From 2015, full points in handicap races

12. September 2014The day before the inaugural race of the FIA’s Formula E Championship in Beijing, the World Motor Sport Council announced a number of decisions for the 2015 season. First and foremost, it signed off on the Formula 1 calendar, thereby also affirming the European Truck Racing Championship fixtures at the relevant circuits.
The F1 race will take place on 21 June in Spielberg, on 19 July at the Nürburgring, and on 26 July on the Hungaroring.
To date there’s been vigorous, and almost unanimous, disagreement with the FIA-suggested dates for the truck races in Austria and at the Ring — the rounds at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro, the Nürburgring, and the Red Bull Ring are scheduled to be held over three consecutive weekends just so that they don’t clash with the Formula 1 calendar.
Now Bernie Ecclestone & Co have selected for themselves the very weekend in mid-July on which the Truck Grand Prix has been held at the Nürburgring for close on 30 years now. However, this isn’t – as some media are suggesting – F1’s revenge on the truck racers for its own poor showing earlier this year (the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim attracted only 95,000 spectators compared to 170,000 at the TGP on the Nürburgring). The fact is, the ETRC dates were in discussion far earlier than that.
Again, a buffer was needed because at the time it was far from clear which dates F1 would demand.
The clear preference of the ETRC contingent is Spielberg on 3–5 July and the TGP on 24–26 July, and there’s definitely no arguing against those dates. But while the calendar for next year continues to be negotiated, the FIA has taken another important decision concerning the ETRC.
For years the Truck Race Organisation TRO – and we ourselves – have thought about and spoken for awarding as many points in the day’s second race as in the first. In fact, since 2008, when the qualifying race was converted into a championship race, we’ve maintained our own corresponding points list.
None of the decisionmakers seemed to show any interest — till now. This week the WMSC surprisingly announced:
“As of 1 January 2015, in each race, points for all titles will now be awarded to each driver and team at each Competition according to the following scale: 1st: 20 points, 2nd: 15 points, 3rd: 12 points, 4th: 10 points, 5th: 8 points, 6th: 6 points, 7th: 4 points, 8th: 3 points, 9th: 2 points, 10th: 1 point.”
Had this been the case in 2008, for example, the champion would not have been Czech David Vršecký (with a 21-points lead) but his Swiss teammate Markus Bösiger (by six points). The following years it would have made no difference to who the champion was, but some drivers would have had to swap places down the rankings.
Another decision concerned the weights of the race trucks.
“As of 1 January 2015, the minimum allowed weight for Race Trucks is defined as follows: 5400 kg (down from 5500 kg), of which 3200 kg (down from 3300 kg) measured at the front wheels.”
This meets the demand of (some of) the teams that the weight bias on the steer axle be relaxed some.

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