The new point system of the World Rally Championship was tested for the first time at the Monte Carlo World Rally, which ended on Sunday.
Jari-Matti Latvala and Toyota were disappointed in the opening race of the season. Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
Today, no less than three separate points are awarded in the main class. Conditional points are awarded based on Saturday night’s results and daily surfaces on Sunday. In addition, additional points can be clicked from the Power Stage special test that ends the race.
What is special about the system is that no points are awarded based on the actual final results of the rally. It is also possible that the winner of the competition does not necessarily claim the biggest point pot.
The worst scenarios did not materialize yet in the World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo. The Hyundai driver who won the classic race Thierry Neuville cleared a full 30-point pot from the weekend. The runner-up collected the second most points Sebastien Ogier (24 points) ahead of the third runner-up Elfyn Evans (21) and after taking fourth place Hyundai Ott Tänakia (15).
Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala gave his new systematic verdict at the end of the race.
– The winner, i.e. the best in the competition, got the most points. In that sense, the new system has proven its functionality quite well. I hope it will work in other competitions as well, even though it has its risks and there may be small challenges, Latvala said.
– There was a lot of preliminary speculation about this. Now, at least for a while, the situation can be calmed down. All in all, this didn’t bring any terrible confusion.
This time, Monte Carlo was left unconquered by Latvala’s crew, although Ogier tried to challenge Neuville until the end. The Belgian blocked Ogier’s tenth Monte win by 16.1 seconds.
– Of course, there is a little disappointment in the air. We led the rally on Friday and led almost until the end of Saturday. Then at the last minute on Saturday, things started to turn in Hyundai’s direction. Finally, it got out of hand on Sunday, Latvala summed up.
– Thierry found a new gear somewhere. It’s been seen before that when he gets that kind of confidence on Saturday, it’s really hard to stop him after that.
At the same time, Neuville and Hyundai gave a storm warning to Toyota, which has dominated the World Rally Championship in recent years. Latvala estimates that Hyundai is now even more competitive.
– They will certainly be strong throughout the season and there will be tight battles. In the previous two years, we were able to win reliably. Now Hyundai is reliable and fast, so the race is purely up to the driver, i.e. who can squeeze for victory, as we saw here. With that kind of driving in Neuville’s style, wins can be decided this season, Latvala analysed.