Many things go into how long it will take you to run your race, including the number of racers entered, number of lanes on the track, which scheduling method is being used, and race crew organization. Since you have little control over the number of racers entered, we will cover the other issues that you do have control over.

Race Crew Organization
How efficient you race crew is has a tremendous effect over how long it will take to run your race. Here are some things that we suggest:

1. Each car should have its own assigned "parking spot", so it is easy for your crew to pre-stage the cars for each heat.
2. Assign at least two people to your staging table, to get cars lined up for each heat.
3. Assign at least one person to put the cars back in their assigned "parking spot" after their heat is completed.
4. Once you have your schedule(s) created, print out a copy and give it to your crew at the staging table. This will help them ensure that once one set of cars is racing down the track, then they have the next set of cars lined up and ready to load to the track. They may even be able to get multiple heats pre-staged. Note, it is faster for the crew to go by the printout than trying to depend on looking at software's racing screen via your projection system.
5. Make sure that your MC is not slowing down the pace by inserting too much commentary.

Scheduling Method
Some scheduling methods are faster to run than others. Ideally, you do not want to wait for cars running in back to back heats, as this makes you wait for cars to return to the finish line before starting the next heat. Perfect-N Type, Phase Shifted Lane Rotation and Modified Lane Rotation schedules are better at reducing the back-to-back issue. Though, having a small number of cars in a race group and how many lanes your track has can also affect the back-to-back issue, regardless of the chosen scheduling method. If you do have some smaller race groups, you may want to consider using the software's Master Scheduling feature, which alternates through heats from your different race groups.

Number of Track Lanes
Many organizations when they go to build or buy a track feel that more lanes is better. Well, that isn't necessarily the case. It takes more time to run each heat as you add track lanes. There are more cars to load to the track, to retrieve from the finish line and to put back in their assigned "parking spots". If you have a track with more than 4 lanes, you may want to consider reducing the number of lanes that you will actually use for your race.

The User's Manual is the program's help file. This contains all of the documentation on how to use the program. There is also the information in these FAQ's to help you out.

If you want a printed manual, you can view the help file and then click on the Print button to print a particular section or the entire file.

No, you can manually enter the results for each heat.  On the Racing screen, click on the Manual Results button.  Enter the results for the heat and click on the Save button.

If your timer can communicate over the serial port, but is not one of the supported timers, you can try to use the custom timer setup feature. This, however, requires that you know the communication parameters of the timer and any software commands that the timer can receive. If this information is not in your owner's manual, you may need to contact the manufacturer.

USB to Serial Adapters can be used when you do not have a regular 9 pin serial port on your computer to connect your serial timer to. These are readily available at many electronics stores and even Wal-Mart stores. Though, many customers have had problems with the adapters available from Radio Shack.

If you have a USB timer, the information below still applies since the timer essentially has a built-in adapter.

1. You MUST install the USB software driver that came with the adapter/timer. This will create a new COM port number that the software can then use. If it did not come with a software driver, check the manufacturer's website to see if you can download one.
2. With some computers, you may need to always plug the adapter into the same USB port on the computer; otherwise, you may need to reinstall the USB driver to be able to use the adapter/timer on another port.
3. Installing to another USB port may actually result in a different COM port number, so you may have to reconfigure the port in the Hardware Setup screen.
4. Make sure that the USB adapter/timer is plugged in before you try to use GrandPrix Race Manager. If it is not plugged in, then you will not see the COM port number listed on the drop-down list of COM Ports in the Hardware Setup screen.
5. If you are not sure of the COM port number that was created, then follow these steps:
   1. Disconnect the USB adapter/timer from the computer.
   2. Open the Hardware Setup screen.
   3. Check the drop-down list of COM Ports to see which are currently listed.
   4. Connect the USB adapter/timer to the computer.
   5. If the USB adapter/timer driver was successfully installed, you should notice a new COM Port number listed in the drop-down list. This is the port you should use.
6. If you see no change in the listed COM ports, then the driver for the adapter/timer is not installed correctly.

Note: The software's Help file has a wealth of troubleshooting information. Make sure to refer to the Support section of the Help file if you need to do further troubleshooting.

You can use either pin 4 or 7, with pin 5 being the ground connection. When the selected pin is activated, it goes to +12V.

