As I see it, the rule isn't about points anyway; it's about getting people to commit to the whole series because we would rather have full grids all year round than just in the sunny months.

Does this rule stop people from joining DD half way through? It's difficult to accurately tell the impact because we would never know, but it's certainly not stopped people from joining the latter races of the season and going on to continue from the start of the next season, so it certainly doesn't stop everyone from joining.

Maybe it's a rule that is being over analysed?

Anyone that is really serious about the championship will race from start to end. Generally I would expect a few people to dip their toe into the serioes at the end of the season, and they are probably not interested in the points.

If there is a good reason to stop giving points to new people at the end of the series I dont see the downside, I just accept a more experienced point of view. I dont doubt that people having come up with all sorts of cunning plans to get extra points and win!

Mark