A Solution To The WRC’s Problems

A Driver Points Model Could Be a Solution to the WRC’s Problems.

The World Rally Championship is currently going through growing pains. In fact, it’s been happening for a while. The rapid expansion and contraction of the sport over the last decade has left many investors and spectators confused as to the WRC’s profitability and the direction of its future.

Luckily WRC isn’t going anywhere – that we can be sure of. Phew! But the format and regulations that govern the sport are continually being questioned. For what it’s worth, here is my two cents on how I think part of this evolution of the WRC should take shape.

I propose a Driver Point’s model similar to salary caps seen in football and rugby league to balance the distribution of skill between teams. The difference with a Driver Points system is it will not directly handicap a driver’s salary, nor will it compromise the investment strategies of individual teams. The aim of the Driver Points model is to breathe life into the manufacturer’s championship and further incentivise the investment of new and existing teams. This is something the WRC desperately needs. I can’t wait for Hyundai and Toyota to return! But to ensure that these new teams see return from their investment and aren't immediately shut out by the big boys the FIA and WRC need to help them out a little bit. The Driver Point’s model is one way of doing that.

For the most part, Volkswagen have dominated this year's manufacturers' championship.

Many sports around the world employ salary caps for their competing teams in the name of keeping the sport fair. This works by limiting the amount of money teams can pay players to lure them to their team. When this happens it’s the team with the most money that wins. I don’t like that. Nobody likes that. So, salary caps enable new entrants and smaller teams to compete on a reasonably even playing field with veteran teams. Similarly the Driver Points model will evenly divide the skill of drivers between teams. 

Here’s how it would work:

Each WRC team at the beginning of the season is allocated a finite number of Driver Points to spend. This is separate from the salaries the drivers get paid and only represents the driver’s most recent performances. We could argue that one’s salary also does that, but that’s not the point! WRC drivers & co-drivers would be split into skill tier’s based on their past results. For instance, Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier, Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala may make up the top tier of drivers, Tier 1. Mads Ostberg, Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo may make up Tier 2. Martin Prokop, Evgeny Novikov and Nasser Al-AttiyAh may make up Tier 3.  

Now stay with me for the maths! I promise it’s simple!

At the beginning of a season WRC teams are given 100 Driver Points (DP) to spend. Tier 1 drivers are the best in the sport and are worth 70DP. Tier 2 drivers are worth 40DP and Tier 3 drivers are worth 20DP. A team cannot exceed their allocation of driver points at any time throughout the season. Their total must remain under 100DP.

In 2013 Volkswagen has signed Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala. Incidentally Volkswagen is driving away with the manufacturers’ championship, much like Citroen have in the past years. Poor Ford. Both Ogier and Latvala are Tier 1 drivers worth 70DP each and by signing them both, Volkswagen’s total driver spend is 140. This combination would not be allowed under the Driver Points model. This means that Volkswagen would have to give up one of these drivers for another combination.

This wan't that exciting to watch in 2012, either.

The philosophy behind this programme is to evenly distribute driver skill between teams. This will have the benefit of preventing teams from dominating the manufacturers’ championship. It will also give developing drivers permanent seat time beside top tier drivers. However, the most significant benefit will be that new entrant teams like Mini, Toyota and Hyundai will have a better chance of consistently scoring manufactures points. This incentivises new teams to continue investment in the sport instead of withdrawing. This is a model that will likely smooth the rapid expansion and contractions we have seen of the WRC over the past decade which is to the benefit of spectators and external investors, like you and me!

The Driver Points model is designed to open the manufacturers’ championship up and make it a much closer competition. The Driver Points model does not address the domination of the drivers’ championship but it does create fairer policies for how drivers are distributed between teams. These teams after all, are the ones who provide opportunities for unproven drivers. The Driver Points model would also encourage teams to take a risk with young drivers.

Wouldn’t that be nice!

So come on, tell me! What are your ideas for improving the WRC. Would the Driver Points model work?