For a light tree, GrandPrix Race Manager will only provide a kick-off signal, and (optionally) an end of race signal. The light tree must be able to control the light sequence on its own.

For a solenoid, GrandPrix Race Manager will provide a trigger signal.

Note: You cannot use both a light tree and solenoid with the software, as the software has no idea when the lights hit green. However, your light tree may be able to trigger your solenoid.

Using the Custom Serial Timer interface, you can setup the software to communicate with a DIY timer.

Communication Parameters:
• Baud/Data Bits/Parity/Stop Bits - Common communication parameters are 9600-8-N-1, but this can be configured if the protocol is different.

Software Commands:
These are commands currently supported. The Reset command is the minimum expected, the others are optional.

Start Gate Status:
• Start Gate Check - Command that the timer will accept to have it check if the start gate is open.
• Start Gate Open Response - The response from the timer if the start gate is open. This should be at least a two digit alphanumeric code that will not be confused with any other data that may be received.
• Timer Start Message - This is the message that the timer will send to the computer to indicate that the heat has started.

Timer Reset:
• Reset Timer - Command intended to reset the timer's display and ready it for the next heat.
• Ready Response - This is the message from the timer, if it provides a response back to the computer after the reset that it is now ready.
• Response Read Delay - This setting is only needed if a Ready Response is set. This delay is usually the same as the Read Delay in the Miscellaneous section, but will depend on the amount of time needed by the timer to reset itself and then indicate that it is ready.

Lane Masking:
• Mask Command - This is the command for masking a lane. This command will be combined with the lane number (or letter), so the timer knows which lane to mask.
• Remove all Masks - This command will tell the timer to clear all lane masks, so no lanes will be ignored.

Other Software Commands:
• Retrieve Data - This command is only used for timers that do not automatically send the results (the preferred method), but need to be "prompted" to send the results data.
• Force Data Send - This command is used if you want to halt the timing (e.g. a car doesn't finish or there is an empty lane). Pressing the Escape key will prompt the timer to return whatever data that it does have. In this case, any cars that had not finished will be given the maximum time possible. This command is not necessary if the timer sends the data for a lane as soon as the lane has finished timing. If the timer doesn't support this command, then you must wait until the timer times out before the results will be displayed on screen.
• Trigger Solenoid - This command is if the timer has the ability to trigger a solenoid start gate and will accept a software command to do so. Some timers may trigger a solenoid, but may not accept a software command to do so.

Note 1: For any of the commands above, if your timer requires a carriage return and/or line feed to be sent immediately after the command, then do the following. For a carriage return, add a \r to the end of the command. For a line feed, add a \n to the end of the command. For a carriage return + line feed, add a \r\n to the end of the command.

Note 2: It is preferable that every command that the timer supports returns some type of acknowledgement.  This is typically a CRLF, but can really be anything.

Miscellaneous:
• Read Delay - It may take your timer a little time to respond to a command or for your computer to notice that the timer has sent data to the serial port. While testing the timer, if you are not getting a response from the timer or an incomplete response, you can try increasing this delay.
• Precision - This is timer precision, the number of decimal places that the timer reports the times out to. It is preferable to have a timer with the timing precision between 0.001 and 0.0001 seconds. At lower precisions, you stand a greater chance of having ties. Higher precisions are more likely to show "noise" in the times.
• Max Time - The maximum time that the timer supports.
• Lane Labels - If the timer data displays the lane labels as either numbers or letters. This needs to be set correctly for lane masking to work properly.

Data Specs:
• ASCII characters
• The lane number should precede the time for the lane.
• There should be at least one space between the lane number and its time value.
• There should be at least one space (or a CRLF) to separate a lane number/time value pair.
• There should not be any alphabetic or special characters adjacent to the lane numbers or times.
• A time must be reported for each lane. For lanes that do not finish a time of 0.0000 (out to however many decimal places that the timing resolution is) can be reported or the timer's timeout value.
• Avoid including any other numbers besides lane numbers and times.

The data format can be as simple as:

3 2.8820 1 3.5109 4 3.5134 2 3.6202

or it can be as verbose as:

Ready to Start Race
They're off!
Lane 3 3.2437 Win
Lane 5 3.6782 Place
Lane 1 3.6917 Show
Lane 2 3.8361
Lane 6 3.9216
Lane 4 3.9525
Race Over

Debugging:
All communication is written to the HardwareDebug.log file, located in the My Documents\Lisano Enterprises\GrandPrix Race Manager folder. This will show you the raw data received from the timer, the filtered data and then finally the times that were extracted.

