When the World Rally Championship came to Latvia last weekend, there were probably only two words spoken more than "Martins" and "Sesks," and those were "road position."
Leading the championship, Thierry Neuville sparked a new discussion over how the WRC chooses the rallying order. Road location will always cause someone to be at a disadvantage in rallying by its very nature.
Being first through the stages at gravel rallies is expensive on the timing screens unless the weather holds out, while in asphalt races, being first through the road is usually considered as a benefit because the roads get dirtier and slower with each run as gravel is pulled out of cuts.
In order to level the playing field and foster a tighter championship struggle, the current regulations compel the championship leader to open the roads on the first day of competition. This is done to prevent the leader from taking advantage of a favorable road location and to level the playing field. Using the finishing positions from the previous day, the road order is then reversed for the second leg.
Road order resentment has surfaced in Latvia, spearheaded by Neuville, who believes that the laws need to be changed.
"Why I should have the pain in the ass all weekend, all year long," Neuville said. "We performed admirably at the start of the year, and now there is absolutely no compensation.
"We might have the title winner at the end of the year, Ott, Elfyn, or myself, winning maybe one rally. There was a tarmac rally in the midst of the gravel rallies when Sebastien Ogier was opening the route; now that we have seven consecutive gravel rallies, what can you do?
"Even with a 40-point lead, there's no way to keep those points, so we have to fight."
Due to the fact that just three of the fifteen stages from Friday and Saturday were rerun, Latvia created an ideal storm for this eruption, worsening the impact of road cleaning. In order to minimize the harm caused by road cleaning, the majority of WRC events use loops with three or four stages that are repeated.
Four of the ten cars in the Rally1 field were part-time drivers, which meant that because of their standing in the championship, they had preferential road positions over the full-time drivers, exacerbating the road cleaning phenomena even more.
This is not the first time this argument has come up; during his period of supremacy, eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier spent years trying to amend the regulations but ultimately lost. Does this mean it's time to reconsider how the road order is established?
In Latvia, the idea of bringing back the qualifying round was highly debated. There is a qualifying round for the European Rally Championship, which is managed by the WRC Promoter. The fastest 15 drivers from the Qualifying Stage choose their starting spots for Leg 1 of the competition last year, with the quickest qualifier choosing first and the other 15 drivers following suit.
The starting order for asphalt rallies and the order for gravel rallies is now determined by the quickest drivers from the stage, according to modified rules this year.
A similar method was used in the WRC from 2012 to 2013, until Ogier's domination led to its removal.
However, opinions within the teams differ on whether WRC ought to take a closer look at changing the regulations.
Hyundai: More Incentives Should Be Given To Full-time Drivers
Hyundai has backed Neuville, the team's top driver, but team principal Cyril Abiteboul claims there's more to the issue than simply figuring out how to give the championship leader a higher road position.
The former head of Renault Formula 1 argues that the road order conundrum has been made worse by the rise of part-time drivers; in some events, Toyota now has two multiple world champions. Additionally, the new points system has reduced the value of an overall win.
"I believe we are in a perfect storm right now because of a scenario with part-time drivers that is beyond of our control and is under the control of Toyota, our primary rival. While it's undoubtedly an advantage for the manufacturer's championship, it's a disadvantage for the drivers' title, according to Abiteboul.
"We have a policy that doesn't truly need the nomination of permanent drivers, so changing a few words in the laws might easily address that as the first issue.
Additionally, we have a calendar scenario with a series of gritted events. In the end, it's possible that we should also investigate a qualifying stage, but we shouldn't do it separately. If we take any action, it must be linked to the point system. It's a whole package; I believe that we occasionally need to mature in our maturity and capacity to handle complicated circumstances in racing, perhaps even more so in rallying.
"I think that this year's system is very frustrating really dedicated drivers like Ott and Thierry, and I believe that we want to reward a little bit more for the risk-taking and dedication as well as for winning.
"Why is there not a serious struggle in Latvia? The reason for this is because a person who does not open the route cannot truly win, nor can they genuinely be rewarded for their efforts, risk-taking, or little mistakes. It appears like there haven't been many errors made this weekend, and I believe it's because of the circumstances, which is ultimately bad for the fan."
Toyota: Young Drivers' Growth Is Hampered By Qualifying
Jari-Matti Latvala, the principal of the Toyota team, is adamantly opposed to qualifying being reinstated for the straightforward reason that it can impede the growth of new talent, particularly in situations where testing is severely curtailed.
He believes qualifying would place too much pressure on new drivers seeking to improve and get into the top class, even if he can understand why the best drivers are annoyed by the requirement to open the road given their success in prior races.
It's not beneficial for aspiring drivers. Top drivers, I know them, detest starting from the front," Latvala remarked.
"Testing is so limited these days that it is hard for you to demonstrate your capabilities.
"Someone has had to suffer in the World Rally Championship, and that someone is usually the quickest driver who has to pay a little fine for a single day. That is how things have always been." You may also read this: Best Rally Cars In Lancia
M-sport-ford: Sesks Tale May Have Been Stolen From The Wrc By Qualifying
While Richard Millener, the team principal of the Ford squad, agrees with Latvala that there is no need to modify the present route order system, M-Sport maintains that the WRC must never forget that it is an entertainment company.
Millener believes that Martins Sesk's remarkable battle for a podium in just his second Rally1 start would have been prevented from happening in the WRC if there had been qualification in Latvia. Granted, given his speed, Sesks probably would have won a top road position even if qualifying had been in place.
"We ought to hold onto all we now own. There is a 90% possibility that the entire Sesks tale would not have occurred if qualifying had been used or the road order had been switched around, according to Millener.
"Yes, I understand." Thierry is still in the lead in the championship despite having a difficult weekend. As Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rodanpera both stated, winning a title is no small feat. Everyone has experienced that.
"We need to put aside the teams' desires; their only goal is to win. The fight is close, and the supporters adore what we have. Since we are an entertainment company and are hosting a spectacular tournament, some individuals will benefit while others will not."
