Santa Pod 15th January
Discussion
If you do go I hope the track is kind to you. However I am particularly interested in what sort of timing slips the Pod are giving out this year. At the end of last year they started giving out only one timing slip which listed all runs of the day. Not an excellent idea in my opinion and I really hope they have gone back to the tried and tested one ticket per one run.
James
James
jaitchy said:
If you do go I hope the track is kind to you. However I am particularly interested in what sort of timing slips the Pod are giving out this year. At the end of last year they started giving out only one timing slip which listed all runs of the day. Not an excellent idea in my opinion and I really hope they have gone back to the tried and tested one ticket per one run.
James
they did exactly that... one ticket. Not good as you don't know where you are going wrong until you're done.James
The track was okay, managed a 13.9 @ 103, not bad with a 2.7 60ft. Need to work on tyre setup really and I can definitely see a low 13.
Pod still baffles me how lax the setup is, no scrutineering, no helmets. York is a much better setup for RWYB and the track is on par if not better.
LiamM45 said:
they did exactly that... one ticket. Not good as you don't know where you are going wrong until you're done.
I thought I should respond to this as it was me who put that system in place. It was put in for a few reasons. Firstly with in excess of 500 runs per day (1000 individual tickets) at most RWYB events it's very easy to lose a few tickets as I know from experience. Secondly there's a lot of people who don't collect timing tickets so at the end of each day a lot of (quite expensive) paper was being wasted. Lastly the type of printers which we had to use are quite old technology and temperamental.The feedback that the girls in the office have had has been positive but you do raise a very good point and your feedback is much appreciated. If you ask for a print of an individual run to check how you did there shouldn't be a problem or alternatively they can tell you what you need to know. Obviously with any new system there's going to be teething problems and improvements that can be made and there's some other ideas which are being investigated as we speak.
A few snaps -
023 by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fast_n_bulbous/sets/7...
023 by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fast_n_bulbous/sets/7...
hairyjester said:
I thought I should respond to this as it was me who put that system in place. It was put in for a few reasons. Firstly with in excess of 500 runs per day (1000 individual tickets) at most RWYB events it's very easy to lose a few tickets as I know from experience. Secondly there's a lot of people who don't collect timing tickets so at the end of each day a lot of (quite expensive) paper was being wasted. Lastly the type of printers which we had to use are quite old technology and temperamental.
The feedback that the girls in the office have had has been positive but you do raise a very good point and your feedback is much appreciated. If you ask for a print of an individual run to check how you did there shouldn't be a problem or alternatively they can tell you what you need to know. Obviously with any new system there's going to be teething problems and improvements that can be made and there's some other ideas which are being investigated as we speak.
Fair point, guessed straight away it was costs/saving paper, understandable to be fair. I obviously wasn't going to argue the point with the girls in the office (they do a great job!).The feedback that the girls in the office have had has been positive but you do raise a very good point and your feedback is much appreciated. If you ask for a print of an individual run to check how you did there shouldn't be a problem or alternatively they can tell you what you need to know. Obviously with any new system there's going to be teething problems and improvements that can be made and there's some other ideas which are being investigated as we speak.
Maybe give people the option, say pay an extra quid or two to get indvidual slips? Then your costs are at least going to be covered in the long run. RWYB at Pod is cheap in comparisom to other tracks so I don't see why people wouldn't be funny about paying.
Thanks for putting the day on yesterday anyway. Was a risk coming doing the 500 mile round trip but great fun nontheless.
,
The one ticket system obviously works to save you money on paper and all the hassle involved with sorting them and handing them out. As a regular user of Santa Pod it does not work for me in terms of the lost feedback that I get from each ticket. I like to see how my 60fts are improving (or not) and how increasing boost is working, gear shift points, etc.
My last time there I did get some limited verbal info from the office on my run. But this was not ideal as a 1.9 second 60ft is not the same as a 1.99 second 60ft - so I thought I was doing reasonably when in fact I was rubbish. The point I am making is that I think you have underestimated the importance of individual run information as a tuning tool. It is also nice to see how the car next to you did.
The new system is clearly driven financially, which is understandable, but any business has to give its customers what they want. I do not think that paying for individual run tickets is in anyway viable - you mentioned the technology was an issue anyway.
In an ideal world, for me, every run you do you would get handed the ticket as you come off the track.
What about some sort of display screen or multi summary results sheets that runners can look at?
Anyhow I wish you the best (I love Santa Pod) and look forward to your continued improvements.
Regards
James
My last time there I did get some limited verbal info from the office on my run. But this was not ideal as a 1.9 second 60ft is not the same as a 1.99 second 60ft - so I thought I was doing reasonably when in fact I was rubbish. The point I am making is that I think you have underestimated the importance of individual run information as a tuning tool. It is also nice to see how the car next to you did.
The new system is clearly driven financially, which is understandable, but any business has to give its customers what they want. I do not think that paying for individual run tickets is in anyway viable - you mentioned the technology was an issue anyway.
In an ideal world, for me, every run you do you would get handed the ticket as you come off the track.
What about some sort of display screen or multi summary results sheets that runners can look at?
Anyhow I wish you the best (I love Santa Pod) and look forward to your continued improvements.
Regards
James
What about an SMS based system, where timing tickets are sent by text after each run? We use similar systems in education for sending group e mails to learners direct from database systems.
RWYBers could benefit from this, as well as the racers at permit and FIA events as well. For the FIA events I imagine lots of spectators (anoraks) would pay a fiver or so per event to receive all the incrementals a few seconds after the racers have crossed the finish line (I know I would). This money would offset the initial outlay and go on to provide a world-wide revenue stream.
