There isn't a way to negate the damage of a missed round between first and second place within a points system without greater side affects. I submit this for scrutiny.

Unless every step down in points is equal to the fractional equivalent of the missed round against the total number of rounds, the point gap is too great to overcome. This means for our 7 race season it at least 1/7th less points for second place need to be awarded so that 6 "wins" beats 7 "seconds". This 1/7 fraction translates to 17.25% more points for each finishing position ahead of the previous finisher with rounding and the need to have at least one point difference between each finishing position. (YES, I'm trying to confuse everyone.) Applying this formula to our current system, these are the minimum values needed for awarding 30 finishing position with points.



The problem with having large point differences between positions is that it stratifies the championship results. Meaning there is little movement in the championship from position to position as the season progresses without a catastrophic event (like missing a round). However, the point values can be significantly reduced, and the gaps between them, if the number of positions that receive points is lowered. If we awarded points back to 15th place the scheme would look like this:



This would more than satisfy the number of riders who compete for a championship in ANY class in the MRA. In most class championships there are riders in the top ten of every year who have missed at least one round during the season. In the Race of the Rockies, a rider finishing in last place in every race would have finish between 11th and 13th place in any ROR championship since 2003. However, the major issue with altering the points in this manner is it encourages the membership to skip a round, thereby lowering club revenues. Additionally, if the championships do become stratisfied even more will become discouraged without the opportunity to move up in the points late in the season.

If there is a need to sort those in a championship without any season points, it could be done by lowest average finish if needed. (sum of the finishing positions / number of rounds competed) Of course leaving a larger portion of racers without points might encourage them to sign up earlier for a better grid position.

Hope this helps,