FIA introduces new WRC points allocation

Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has modified the championship points system used in the World Rally Championship, so that more finishers in a rally are awarded points.

Under the new system, which will come into force this week in Sweden, points will be allocated to the top 10 finishers (rather than the previous system's eight) according to the following scale:

1st: 25 points
2nd: 18 points
3rd: 15 points
4th: 12 points
5th: 10 points
6th: 8 points
7th: 6 points
8th: 4 points
9th: 2 points
10th: 1 point

The decision to adopt the system was taken on 9 February, after the FIA put the matter to a fax vote of competitors. It was also approved by the members of the World Motor Sport Council.

Even though more points are available under the new system, with 25 awarded for first place rather than 10, it would not have altered the 2009 drivers' championship classification had it been introduced last year.

Here's how the 2009 season would have looked with the 2010 system points shown in brackets.

1. Loeb 93 (229)
2. Hirvonen 92 (220)
3. Sordo 64 (151)
4. Latvala 41 (104)
5. P Solberg 35 (86)
6. H Solberg 33 (86)
7. Wilson 28 (76)
8. Ogier 24 (61)
9. Villagra 16 (44)
10. Rautenbach 9 (36)