Several changes have been made to the sporting regulations of the FIA World Touring Car Cup, with the winner of the race for which the grid is determined by the fastest qualifying times now being awarded more points.
The changes will also see the starting grid for races one and two switched, such that race one will now be based on the fastest qualifying times, whilst race two will feature the partially-reversed top ten grid.
The changes, approved on Wednesday by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, have been drafted by the FIA Touring Car Commission following a period of consultation with the competing teams.
Qualifying will remain unchanged in terms of how the grid is decided, but the points allocation for the Q1-Q2-Q3 session will be adjusted.
Points in qualifying will now be awarded to the fastest five drivers, irrespective of whether they post that time in Q1, Q2 or Q3, on the scale of 10-8-6-4-2.
The qualifying points change is designed to encourage drivers to push in all parts of the session and reduce the significance of aiming for tenth in Q2, which comes with pole position for the partially-reversed grid race.
With race one now awarding more points, the system is more akin to that used in the former World Touring Car Championship. The race will also be longer, running for 30 minutes plus one lap (or 35 minutes plus one lap on street circuits if a safety car is deployed), awarding points to the top 15 drivers on the scale of 30-23-19-16-14-12-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
The length of race two will be 25 minutes plus one lap (or 30 minutes plus one lap on street circuits if there is a safety car), with points awarded on the scale of 25-20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Elsewhere, the time for refuelling, repairs and set-up changes between races has been extended to a minimum of 60 minutes, up from the previous 20.
This is intended to give teams more opportunity to repair damage obtained in race one in a less intense manner, or to make setup enhancements, whilst also thus encouraging drivers to push more in race one, knowing their car has a greater chance of being repaired for race two.
The compensation weight system has been simplified for 2022. At the first event, all cars will carry 0 kg of compensation weight.
For the second event, compensation weight for each model will be based on the best qualifying time set at the previous event.
From the third event onwards, the compensation weight will be based on the best qualifying time set during either of the previous two events, instead of an average of the best two laps out of three events, as was the case in 2021.
Maximum compensation weight has also been reduced from 60 to 40 kg.
The changes will allow the weight to be updated quicker and be more responsive to circumstances.
Full-season entries for the 2022 FIA World Touring Car Cup open on 31 January and close on 16 March. Wildcard race-by-race entries close two weeks prior to the event.