What's New
Upgrade Policy: | Upgrade Now |
Registered users of Versions 18 and above of this software are eligible to purchase the upgrade.
Anyone purchasing an earlier version of this software within 90 days of the newest version being released can contact us for a free upgrade.
What's New with Version 23.0:
GrandPrix Race Manager™ was originally written for use in our Awana Grand Prix races at Gateway Church of El Cajon, CA. Then it was offered as shareware for a couple of years before being rewritten as a commercial grade application and launched as Version 2.0. Each year we continue to improve the software and have used it to run our own Awana and Cub Scout races each year. Countless race coordinators have given their feedback and suggestions over the years, which has helped make GrandPrix Race Manager into a quality race management software package and an outstanding value for the price.
Version 23.0 is part of the fourth generation of this software (V1 Shareware, V2-6, V7-15, V16-?). This generation is a major overhaul of the software to accomplish two main goals. The first is to make the software as user friendly and intuitive as possible. The second is to make the software compatible with both Windows and macOS. This was a major undertaking, as the software had to be written in a different programming language, but we are proud of the results and believe that you will find the software even more useful and easier to use.
- New or Improved Features for All Users
- MacOS Support
- Added support for macOS Sonoma (14.x).
- Main Screen
- Synchronized the selected race group across all tabs (registration, schedules, racing, and standings).
- When deleting a group's records, made sure that that particular group was displayed (rosters, schedules, and results).
- Software Settings
- Added the ability to set the size of the software's toolbar icons (small, medium or large) for better viewing.
- Schedules Tab
- Once a schedule is created, user has the option to automatically create schedules for all the other race groups using those same scheduling options. Makes scheduling faster and more convenient.
- Racing Tab
- Fixed completed heat count when selecting the round level (with master scheduling enabled).
- Added Heat# to the search form, to quickly jump to a specific heat.
- Once a heat is run, in the Racing screen, the Racing tab will display that heat automatically.
- Serial Timers
- Added support for Micro Wizard's new Q model Fast Track timer. Not limited to 9.9999 seconds that other Fast Track timers were, so can be used for races needing a longer time range.
- Awards Entry
- After selecting an award type in the entry screen, the focus will then be set to the Award Name box.
- The priority will be auto set to the next available priority number for the selected Group, Subgroup and Award Type.
- General
- Increased the size of some icons for better viewing.
- Fixed issue where some screens would sometimes hide behind other screens.
- Added a warning if trying to use a Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. folder for data files, images, and reports.
- Updated the software to run on a newer version of Python.
- Updated the software to use the latest version of the user interface framework.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- MacOS Support
- New or Improved Features for Pro Users
- Data Files
- Added a new screen when creating new data files. Report Titles 1 & 2 can be conveniently set. Also, Track Record and Top Times files can be changed or new ones created, if desired.
- Software Settings
- Fixed issue with changing the default racer image.
- Advanced Software Settings
- Improved settings import process to work with settings from an older version of the software or from an alternate settings file for that version. Also an easy way to synchronize two computers to use the same settings.
- Registration
- Added a new "Admin" field to the registration process and added to the Roster List report. This field can be used for any administrative purpose, such as tracking who has paid the entry fee. Field label can be customized. Any type of text can be entered (numbers, letters, Yes/No, etc.).
- Made sure that if a racer is excluded that they have also passed inspection.
- When moving racers in bulk, the new group/subgroup will be displayed after the move.
- Schedules
- Manual Schedules - When adding a new heat, automatically sets the focus to the first lane in use. Makes for faster lane assignment.
- Awards Tab
- "Voted On" total, in the Awards Data section, will be hidden if DerbyWeb interface is disabled.
- General
- Added Software Settings option for the size of tool bar icons. User can opt for Small, Medium or Large tool bar icons. Applies to any screen with a tool bar over a data table.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- Data Files
What's New V18
What's New with Version 18.0:
GrandPrix Race Manager™ was originally written for use in our Awana Grand Prix races at Gateway Church of El Cajon, CA. Then it was offered as shareware for a couple of years before being rewritten as a commercial grade application and launched as Version 2.0. Each year we continue to improve the software and have used it to run our own Awana and Cub Scout races each year. Countless race coordinators have given their feedback and suggestions over the years, which has helped make GrandPrix Race Manager into a quality race management software package and an outstanding value for the price.
