FIA World Rallycross Championship burst onto the rallycross scene back in May 2014. Its first inaugural event was held in Portugal with Petter Solberg earning the first win of the new series. FIA World Rallycross Championship is one out of only five world championships. Other world championship series include World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance Championship (WEC), World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), and Formula One.
World RX Basics
Heat 1:
Starting positions in the races will be determined by a draw that will be carried out beforehand.
Heat 2:
Race starters determined according to classification of heat 1. This follows the same format until heat 4. All qualifying heats will be timed and the fastest driver in each heat will be rewarded 50 points, second: 45, third: 42, fourth: 40, fifth, 39, sixth 38 and so on. After the qualifying heats, there will be an intermediate classification according to each driver’s total points scored in the four heats.
Semi-finals:
There will be six starters arranged on a two-by-two grid and each semi-final will be run over six laps. The top 12 scoring drivers in the intermediate classification will qualify for the semi-finals. The winner, second and third placed drivers in each semi-final will qualify for the final.
Finals:
Finals will also have six starters, arranged over three rows and will be run over six laps. The semi-final winner with the highest number of points in the event will start on the ‘pole’ side of the grid, followed by the other semi-final winner. The same procedure will be used between the two second-placed drivers and two third-placed drivers. The winner of the final will be the winner of the event. Positions one to six in the final classification will be according to the result of the final. The remaining drivers will be classified according to points scored in the event.
SCORING:
Drivers score Championship points at three stages of the event. The top 16 drivers after the four qualifying heats (Intermediate Classification) score points starting from 16 for the best placed, down to one point for 16th place. The top 12 progress to two six car semi-finals in which points from six for the winner to one for sixth place are awarded. The top three from each semi-final then enter the final. Scoring for the finals are as follows:
1st: 8 points
2nd: 5 points
3rd: 4 points
4th: 3 points
5th: 2 points
6th: 1 point
Maximum score in an event is 30 points (16+6+8). All points scored in all 12 rounds count. The team’s Championship will include all points scored by the two team drivers at all events. At least one driver in a team must start in all 12 events. The second car can be driven by different drivers and will score points for the team no matter who is driving.
Information source: FIA World Rallycross Championship