The 2024 WRC season is as open as it comes with four different winners in as many rounds to commence the campaign.
Championship leader Thierry Neuville kicked things off with victory in the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, before Esapekka Lappi won in Sweden, Kalle Rovanpera in Kenya and finally Sebastien Ogier in Croatia.
But Rovanpera and Ogier are only contesting a part-time campaign in 2024, which leaves Neuville and Elfyn Evans at the top of the championship.
Although he is yet to win, Evans has so far been rewarded for his consistency as he’s had a top-four finish in each rally, including three podiums.
But Evans left the last round in Croatia extremely frustrated, as the points structure that is new for 2024 meant he scored as many points for finishing second as Neuville did in third.
Under the current structure, championship points are awarded at the end of both Saturday and Sunday. A sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 is given on Saturday, with 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 then awarded on Sunday while the Power Stage remains 5-4-3-2-1.
In Croatia, Neuville topped the Saturday standings but finished seventh on Sunday with no points in the Power Stage. Evans was second on the first day before scoring four points on Sunday.
