Rally Mexico 2018

[OHL]

Only an issue with the power stage malarky- make the power stage the first and that solves many problems - only those not in contention will have good road positions on gravel

This isn't an easy problem to fix. Your suggestion would make the whole point of the power stage null & void. The original idea was to bring some excitement to the last day of the rally. Normally the finishing order is sorted out by Saturday night unless something really crazy happens on Sunday. Sunday was pretty dull and number of viewers and spectators declining. Enter the power stage, now teams have a reason to push and it adds extra excitement to an otherwise dull day. If it is moved to Leg 1 of the rally then we're back to "let's-just-get-through-it-so-it-can-be-over" Sunday.

Additionally, points are points and it does't matter what situation you find yourself in, more points are always better than less. So Ogier was frustrated, he lost a lot of time due to running order and his only hope was to mess with the start order on the power stage so he could get some points. A real tear jerker but absolutely no different than winning the rally, or re-entering under rally 2 and doing the same thing on the power stage to get points. One situation is no more or less justified than the other. As long as the rules allow it and the gain outweighs the penalty then people will do it. They may have considered it and held back as nobody wanted to be the first (cause it is unsporting) but now the dam is broken and the only fix is a rule change or it will keep happening.