It took almost three (!) Hours after finishing before Timmy Hansen was finally able to celebrate his first World Cup title.
Andreas Bakkerud's team filed a protest for an incident in the final where they felt Hansen drove him off the track. The jury turned in and out of the protest and a counter-protest rolled in from the Hansen camp.
When everyone involved had their say and the jury, a collection of serious men with white shirts, arrived to leave the protest without further action, the moon was up over Cape Town. Unworthy for everyone involved. No one should have to wait forever for a result.
That's NOT what the rally cross needs right now.
Imagine a football match where the result is presented three hours after the final signal. No, of course it is impossible. But the rally cross lacks muscle. Obviously, there is no finances for a number of video judges at each contest. These could quickly determine situations when they have just occurred.
We are many who have been waiting for late jury decisions in Höljes, Barcelona and now Cape Town. What could have been an epic end with the most dramatic finale in a long time now became something completely different.
The rally cross has a lot to think about in the future. Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of electric cars. Finding the sport's soul in a mix of permanent courses and Formula 1 arenas should be high on the agenda.
But the first is: to quickly find a modern solution in the judge's country. So that our next world champion with 100 percent certainty can celebrate the gold when the awards are given to cheering fans.