The British Rallycross Championship will change its points format for the third year in a row. The regulation tweaks should offer a more clear and consistent set of rules for fans and drivers alike.
The biggest change of regulations compared to 2021 is the points format. Instead of most of the points being won in qualifying the focus shifts to the pointy end of the weekend. Now the bulk of points will be won in the final with 12 on offer for the driver finishing first. 10 points will go to second with third down to eighth going in 1 point increments from 9 down to 4 for last place in a final.
Qualifying will see the top 8 score points going from 8 down to 1. The semi-finals remain the only session giving out the same number of points, 6 for first down to 1 for sixth. The change of points sees the focus shift from overall consistency in the weekend, towards getting a strong result in the final.
| Qualifying | Semi-Final | Final | |
| 1st | 8 | 6 | 12 |
| 2nd | 7 | 5 | 10 |
| 3rd | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| 4th | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 5th | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 6th | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 7th | 2 | 5 | |
| 8th | 1 | 4 |
Another key change has come about after a number of drivers fell foul of the old rule last season, most notably at Knockhill. Drivers only need to finish 1 qualifying session to be classified. Previously they needed to finish 2 heats. In 2021 Roberts Vitols could only finish 1 session at round 5 costing him 18 points that weekend and all but ruining his championship chances. This season those points would stand after this rule was trialled at the season finale in November.
With the joint longest ever calendar at 11 rounds for Supercars set to take place, drop scores now return. Driver’s across all classes will drop their single worst result. However, they must have started the event meaning drivers cannot skip a weekend in order to drop that result. Being disqualified in any session at a round also prevents that event from being used as a dropped score.
Applying the rule changes to last season sees a couple of differences at the top of the standings. Derek Tohill would still have been champion by an increased margin. Meanwhile Ollie O’Donovan and Vitols would have switched places with the young Latvian in second. The All4 Mini and Retro classes would have seen different champions, instead crowning David Bell and Tony Lynch.
Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
While all these changes are simple tweaks to some wording, a substantial amount of space has been given to issuing penalties. It comes after 2 different incidents were taken to the Motorsport UK National Court where the judges agreed the stewards had incorrectly followed procedure. Now the rulebook much more clearly defines all common incidents and the appropriate penalties. With a new race director, Slaven Dedic, this should give much more consistent and fairer outcomes from incidents.
There is also the addition of championship points being lost for consistently poor driving. Should a driver receive penalty points on their license 3 or more times they will lose championship points. Last season each penalty point cost a driver 5 times that amount in championship points. However, this was challenged and overturned in a Motorsport UK national court case. That rule had been used in the Junior class for a number of years without appeal including last season. The Junior class also reverts to the new rule.
These changes are more of an evolution rather than revolution. Clearer rules, more consistent stewarding and more emphasis on higher finishes in Finals are the outcome. For this writer it seems the British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy is pushing forward in the right direction. It remains to be seen if the racing can continue that trend as well.
Feature Image Credit: Overtake Motorsport
