World Cup pilots need a review of the points system / WRC

Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who won in Croatia, went so far as to call the new system “a complete joke” as he ended up just one point ahead of fourth-placed Ott Tänak, while championship rivals Elfin Evans and. Thierry Neuville got the same number of points despite finishing second and third. The way the WRC distributes points this season has divided the teams. The unpredictability of the title fight and the excitement on Sunday are the advantages of the new system, while the confusion is the obvious frustration. There are other key WRC drivers who want the points structure developed further.

“If you consider where we were at the weekend and where we ended up, this is definitely very positive and not something we expected,” Tänak told DirtFish after his fourth place in Croatia. “This wonderful system has helped us a lot,” he added with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “There are easy ways to keep Sunday, extra points and power play and all kinds of things to keep the fun going, but the game has to stay somewhere. At the moment we thought that Elfin just made a mistake, he just had a spin. And in the end he gets one point more than me, who came fourth. The sports section is missing now.”

WRC leader Neuville benefited the most from the new system in Croatia, scoring the same number of points as rival Evans despite finishing behind the Toyota driver. However, the Belgian is satisfied that some aspects of the new system are working.

“Nothing has changed, that’s for sure,” Neuville said. “In terms of points, we’re getting the same number of points here this weekend, but I think we’re both disappointed and frustrated that we couldn’t finish on the top of the podium. I mean, Sunday is definitely more exciting. That’s how it should be. It’s more exciting for us as well , but it’s also more tiring because you have to give everything on Sunday. And everyone has Sunday, that’s for sure.

It’s great to do everything on Sunday, but as Neuville adds, a rally winner in 2024 may not reach the same level of celebration as in previous seasons.

Neuville continued: “But on the other hand, you no longer feel happy when you are on the podium or even on the first stage of the podium, because you are no longer rewarded as before when you got 25 or even 30 points. It has a Power Stage victory. I don’t know, but it’s the laws we have now that we have to fight against.”

Elfin Evans had great cause for frustration in Croatia. “It is the young people here who benefit from this, who may not be fighting at the front and still get big points, so putting the field together with the producers in the championship is worse,” he said. “We finished two games one-two in the last two events and I think we got seven points in two meetings, so it’s not fair.”

When asked how quickly the system can be cleaned up, Neuville and Tänak do not believe the fix will happen overnight.

“We can’t change it over the course of the season, but we’ll learn from it,” said Neuville. “And apart from the points system, I think there is still a lot to improve.”