If someone was really clever, they could even write an 'App'...
RWYBers could benefit from this, as well as the racers at permit and FIA events as well. For the FIA events I imagine lots of spectators (anoraks) would pay a fiver or so per event to receive all the incrementals a few seconds after the racers have crossed the finish line (I know I would). This money would offset the initial outlay and go on to provide a world-wide revenue stream.
If someone was really clever, they could even write an 'App'...
burns_2k said:
It would be easy to make a simple website that listed times with a user entered filter for car numbers. Then put a wireless access point in the hut for people to access the website. The majority of people must have smartphones with WiFi nowdays?
The website bit is easy, the integration into an existing database, however, is somewhat tricky..The primary reason for introducing the new system was more a matter of making everyone's life easier. The old method involved an automatic print of timing tickets after each run which meant the signing on office had hundreds of tickets to deal with, some would go missing which meant a headache for signing-on, racers and us upstairs when we have to reprint tickets. Also, some people have no idea how many runs they'd done so we didn't even know how many tickets we were looking for. The computerised system eliminated all of those problems. We're still using the old method at championship events, with the frequency of runs and the fact most competitors pick up their tickets when they pass scrutineering automatic print-outs are the best way of doing it.
In regards to finding out detailed incremental and finish times, all the information is on the screen and the girls in signing-on won't have a problem giving you all the decimal places. You're right about the end-of-day summary sheets not listing what your opponent did and that's something which is being worked on.
Perhaps a terminal in signing on where you can type in your race number and see all your individual runs through the day would be of some help? I've seen similar systems used in sprint and hill-climb events I've officiated at and they seemed to be quite effective.
As I said there are a few ideas which are being developed right now which will make timing data more accessible but until they're finalised and operational I can't really comment on them.
We do have software which links our timing system to a database which gives us near infinite possibilities in terms of handling timing data.
In regards to finding out detailed incremental and finish times, all the information is on the screen and the girls in signing-on won't have a problem giving you all the decimal places. You're right about the end-of-day summary sheets not listing what your opponent did and that's something which is being worked on.
Perhaps a terminal in signing on where you can type in your race number and see all your individual runs through the day would be of some help? I've seen similar systems used in sprint and hill-climb events I've officiated at and they seemed to be quite effective.
As I said there are a few ideas which are being developed right now which will make timing data more accessible but until they're finalised and operational I can't really comment on them.
We do have software which links our timing system to a database which gives us near infinite possibilities in terms of handling timing data.
The RWYB season is upon us so whatever ideas you guys have it might be a good idea to share as soon as you can. At the moment going back to Santa Pod is not high on my list - what with the the ticket thing, the headwind and the uphill struggle. For some unknown reason I keep looking at Shakespeare's and York's calendar for their next event.
James
James
On the time-slips: Time-Tree, the Swedish company that delivered the timing gear for both Mantorp and Tierp Arena, has a good solution to that. Included in the system is a self-service "kiosk" for collecting your time slips. Industrial quality touch sceen where you punch in your numbers and get your slips. You get a choice of which of the days runs you want printed etc. Real nice work, only the slips that the drivers/teams want are printed. Has worked out well and as I understand it, teams like the setup.
Regards
PiPPi
http://HarleyDrags.com
Regards
PiPPi
http://HarleyDrags.com
hairyjester said:
I thought I should respond to this as it was me who put that system in place. It was put in for a few reasons. Firstly with in excess of 500 runs per day (1000 individual tickets) at most RWYB events it's very easy to lose a few tickets as I know from experience. Secondly there's a lot of people who don't collect timing tickets so at the end of each day a lot of (quite expensive) paper was being wasted. Lastly the type of printers which we had to use are quite old technology and temperamental.
The feedback that the girls in the office have had has been positive but you do raise a very good point and your feedback is much appreciated. If you ask for a print of an individual run to check how you did there shouldn't be a problem or alternatively they can tell you what you need to know. Obviously with any new system there's going to be teething problems and improvements that can be made and there's some other ideas which are being investigated as we speak.
1st sorry not been on here for a while but just heard about the 1 ticket system and blew a gasket.The feedback that the girls in the office have had has been positive but you do raise a very good point and your feedback is much appreciated. If you ask for a print of an individual run to check how you did there shouldn't be a problem or alternatively they can tell you what you need to know. Obviously with any new system there's going to be teething problems and improvements that can be made and there's some other ideas which are being investigated as we speak.
Feel better reaing this quote, please confirm i can get a printed ticket with the same data as the old one?
ie; 60ft to at least .00 decimal points, 330, 660 etc?
I only 'crewed' for some friends last year as upgunning the car so last thing I want to hear is all my data will be edited/shortened on a roll of paper. I totally understand the waste of paper etc; but as you obviously understand a lot of us spend all our spare time/cash to gain a few 10ths, let alone chassis tuning in the 60 and NEED this info. can I get a printed old style slip after each pass, again as know needed for chassis,tune,nitrous input.
Sorry as i said just got wind of this so rather concerned RWYB'er.
Please put my worries to sleep.
You can still get individual timing tickets, the only difference is they're printed on demand as opposed to automatically. However, you have got the option of an individual ticket after a run or all your runs listed on one sheet which you collect when you've finished racing, whatever suits what you're doing best. If you let the girls in the office know you want a specific individual run then they can print that off there and then.
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