to himself – he will have 27 points to make up if necessary.
To understand the sporting impact of the new scale of WRC, we calculated the ranking for the 2024 season according to the historical scale of previous seasons, therefore counting the final ranking of the rally (25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point for the top 10) in addition to the 5 bonus Power Stage points given to the five fastest drivers in the last special of each rally.
The result is clear: if the new scale has not considerably modified the positions in the championship (only Elfyn Evans would gain a place that Ott Tänak would lose in the top 8), the gaps would however be upset, particularly in the fight for the title. While there are currently 27 points difference between Neuville and Ogier according to the current scale, there would in fact only be 5 points difference between the two men according to the previous points allocation!
To explain it, it's quite simple: Thierry Neuville is by far the one who scored the most on Sundays. 12 points in Monte-Carlo, 11 in Portugal, 8 in Finland and Sweden, and above all 12 in Sardinia, where he finished… 41st in the rally. Sébastien Ogier, as an ultra-regular driver (he never finished lower than 2nd place) who came to win the rallies rather than to play grocers in the championship, often had much more to lose on Sunday and therefore often had to be in management at the end of races, with fewer points gleaned on Sundays.
Sébastien Ogier is therefore clearly the worst off since he would also have a much larger gap with his main pursuers according to the 2023 scale. While he is only 4 and 9 points ahead of Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans today Today, the Habs would have a much more comfortable mattress on the two men according to the previous method of awarding points: + 29 points compared to the Estonian, + 20 points compared to Elfyn Evans. The Gapençais is even the only driver in the top 8, with Kalle Rovanperä, who would have more points according to the old formula!
With the 2024 scale
1) Thierry Neuville – 168
2) Sébastien Ogier – 141
3) Ott Tänak – 137
4) Elfyn Evans – 132
5) Adrien fourmaux - 119
6) Kalle Rovanperä – 86
7) Takamoto Katsuta – 76
8) Esapekka Lappi – 33
With the 2023 scale
1) Thierry Neuville – 148 (+20 pts compared to the 2024 scale)
2) Sébastien Ogier – 143 (-2 pts)
3) Elfyn Evans – 123 (+23 pts)
4) Ott Tänak – 114 (+9 pts)
5) Adrien Fourmaux – 105 (+14 pts)
6) Kalle Rovanperä – 88 (-2 pts)
7) Takamoto Katsuta – 62 (+16 pts)
8) Esapekka Lappi – 31 (+2pts)
ALSO READ > Sébastien Ogier after his victory in Finland: “I would have preferred to finish 2nd! »
Jeremy Satis
Deputy Digital Editor & F1 Reporter
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Francois Delplace
07/08/2024 at 10:13 a.m.
Personally, I find the new system not bad and needs to be reviewed. But he is as he is this year and all the drivers, without exception, are coping with it. Redoing a classification seems stupid to me as the parameters are distorted over time. We would have to redo the races with hypotheses to see if this or that could gain 1 point here or there as a result of starting behind etc..... it's impossible. Treating a certain grocer's pilot when they are performing at an average of 130 is lamentable. As for the fact that Ogier or another would be very close to Neuville, that may be true but I think that the competition choices are very calculated with this point system in order to benefit from the best conditions to win. Finally, another element that should be taken into account and which is not fair is the places on the road. I find that it is not normal for drivers who compete in the entire championship to be penalized compared to freelancers. Either you respect the championship and you come every time or you come from time to time and you take what's left and you sweep away. It seems to me that freelance pilots are quite recent and therefore change the thinking that we might have had a few years ago. (Even if I already agreed with Ogier when he said that the championship leader should not open the road) Before the drivers were committed for the year, period. At least for the leaders of the discipline. In the meantime, thank you and congratulations to all these crews for the pleasure they provide. It does not deserve not to be followed because of a poor or even disastrous point system.
LUC MASSON
05/08/2024 at 05:57 a.m.
Ogier remains a super champion. The points system is no fun. But established by the Fia. We participate, we accept. Otherwise, there remains the game of marbles or the battle. 🥲🥲🥲😭😭😭😭
Francois Delplace
07/08/2024 at 10:15 a.m.
Fully agree
Thierry Pingret
05/08/2024 at 05:42 a.m.
And you will understand why the last 2 world champions no longer make the entire championship, the bonus for mediocrity.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
05/08/2024 at 03:57 a.m.
I admit that I no longer follow the WRC at all since the introduction of this new scale which allows a driver who does not win the rally to score more points than the winner. Where is the logic ? Wouldn't the FIA Rally Commission want to ban retirement? That being said, with 2,5 manufacturers officially entered, we can understand why she would like there to be Rally1s at the finish on Sunday. We often say “it was better before” and in this case, we can really ask ourselves the question!
Renaud Henrard
05/08/2024 at 01:59 a.m.
There does indeed seem to be a crisis of common sense within the FIA rally commission. Such a level of mediocrity is quite worrying and this rule for awarding points is completely ridiculous. What credibility can manufacturers and spectators give to this championship? That being said, I also don't find it logical that drivers who don't make the entire championship can start with a favorable starting position and distort the championship cards. In my opinion, priority should be given to the drivers competing in the entire championship by establishing that the less priority drivers (thus those part-time) start at the front. This year Rovanpëra and Ogier share 6 of the 9 rounds run so far. Far be it from me to deny that they are the 2 best current drivers but not recognizing that they have benefited from favorable road positions would also be showing bad faith. Furthermore, I don't always understand the meaning of Sébastien Ogier's comments. On the one hand he tells us he wants to take a step back, make time for his family but on the other hand, he is only missing 2 rounds voluntarily this year. Not bad for a part-time pilot. So we should know, either he is interested in a 9th crown and he is right to complain or he is only racing to win with no ambition other than to bring points to Toyota and it is especially the latter who is to be complained about. .. with sporting ethics of course.
OLIVIER SCHYNS
05/08/2024 at 01:47 a.m.
Your classification contains two errors (reversal between Evans and Tanak, wrong Katsuta). In addition, we prefer to completely avoid the fact that Ogier benefited from a favorable position on the road. All drivers, who have been playing honestly in the championship since the beginning of the year, are obliged to play with this new rule. Can we blame them? To describe Tanak, Neuville and Evans as grocers is frankly a lack of respect for them. A constant currently from Autohebdo for the WRC.
Francois Delplace
07/08/2024 at 10:23 a.m.
Completely agree with your post.
Bernard JOUVENE
06/08/2024 at 07:28 a.m.
But it is nevertheless the case... they are grocers! But it's not their fault but this totally stupid regulation! As for the sweep Ogier suffered and denounced well before Neuville We already know the CM 2024 with regular 2nd or 3rd places or worse, will be enough for him with good Sundays at the grocery store... Quick! How long he's been waiting!!
Francois Delplace
07/08/2024 at 10:26 a.m.
Were there a lot of freelancers who were former world champions during Ogier's time? Not super knowledgeable because I've only been there for a few years but I don't think so. Especially freelance ex-world champions