Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has modified the championship points system used in the World Rally Championship, so that more finishers in a rally are awarded points.
Under the new system, which will come into force this week in Sweden, points will be allocated to the top 10 finishers (rather than the previous system's eight) according to the following scale:
1st: 25 points, 2nd: 18 points, 3rd: 15 points, 4th: 12 points, 5th: 10 points, 6th: 8 points, 7th: 6 points, 8th: 4 points, 9th: 2 points and 10th: 1 point
The decision to adopt the system was taken on 9 February, after the FIA put the matter to a fax vote of competitors. The members of the World Motor Sport Council also approved it.
Even though more points are available under the new system, with 25 awarded for first place rather than 10, it would not have altered the 2009 drivers' championship classification had it been introduced last year. Sebastien Loeb would still have clinched the title with a one-point advantage over Mikko Hirvonen.
photo:Citroën Racing
Under the new system, which will come into force this week in Sweden, points will be allocated to the top 10 finishers (rather than the previous system's eight) according to the following scale:
1st: 25 points, 2nd: 18 points, 3rd: 15 points, 4th: 12 points, 5th: 10 points, 6th: 8 points, 7th: 6 points, 8th: 4 points, 9th: 2 points and 10th: 1 point
The decision to adopt the system was taken on 9 February, after the FIA put the matter to a fax vote of competitors. The members of the World Motor Sport Council also approved it.
Even though more points are available under the new system, with 25 awarded for first place rather than 10, it would not have altered the 2009 drivers' championship classification had it been introduced last year. Sebastien Loeb would still have clinched the title with a one-point advantage over Mikko Hirvonen.
photo:Citroën Racing