Confirmation that the WRC will embrace a new points structure in order to spice up the final day of events was ratified at the World Motor Sport Council in Baku earlier this month.
Now the FIA has published the WRC's 2024 sporting regulations which include the exact details of the new points structure.
Under the new system, the sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 points will be awarded at the end of Saturday's final classification, but only if a crew reaches the final classification of the rally at the end of Sunday.
If a crew fails to finish on Sunday, the Saturday points will be awarded to the next best-placed pairing.
The biggest change sees championship points now awarded specifically on Sunday's performance. The prime reason for the introduction of this points system is to prevent drivers from cruising through Sunday's stages preserving tyres for the end-of-rally Power Stage.
Competitors will do battle for a maximum of seven points on Sunday. Points will be awarded as follows to the top seven competitors via the following sliding scale; 7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
The Power Stage will remain unchanged with the top five fastest drivers receiving bonus points, five points being the maximum.
If a driver completes a perfect rally they will continue to score a total of 30 points as per the previous regulations.
The winner of the rally will still be declared on overall time for the whole event, but in theory, a driver can win the rally despite not scoring the full seven points on the Sunday.
A competitor could also theoretically score more points than the rally winner.
"For the World Rally Championships for Manufacturers, for Drivers and for Co-Drivers, points will be awarded for each rally taking into account the general classification after Saturday (with all -time penalties accrued until and including the final time control on Saturday) according to the following scale 1st: 18 points 2nd: 15 points 3rd: 13 points 4th: 10 points 5th: 8 points 6th: 6 points 7th 4 points 8th: 3 points 9th: 2 points 10th: 1 point To score points, the crew must be classified in the Final Classification of the rally. If a crew is not classified in the Final Classification of the rally, the next Competitor(s) will be moved up to score points," the FIA sporting regulations state.
"For the World Rally Championships for Manufacturers, for Drivers and for Co-Drivers, additional points as per the following scale will be awarded according to an accumulated general classification of Sunday only, comprising the part from the first time control after the overnight regroup up to and including the final time control of the competition element of the rally (with all time penalties accrued in this part of the competition). 1st: 7 points 2nd: 6 points 3rd: 5 points 4th: 4 points 5th: 3 points 6th: 2 points 7th: 1 point."
The sporting regulations now also permit Rally1 cars to compete without a hybrid unit but they won't be eligible to score manufacturer championship points and must run with a dummy hybrid unit that is mounted in the same position and weighs the same as a working hybrid unit.
There has also been an amendment to the engine change regulations, which now states: "In the case of engine failure between the end of pre-rally scrutineering and the end of the Rally, it is permitted to replace the damaged engine provided that the number of engines authorized in article 17.1.1 is not exceeded."
