WRC Calendar 2025

[Backa]

Like Kalle said, everybody (last WDC's) has done sweeping and no point of whining about it anymore.

If something is bad and can be easily changed, "it is like that for long time" is not really solid counter-argument.

Whole day of sweeping makes things little more interesting when one driver is dominating but it's too big penalty in close title fights and should be reduced to morning loop and then order reversed.

And it's not one rally, Latvia and Sweden just were exceptionally bad.

I agree though that there should not be asterisks no matter who will be champion this season. Weird point system, sweeping, crashes with deers, opportunities to benefit from team orders, car issues, more or less tarmac/gravel/snow create variability but it was always part of WRC and driver still needs to have world champion talent to benefit from his good luck/bad luck of others.

[Morte66]

"The whole thing's daft
I don't know why
You have to laugh
Or else you cry"
-- Tom Hark and the Piriahnas

[denkimi]

Like Kalle said, everybody (last WDC's) has done sweeping and no point of whining about it anymore.
Neuville has had 10+ years of this advantage, haven't managed to bring it home and now ONE bad rally.. and max big problem.

If Ogier wins the title this year, then 9 hats off to him! All done by the rules and nothing more to say. Maybe - ,,Learn to drive!''

We never before had a year where the 2 best drivers in the world were doing a partial season, picking their best rally's.

Cleaning the road makes it more difficult to win against opponents who start one or 2 places behind you. It makes it impossible to win against rovanpera who starts 7th.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

There's also the battle between Toyota and Hyundai to consider, both of which are now doing everything to win the Manus Title and not really helping their top guys to win the Driver's. This is why the part-timers are being used.

[deephouse]

Except if the trend continues, they should put all those part-timers in front for gravel events. Don't know if that could help a little bit, but what about zero car being any Rally1 machine, even not the newest one, or maybe some WRC machine from the past and driver by some local champion or retired driver.

[MentalParadox]

In the ridiculous eventuality that Ogier wins this year's title, I'd start thinking about a part time program if I were Tanak and Neuville... skipping their weakest rallies and let others open the road. Then watch people complaining than in some events there are 5 Rally1 cars at the start.

How about making road position be decided by your last rally result, reversed? So you won the last rally, you start first (if the next rally is on gravel) or last (if tarmac). Have a missed event count as a DNF. That way, an event skipper gains nothing and will just end up sweeping the road the moment they come back.

[WRCStan]

How about making road position be decided by your last rally result, reversed? So you won the last rally, you start first (if the next rally is on gravel) or last (if tarmac). Have a missed event count as a DNF. That way, an event skipper gains nothing and will just end up sweeping the road the moment they come back.

Can you edit that to make sense? Who's opening the road?

[MentalParadox]

Can you edit that to make sense? Who's opening the road?

Your lack of reading comprehension seems like a "you problem", not a "me problem". Your hostility is uncalled for.

[WRCStan]

Your lack of reading comprehension seems like a "you problem", not a "me problem". Your hostility is uncalled for.

Hostility inferred is a "you problem". No hostility was implied at all.

If reversing results only applies to gravel, if your last rally means the last rally results and if you got gravel and tarmac the wrong way round then I think you're on to a good idea. However, probably not as good as just mixing up the calendar.

[focus206]

Hostility inferred is a "you problem". No hostility was implied at all.

If reversing results only applies to gravel, if your last rally means the last rally results and if you got gravel and tarmac the wrong way round then I think you're on to a good idea. However, probably not as good as just mixing up the calendar.

I think he's proposing a system like this, he'll correct me if I'm wrong (I'll use only 4 drivers to make it simple)
Round 1 final classification:
1 - Tanak
2 - Neuville
3 - Ogier
4 - Evans

Round 2 starting order (gravel)
Tanak
Neuville
Ogier
Evans

or if round 2 is on asphalt:
Evans
Ogier
Neuville
Tanak

So the championship leader Tanak gets a disadvantage on round 2 to level the field, but unless he wins round 2, he won't be at the bad end of the running order in round 3, regardless if he's the championship leader or not.
In this case, I think I would be fair that if a driver DNF on round 1, he gets a good starting order on round 2, no reason to penalize a driver who already retired in previous round. If a driver DNS though, could be an idea to give him the short end of the stick and a bad road position on round 2.
Would be easier to just have a couple more asphalt round, though.