Rally Mexico 2018

[OHL]

The solution is so simple that I don't understand why it's even debated:

Time penalties for late check-in should be applied directly to the stage time, not the overall rally time. Check in one minute late to a stage, and you get 10 seconds added to your stage time.

The overall penalty doesn't change, but now it's almost impossible to benefit from checking in late. Done. No gimmicks, no additional rules, no special exemptions, no arbitrary and capricious decisions by the stewards, no inconsistency, no misunderstanding or confusion.

When you change a rule you have to look at the intent and impact of the rule and then what is the intent and impact of the change. This is why I say it's not so simple. The current penalties for arriving to controls outside allocated time is 10 seconds per minute for being late, and 1 minute per minute for being early. Why are they different? The main reason is to discourage speeding and wreckless driving for a crew that are late to a stage start. If they have a problem from the previous stage or run into a problem on the transit, they have some flexibility and if they are a little bit late the penalty is not so severe. It is intended to help crews.
In the case of the power stage, where stage time is all that matters, and you implement the fix you have suggested, then you penalize everyone who has a legitimate problem from the previous stage or on the road section. They are instantly out of contention for power stage points and they did nothing wrong or unsporting. This is why it is not so simple and requires looking at every angle. The current rule is there for a reason. It is a good rule, it is just being exploited.
One solution could be to have a regroup before the power stage and announce the start order after all of the P1 cars have checked in. That would cause other issues like a little bit longer day, etc. but it's just one idea.