Version 18.0 is part of the fourth generation of this software (V1 Shareware, V2-6, V7-15, V16-?). This generation is a major overhaul of the software to accomplish two main goals. The first is to make the software as user friendly and intuitive as possible. The second is to make the software compatible with both Windows and macOS. This was a major undertaking, as the software had to be written in a different programming language, but we are proud of the results and believe that you will find the software even more useful and easier to use.
- New or Improved Features for All Users
- MacOS Support
- Added support for Perfect-N Type scheduling. Windows and macOS versions of GrandPrix Race Manager now support the same scheduling options.
- Added application and main menus to the macOS menu bar.
- Data File Support
- You can now directly use your DerbyDMV Version 9.0 or above data file with GrandPrix Race Manager or vice versa. No need to export your data from one app and then import into the other. Both apps can share the same data file.
- Software Settings
- Increased to 100 the maximum number of places to not allow ties in when using tiebreaker rules.
- Competition Groups
- Manually adding groups and subgroups is now faster. When you add one, the software will ask you if you want to add another. If so, form is cleared for the next entry to be made.
- Registration
- Manually adding racers is now faster. When you add a racer, the software will ask you if you want to add another. If so, form is cleared for the next entry to be made.
- Made using number series for each race group easier. When entering a new racer, the software will find the next number in that group’s series to use.
- Improved import process to make it easier to use an export from some other software. Any extra columns in that export, not needed by GrandPrix Race Manager, will be ignored.
- Added search feature to quickly find a particular racer. Enter a First Name, Last Name, Vehicle#, or Custom Field to search for.
- Improved sorting of records when selecting column title to sort by. Records will be listed more intelligently.
- Schedules
- Perfect-N scheduling will now support more runs per lane for some combinations of number of track lanes and number of racers.
- Added a nag message to view the schedule matrix report once a schedule is created.
- Improved master scheduling to rotate through the groups a bit better.
- Added search feature to the Schedules tab to quickly find a particular heat.
- Added search feature to the Manual Scheduler screen’s list of available racers. Enter a First Name, Last Name or Vehicle# to search for.
- Racing
- Added search feature to the Racing tab to quickly find a particular heat.
- When closing out of the Racing screen, the last used group’s results will be displayed on the Racing tab.
- Changed end of round and start new round messages to nags so you have the option of not getting those messages again.
- Added a nag message about pressing the Escape key to get out of the timing mode.
- Standings
- Changed the way standings are generated so there will not be any delay between heats, as long as standings are not being published to DerbyWeb.
- Added search feature to the Standings tab to find a particular racer. Enter a First Name, Last Name, Vehicle#, or Custom Field to search for.
- Added a count of racers and those excluded to the right side of the Standings tab.
- When viewing round standings on the audience display screen, each racer’s group will be displayed.
- Awards
- Manually adding awards is now faster. When you add an award, the software will ask you if you want to add another. If so, form is cleared for the next entry to be made.
- The next highest priority will be used when manually adding a new award.
- Added search feature to the Awards tab to quickly find a particular award.
- Improved sorting of records when selecting column title to sort by. Records will be listed more intelligently.
- When editing awards, Next and Back buttons are now available on the edit screen to edit multiple records quickly.
- Report Settings
- Added option to display the PDF viewer’s Print screen once a report is viewed. Some PDF viewers hide their print feature, so this makes it easier to print a report. Pro users can turn this option off. It is always on for Lite users. Note, does not work with some PDF viewers.
- Added support for more fonts when generating reports.
- Reports
- Added the data filename to the default reports filename.
- Fixed the issue with racers that have not passed inspection being displayed on vehicle stats reports.
- General
- Provides better support when using more than 2 monitors.
- Improved the visibility of column titles on audience display screens.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- MacOS Support
- New or Improved Features for Pro Users
- DerbyWeb
- When creating a new data file, the software will default to creating it in the DerbyWeb's data folder.
