Solberg: Make running order random

For the first day of a WRC round, the drivers run in championship order and then competitive order for the following two days. The drivers are eager for the system to be changed on gravel events, where the car first on the road is forced to sweep the road clean of the loose stones. This means the surface gradually improves, leaving the fifth or sixth-placed crew with the best conditions.

Solberg added that another by-product of the current system is the inevitable tactical approach from drivers at the end of the day as they try and find the best place for the following leg. This leads to the drivers slowing down on stages, as happened in Jordan last week.

"It's just boring now," said Solberg. "This is not why we come to rallies. I want to drive flat out from the start, I don't want to be thinking about slowing down, this is a competition, we're supposed to drive as fast as we can.

"For me, the way to fix this is by taking numbers out of the hat. We have 15 numbers in the hat and the top 15 drivers take their turns to pick one. This has to be the fairest way, doesn't it? I mean, sometimes, you will be unlucky and get number one, but that's not going to happen all of the time.

"I think the drivers are all thinking like this. We should do this the night before every day of competition, that way, we will all be driving flat-out and nobody can complain. We don't need to reverse the top 15, just take the numbers - that way we will stop these stupid games and get back to the sport. And let's make the decision quickly."

There had been speculation that a change of regulation would go through before the next WRC round in Sardinia, but it is now thought unlikely that agreement will be reached between the teams in time for the Italian island event early next month.