D1NZ points for 11/12 explained..I think
People have been asking a little bit how the D1NZ points are going to work this year following the release of the points table after round 1, So I’m going to do my best to try and explain it.
Clearly this man has the most points after his win, that’s a given, but what does the new system mean for the title race?
Well what it looks like to me, is for the coming season there is less of a focus and benefit in qualifying highly (save for the general belief that you would battle a weaker opponent being in theory #32 qualifier etc) and more of a focus/benefit in overall battle results. In prior years, there was up to 60 points on offer for qualifying first, where as now it’s only 12.
What I think is also interesting is that where in prior years,with a top 16 qualifying format you would have had at least 1 or 2 ‘top’ rated drivers on the trailer early for mechanical reasons or freak spins, the expanded format gives them a second life if you will.
With an expanded 32 format, the depth of our fields will naturally improve as we see more guys getting time in the battle rounds, where as those on the cusp 17-25th etc in prior years never really got competition battle time.
What does also happen tho as an example from round 1, known solid battlers like Niko Reid can have issues and qualify outside the top 16, yet can still win their way back into the top 16, netting him more points then he would have got in the past.
In essence..the only way to do well, is to battle well, and while that’s always been a strong factor, it is even more important now given 5-8 all have the same point scores, as do 9-16 and so on. I imagine this is going to see the Fridays and practice days see more cars driving door to door to get in the right head space and improve skills.
So the table as it sits right now looks like this.
# Driver Championship Points:
1 Mike Whiddett 110
2 Andrew Redward 94
3 Daniel Woolhouse 86
4 Cole Armstrong 81
5 Darren Benjamin 64
5 Steve Sole 64
7 Brad Lauder 63
7 Mac Kwok 63
9 Curt Whittaker 58
9 Bruce Tannock 58
11 Gaz Whiter 56
12 Dimitri Amos 55
12 Mark Burling 55
12 Robbie Nelson 55
15 Nico Reid 54.5
15 Sky Zhao 54.5
17 Jock Bennett 26
18 Dave Steedman 25
19 Jason Sellers 24.5
19 Carlos Walters 24.5
19 Chris Trundle 24.5
19 Daynom Templeman 24.5
19 Drew Donovan 24.5
19 Shane Rutland 24.5
25 Matt Jackson 24.25
25 Will Cook 24.25
25 Hugo Maclean 24.25
For purposes of comparison if we were on last years system, this is what the table would look like if I remember the points structure correctly.
Mike Whiddett 350,
Cole Armstrong 310,
Dan Woolhouse 305,
Andrew Redward 305,
Quite interesting isn’t it, as you can see how the bigger scores in past could change things quite fast, where as the new system requires you to be on your game almost from Day 1.
An Evolution of the title race, what a fantastic thing for the sport 
As usual, this is only my opinion and others will feel differently.
Here’s the D1 Pro-Am Championship points
# Driver Championship Points:
1 Russell Sifleet 104 (shown below)
2 Shane Allen 92
3 Richard Tucker 81
3 William Foster 81
5 Shayne Giles 69
6 Raymond Robertson 64
7 Vincent Hopkins 63
8 Ricky Lee 62
8 Justin Hambley 62
10 Ryan Johnson 60
11 Eddie Hayman 57
12 Vincent Longhorn 56
12 Shane Poulton 56
12 Joe Kyle 56
15 Chris McPherson 55
15 Chris Howard 55
See ya’ll at round 2 Pukekohe …the fastest drift corner in the world!!!
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