- Top Times
- Manually adding top times is now faster. When you add a top time, the software will ask you if you want to add another. If so, form is cleared for the next entry to be made.
- Track Records
- Manually adding track records is now faster. When you add a track record, the software will ask you if you want to add another. If so, form is cleared for the next entry to be made.
- When editing a track record, the group name is now editable.
- Standings
- Moved the turtle option to finish all heats to the Software Settings screen. A more logical place for that setting.
- Data File Merging
- Added notice if any racer’s vehicle number had to be changed when merging data files.
- Report Settings
- Added option to display the PDF viewer’s Print screen once a report is viewed. Some PDF viewers hide their print feature, so this makes it easier to print a report. Pro users can turn this option off. It is always on for Lite users. Note, does not work with some PDF viewers.
- General
- Added ability to set the minimum and maximum font sizes for audience display screens. Can help in situations where automatic fonts end up being too small or too big.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- DerbyWeb
What's New V19
What's New with Version 19.0:
GrandPrix Race Manager™ was originally written for use in our Awana Grand Prix races at Gateway Church of El Cajon, CA. Then it was offered as shareware for a couple of years before being rewritten as a commercial grade application and launched as Version 2.0. Each year we continue to improve the software and have used it to run our own Awana and Cub Scout races each year. Countless race coordinators have given their feedback and suggestions over the years, which has helped make GrandPrix Race Manager into a quality race management software package and an outstanding value for the price.
Version 19.0 is part of the fourth generation of this software (V1 Shareware, V2-6, V7-15, V16-?). This generation is a major overhaul of the software to accomplish two main goals. The first is to make the software as user friendly and intuitive as possible. The second is to make the software compatible with both Windows and macOS. This was a major undertaking, as the software had to be written in a different programming language, but we are proud of the results and believe that you will find the software even more useful and easier to use.
- New or Improved Features for All Users
- MacOS Support
- Fixed issue with the software not starting up for some users.
- Overview
- Added a button to go to the online tutorial videos.
- Hardware Settings
- With SmartLine/Champ and RaceMaster timers, a communications check failure will now just provide a warning and then the software will start listening to the port. This allows the troubleshooting "Paperclip Test" to be performed, with that brand of timer selected. The "Paperclip Test" is used to verify if that the port is working or not.
- When doing a timer test, the software will warn if any received times are above the set DNF time.
- Registration
- Improved search feature on registration to be more intuitive and flexible. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Fixed issue of search button not always being enabled when there were racers being displayed.
- Added the ability to do a delete or bulk operation with the currently selected racer, without having to first check the select box for that racer.
- Schedules
- Improved search feature on Schedules tab to be more intuitive and flexible. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Racing
- Improved search feature on Racing tab to be more intuitive and flexible. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Changed "Track Record" sound effect to be different from "End of Round" sound effect.
- If the timer has not already been initialized, the user will be directed to the Hardware Settings screen. Users should always test timer communications in the Hardware Settings screen before going to the Racing screen.
- Grand Finals
- Added support for groups that have run a differing number of rounds to be included in the Grand Finals Round. Only applies when advancing based on an equal number from each group.
- Standings
- Improved search feature on Standings tab to be more intuitive and flexible. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Awards
- Improved search feature on Awards tab to be more intuitive and flexible. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Added the ability to do a delete or bulk operation with the currently selected racer, without having to first check the select box for that racer.
- Report Settings
- Added the ability to hide vehicle number on certificates.
- Reports
- Improved the initialization time when using non-standard PDF fonts. The first time any report is run it will take some time for the software to catalog all fonts on the computer, but it will be faster when running reports thereafter.
- Added the ability to filter by group and subgroup, in addition to round, for the Individual Vehicle Stats report.
- (Windows Only) Added a custom PDF viewer to display reports, instead of depending on the user's default PDF viewer. It's easy to use and has an easy to find print functionality.
- General
- Upgraded the version of Python and the GUI framework that the software runs on.
- Added an option to disable the "Major Warning" sound effect.
