| Calendar |
| Number of rounds increased to 14 | China is added as an 14th round of the WRC despite strong resistance from teams. Rest of the rounds remain the same. |
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| Non-event activity |
| WRC Team requirement | WRC Team can now contest any number of events, there is no longer a minimum of seven nominated rallies for them. |
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| Sporting |
| Championship points | Should one of the rallies be unable to run in its entirety, Championship points will be awarded in accordance with the percentage of the scheduled length of special stages run as follows:
-full points if more than 50%
-half points if between 25-50%
-no points if less than 25%.
Note: This rule was repealed in 2009 and is now reinstated. |
| Power stage length | There is no longer a requirement for the Power Stage to be between 10 and 15 kilometres in length. |
| Start order | P1 priority crews that have retired and re-start under Rally 2 regulations will no longer run ahead of regular crews, instead they will start at the back of the P1 group. This means that for the first two days the championship leader will always be first on the road. |
