Maximum 18 points on Saturday, up to twelve on Sunday: The FIA has published details of the new points system for the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC)
The FIA has published the Sporting Regulations for the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC), providing clarity on the new points system. At the beginning of December 2023, the FIA World Motor Sport Council decided that in future, WRC rounds will award WRC points on both Saturday and Sunday. And this is what the new scheme looks like:
After the end of Saturday, points will be calculated for the first time and the top 10 will receive points according to the scheme 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. However, drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers will only receive these points if the respective competitor also reaches the finish of the rally on Sunday. If a participant drops out on Sunday, all subsequent participants move up one place in the Saturday classification.
On Sunday, all participants start from scratch again and the order for the final day is determined on the last special stages. The seven best participants then receive points according to the simple 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system.
The points system for the Power Stage remains unchanged. There, the top five will receive points according to the 5-4-3-2-1 scheme. In a perfect rally with victories on Saturday and Sunday as well as in the Power Stage, a participant can therefore collect a maximum of 30 points, the same number as under the previous regulations.
However, the winner of the rally is still determined by the total time over the entire event. As the winner does not necessarily have to score the full number of points on Sunday, it is theoretically possible for another driver to score more points than the rally winner.
The rule changes were introduced to enhance the final day of a rally. In the past, it was often not very exciting there because the drivers only managed their lead and conserved their equipment for the power stage.
Whether the new points system will change this in the long term remains to be seen. The risk of losing Saturday’s points due to a retirement on Sunday is unlikely to increase the willingness to take risks.
The sporting regulations now also allow Rally1 cars without hybrid drive. However, they are not entitled to collect points for the manufacturers’ classification. They must also have a dummy hybrid unit mounted in the same place and weighing the same as the functioning hybrid unit.
In addition, the regulations regarding engine replacement have been amended and now read: “In the event of engine damage between the end of pre-qualification and the end of the rally, it is permitted to replace the damaged engine, provided that the number of engines permitted under Article 17.1.1 is not exceeded. “