- Added the ability to press F1 on the main screen and it will open the applicable help file section for the tab being viewed.
- Fixed issue of Recent Files list was showing files that no longer existed or were moved.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- MacOS Support
- New or Improved Features for Pro Users
- Software Settings
- Added the ability to select a Light or Dark theme for the application. Dark theme can reduce eye strain.
- Registration
- If scoring by times, you can now move a racer to a different race group, after racing has started. This does not affect the schedules or results, just the rosters and standings.
- Made sure that the refresh button was visible all the time, just in case there is a change made to the data file by DerbyDMV or DerbyWeb.
- Added auto scroll feature to the audience display screen.
- Snapshots
- Added a reset option to remove a racer's photo and set it back to the default image.
- Added a selection for landscape or portrait mode when taking new snapshots.
- Manual Scheduling
- Changed sort of available racer list to be by the total heat count. Makes it easier to find racers that still need scheduling.
- When adding/deleting heats, the Schedules tab will be updated even if the Manual Scheduling screen is kept open to do more scheduling.
- Racing
- On the Racing tab, when a round level is selected, it will now show the results in master heat order, if master scheduling is in use.
- On the Racing Settings screen, added an option to display Custom Field instead of Vehicle# for the heat winner pop-up notice.
- Top Times Settings
- Added a search feature. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Added the ability to do a delete with the currently selected top time, without having to first check the select box for that top time.
- Added support for First / Last name order, instead of Last / First.
- Track Records
- Added group name to the new track record pop-up notice.
- Track Records Settings
- Added a search feature. Can do a simple or complex search. Includes a "find next" feature.
- Added the ability to do a delete with the currently selected track record, without having to first check the select box for that track record.
- Added support for First / Last name order, instead of Last / First.
- Standings
- Added auto scroll feature to the audience display screen.
- Awards
- Data File Merge
- Improved merge to update an existing schedule item in one file with the results from another data file, if applicable.
- Report Settings
- Added default options for Title 1 and Title 2, which are used on most reports. These are applied when creating new race data files.
- Reports
- Added an Awards Voting report to show the results of the voting using DerbyWeb.
- DerbyWeb
- Added support for select awards to be voted on. Voting can be done by the design judges or the audience.
- Added support so the crew that is staging the heats can flag each heat as being staged.
- Added support so DerbyWeb can have settings saved in a separate data file from the race data. This lets settings persist from race to race.
- General
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- Software Settings
What's New V20
What's New with Version 20.0:
GrandPrix Race Manager™ was originally written for use in our Awana Grand Prix races at Gateway Church of El Cajon, CA. Then it was offered as shareware for a couple of years before being rewritten as a commercial grade application and launched as Version 2.0. Each year we continue to improve the software and have used it to run our own Awana and Cub Scout races each year. Countless race coordinators have given their feedback and suggestions over the years, which has helped make GrandPrix Race Manager into a quality race management software package and an outstanding value for the price.
Version 20.0 is part of the fourth generation of this software (V1 Shareware, V2-6, V7-15, V16-?). This generation is a major overhaul of the software to accomplish two main goals. The first is to make the software as user friendly and intuitive as possible. The second is to make the software compatible with both Windows and macOS. This was a major undertaking, as the software had to be written in a different programming language, but we are proud of the results and believe that you will find the software even more useful and easier to use.
- New or Improved Features for All Users
- Awards
- Design Trophy awards are now easier to create. You can add a set of design trophies in one operation instead of adding them one by one.
- Added an "Assign Winners" screen to make winner selection easier.
- Modified arrow buttons for changing priority to move the selected award up/down the order, renumbering adjoining awards appropriately.
- Added Award Design Judging Scoresheet report. Print off for each race group and give to your design judges for them to determine design trophy winners.
- Registration
- When adding or editing a racer, if a vehicle# is taken, the next available vehicle# will be listed.
- Schedules
- Added a Completed column to indicated when a heat has been run.
- Added a count of completed and not completed heats.
- Standings
- Added a nag message to review standings before displaying them to the audience.
- Will show racers that have not run any heats yet, with "---" for the standings.
