Split times into cars will be banned from WRC special stages in 2015 to spice up competition.

Photo:D.Darrall

The FIA World Motor Sport Council voted to ban splits into cars, and if the rules are broken then big penalties could be applied, such as exclusion from the championship to deter manufactures from attempting to ‘cheat’. The ban on splits, which has been previously discussed in season gone by, is to prevent teams from controlling their drivers and gaps between rivals so as to create more unpredictability on WRC rounds.

Drivers also can’t be informed during a live stage if a rival has retired or lost time, unless it is a safety issue, e.g Blocking the stage, or any other matters related to safety.

But don’t worry, as split times will still remain available to fans and the teams back at base in order to follow the action as it unfolds as normal.

Volkswagen team principal Jost Capito told AUTOSPORT: “It’s the same for everybody, so OK. But you cannot stop this.

“It’s impossible to police – what if somebody from our team shows a split time to [rival driver] Thierry Neuville? Is Neuville then out?

“It’s uncontrollable and therefore we think it’s stupid.”

Mahonen said a draconian punishment would be enough.

“Of course we cannot police this 100 per cent, but the consequence will be a big enough deterrent,” he said.

“If you get caught, you can be excluded from the championship. The manufacturers will not take the risk.”

The WMSC also confirmed that any car which does not leave a stage start within 20secs will be considered as retired from the leg, while only the highest-placed car in a team can score points in the WRC 2 and WRC 3 categories.