WRC starting order row

[Mark F1]

Ford's Carlos Sainz is the latest driver to criticise the starting order system used on the opening days of WRC events.

Sainz said "Whoever is the leader of the championship is penalised. This is only happening in this sport just because maybe somebody wants the championship to be close at the end of the year"

"I don't think it is fair to the leader of the championship. It is not a good system at all. It should be possible to find a better system which is more fair to everybody. Look at Tommi here [in Sweden] - starting first on the road, you know you are not going to win this rally and I think that is very hard to accept"


With this in mind instead of the top drivers picking their starting position, as used in Australia, why don't they get the JWRC or Group N cars to start before the WRC cars. I know that this is unfair to which ever class is running along side the WRC cars (Because in 2002 JWRC & Group N don't run on the same rally together), but WRC is the main class and by the time 30 JWRC or Group N cars have been through a stage, In theory the first of the WRC cars to go through shouldn't be at such a disadvantage as they were before.

Is this a good idea or not?

[DAVID PATERSON]

What's wrong with the system used in Rally Australia?

[gomick]

it would be good for f1 if schumi started last and a minardi was on the pole.....

[SJ Spode]

Road position is always going to be a contentious issue in rallying, as in some cases a high starting position will be good (ie; if the stage is likely to rut or cut up), whereas in others where snow/ gravel etc needs to be swept away it's the lower the better.

My solution would be to use the Australian nomination idea for Leg One of a rally, then use the current reversed top 15 for Legs two & three. Saying that, the nominations should be made behind closed doors, rather than the staged farce we saw last year in Oz.

As for running some cars before the top WRC competitors, it could work where the road is better swept, but if they churned up the road for the works cars following you can bet there'd be moans then.

A reverse grid would work well in F1, and you can bet Ferrari would get the technical regs changed to allow more overtaking if Michael was trying to get to the front.