- Serial Timers
- Fixed maximum auto reset limit for timers that allow use without a start switch.
- Internationalization Support
- Numbers will now be automatically formatted with the appropriate decimal character ("." or ","), per the computer system's locale setting.
- Added the ability to set the Date display preference, either Month/Day/Year or Day/Month/Year. This preference is set in the `Software Settings`_ screen.
- MacOS Support
- The software is now able to automatically detect if more than one monitor is in use.
- General
- You can now use the Delete key to delete selected records (Org Structure tab, Registration tab, Awards tab, Top Times Settings, Track Records Settings, Manual Heats).
- You can now use the Insert key to add new records (Org Structure tab, Registration tab, Awards tab, Top Times Settings, Track Records Settings, Manual Heats).
- When an Audience Display Screen is opened, the group selection pop-up will be automatically displayed.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- Awards
- New or Improved Features for Pro Users
- Awards
- Using the new "Assign Winners" screen, you can view and accept voting results to designate the award winners. No need to individually update each award.
- Racing
- Added a nag message if master scheduling turned on, if user wants to race by group. Master Scheduling should be turned off in that case.
- Standings
- Ignore the Exclude feature when looking at group standings and all racers in that group are excluded. You might want to exclude all racers (like adults) from the round standings, but still want to view the standings for that particular group.
- Serial Timers
- Added support for carriage return and line feed characters ("\r" and "\n") in messages and responses, if required for a custom timer.
- General
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- Awards
What's New V21
What's New with Version 21.0:
GrandPrix Race Manager™ was originally written for use in our Awana Grand Prix races at Gateway Church of El Cajon, CA. Then it was offered as shareware for a couple of years before being rewritten as a commercial grade application and launched as Version 2.0. Each year we continue to improve the software and have used it to run our own Awana and Cub Scout races each year. Countless race coordinators have given their feedback and suggestions over the years, which has helped make GrandPrix Race Manager into a quality race management software package and an outstanding value for the price.
Version 21.0 is part of the fourth generation of this software (V1 Shareware, V2-6, V7-15, V16-?). This generation is a major overhaul of the software to accomplish two main goals. The first is to make the software as user friendly and intuitive as possible. The second is to make the software compatible with both Windows and macOS. This was a major undertaking, as the software had to be written in a different programming language, but we are proud of the results and believe that you will find the software even more useful and easier to use.
- New or Improved Features for All Users
- Software Settings
- For audience display screens, added the ability to display only racer first names and last initials instead of full name. This helps protect racer names when live streaming or posting race video on the Internet.
- Schedules
- Changed Completed column on main tab to be the date/time that the heat was completed.
- Added “Avg Time Per Heat” data on the Schedules tab, for quick reference.
- For Manual Schedules, made the list of available racers be sortable by column. Makes setting up grudge matches easier.
- Registration
- Added a Reset button to the Roster screen to aid in displaying racers that were advanced.
- Racing
- Made Test Mode available to all users. Makes mock racing easier to perform.
- Serial Timers
- Added an auto timeout for timers that indicate when the start gate drops. When a vehicle doesn’t finish, you can just wait until the timing times out.
- For Fast Track timers, added the option to use their light tree and auto gate combo. This will prevent the timer reset from triggering the light tree.
- Grand Turtle Round
- Added the ability to run a Grand Turtle round, of the slowest racers from selected competition groups.
- Reports
- Added the option to only print awards certificates that have an award winner specified.
- General
- Added a “Sample Files” option to the Main screen’s Help menu for easier finding of sample files.
- Resizable dialog screens now remember their last size and position.
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- Software Settings
- New or Improved Features for Pro Users
- Racing
- Made it easy to rerun a select racer(s) in a particular heat, instead of rerunning the whole heat. This is only applicable when scoring by times.
- Top Times
- Added an option to only track one top time per racer.
- Track Records
- Fixed problem where, in some situations, track records were not being saved.
- Fixed problem where Track Record Settings screen was not deleting selected track records.
- General
- Several other less notable improvements and fixes were implemented.
- Racing