Manufacturers' championship: Changes in nomination system?

[SJ Spode]

It is being reported on www.wrc.com that there are differences in opinion between the teams on the system for nominating cars to score points in the manufacturers' championship.

Currently teams pick three cars at the start of each event, and the top two collect makes' points. The changes proposed by some teams seem to mean that three cars/crews are selected for the whole year.

This would seem to go against the idea of using surface specialists for particular rounds, so it's no surprise that Peugeot are not backing the move.

So should the Championship be competed by the same drivers all year, or are specialist drivers a better idea?

[racer69]

i reckon the specialists should continue to be allowed to be nominated, actually i reckon it should have stayed how it did in 2000, manufacturers should be able to choose whoever they want for each event

[imull]

i disagree. Teams like skoda cannot be seriously expected to challenge teams lke Pug if Pugueot contniue to carry an army of specialists.

I see nothing wrong with having specialists but manufacturers should nominate driver for the season and then if they wish to run a specialist do it but not able to score manufacturers points...

[Speedworx]

They should have the same drivers all year round. Specialist drivers got on my wick and ruin the championship hunt.

[bulldogspirit]

Although I believe teams should nominate their 3 drivers at the start of the year for the whole season, it could also have a detriment to the championship. Say that this season Peugeot had to pick only 3 drivers for the season, would they choose Panizzi as a guarantee of big points on the tarmac, or Rovanpera for consistency thru the season? Either way one top quality driver is going to be left with inferior equipment for the season, which is not good for the championship as a whole.

Anyway, isn't the Manufacturer's Championship just, as it says, about the cars, and not anything to do with who is driving them. Thus limiting a manufacturer to a limited set of drivers would go against the idea of the championship. Were it a 'Team' championship then it would be different, but as it stands I think last years system should return, so as not to disadvantage teams who cannot afford to enter 3 cars all the time.