The Rally World Series starts this week. Kalle Rovanperä’s karter Jonne Halttunen and ‘s expert Henri Haapamäki tell us what they think about the new points calculation system.
Samu Saatsi,
Riku Salminen
The World Rally Championship got a major overhaul for the season starting this week. The points calculation method of the Drivers’ World Series, which was valid until 2011, became history.
The new scoring method has caused a lot of confusion. In the new points system, the World Championship points in the rally are divided from three different performances. The first points are awarded based on the overall situation on Saturday, the second to the seven fastest drivers on Sunday and the third to the five fastest on Sunday’s Power Stage.
While previously winning the rally and the Power Stage was enough to collect the maximum number of points, i.e. 30 points, in the future more will be required: 18 points from Saturday, seven points from Sunday and five points from the Power Stage.
Read more about how the new scoring works: Who will really win the World Rally Championship? This example shows how revolutionary the point calculation reform is
Rally people have been divided by the new points system. Also those who sat down on the sofas of Urheilustudio on Sunday Kalle Rovanperän world champion cartographer Jonne Halttunen and Urheilu’s rally expert Henri Haapamäki caught up with the change.
Halttunen sees that the change will at least bring the desired change to the stakes on Sunday’s rally day.
– However, it’s always a really rough rally day. According to my own math, there is a 12-point pot. That is, if you consider that on Sunday you drive 50 kilometers and on other days it is 250 kilometers, it is a much smaller compression in terms of kilometers, Haltunen describes.
– I think that there will be a hard rally on Sundays, but that method of calculating points is difficult, even for me it is.
Direct reaction from drivers and carters
Among the drivers and kart drivers, the new way of calculating points has also naturally caused reflection. World champion Halttunen vividly describes how it has been received.
– I haven’t heard any of them praise it, Halttunen says.
Even expert Haapamäkikan won’t swallow the reform without biting it.
– Yes, it is special at times, he begins.
– If we think about the prize distribution, the driver leading the series is not necessarily the one standing on the highest podium. I think it’s really special that that win is not appreciated so much. Instead, you have to go through all these areas well, yes it makes the competition very difficult to follow.
You can watch the entire conversation between Halttunen and Haapamäki about the WC rally season, seen in Urheilustudio, in the video below.
However, Haapamäki believes that the new way of scoring points will be more effective during the season for those involved in the rally and those who follow it.
– In my opinion, it’s also a pity above all that victory is not valued in this way. The winners get a trophy and are counted as rally winners, but that doesn’t mean you get the most points. My personal opinion is that the winner would always get the most points, says Halttunen directly.
However, Halttunen says that he believes that despite all scenarios, the fastest driver will end up as world champion. However, he reflects on the tactical choices of individual rallies. The new points calculation system can lead to the situation being secured early on Saturday, which can lead to the drivers securing the last special tests and hitting harder again on Sunday.
– I don’t know if this is how the lifting on Sundays of the previous year will be moved to a different place.