If your timing system supports it, you can press the Escape key. If not, you may have to reset the start gate or wait for the timer to stop timing on its own.

The software's Help file has a wealth of troubleshooting information and tests, so check there if you are having problems with your timer communications.

Support -> Troubleshooting -> Serial Port Troubleshooting

Yes, with Version 3.0 and above, you can score by points while interfacing to a timing system. However, scoring by times is far more accurate in determining the race standings, but some people do choose to score by points.

The "Group" and "Subgroup" labels are customizable. Go to the Software Options screen and then click on the Advanced button to change either of these.

If you have more than one race group, master scheduling will simply alternate which race group is currently racing.  This keeps all race groups involved, as they don not have to wait until other race groups finish racing before they get their chance.  Racers still only race others within their race group.  Master Scheduling does take into account group size.  So, a smaller race group will run fewer heats than a larger group before the schedule alternates to a different race group.

For Pinewood Derby style racing, the car scale typically used is 1 inch = 25 inches.

We've found that a 10 or 15 second time delay to work well.

However, if you are using our RaceReplay software, you want the Time Delay to allow enough time for the instant replay to complete. The formula below can help you set the time delay.

Time Delay >= Replay Start Delay + (Replay Duration * Replay Speed *  Number of Replays)

Replay Start Delay is the amount of time that you want the audience to see the race results before the replay is shown.

Replay Speed needs to be factored in, especially if you are doing slow motion replays.

Subgroups are optional, so you can disable having to use them if desired.  Where subgroups come in handy is if you want to combine racers so they run in a larger group, but you still want to separate out the standings.

Example:

"Group A" has only a few racers
"Group B" has only a few racers
Combine both of these into a larger "Group AB" and create subgroups of "Subgroup A" and "Subgroup B"

A and B racers will compete together in "Group AB", but once racing is done you can look at the standings for "Subgroup A" and the standings for "Subgroup B".

Note: This only works when scoring by Times.  If scoring by Points, finish order matters, so you do NOT want to use subgroups. With times scoring, racers are really racing the clock, not the racers in the next lane.

A "Group" is a set of racers that will race amongst each other. If you do not want some racers going head-to-head against other racers, due to age, grade, club, skill level, etc., then they should be placed in different race groups.

A "Subgroup" is a set of racers within a race group. You can have one or more subgroups within each group. Subgroups have absolutely no affect on who races who, they only allow you to view standings for racers within each subgroup. In some cases, you may not need to use subgroups, in which case you can disable the use of them in the Software Options screen.

Examples of Using Subgroups:

1. Open Division - You have an Open Division made up of parents, leaders and siblings. The Open Division is the Group. The Subgroups are Parents, Leaders and Siblings. Since they all belong in the same Group, they will all race each other. However, come awards time, you can give awards to the top racers in each Group and then view the standings by the different Subgroups to give awards to the top parents, top leaders and top siblings.
2. Combining Smaller Groups - You want to combine two small groups say, 3rd Graders and 4th Graders into a larger race Group 3rd-4th Grade. Define the 3rd-4th Grade Group, then Subgroups of 3rd Grade and 4th Grade. Racers in the 3rd-4th Grade Group will race amongst each other, since they are in the same race group. Come awards time, you can view the standings for each group to give out the group awards and for each subgroup and give out 3rd Grade awards and 4th Grade awards.

Advantages:

1. Combine Small Groups into a Larger Group - If you have just a small handful of racers in some of your groups, you can combine them into a larger group. This will give them more competition and is generally more exciting than a small group race.
2. Less Schedules to Manage - Instead of juggling one schedule for each race group, you can reduce the number of schedules by having a larger group and then defining subgroups for your actual competition groups. This makes life easier on your race crew and reduces the potential for some type of mistakes.
3. Less Time to Run Race - This goes along with having fewer schedules to manage. With fewer schedules, you can actually conduct the race in less time, since you are not jumping from one schedule to another and the confusion that it may cause.
4. Racers More Involved - Instead of racers waiting until it is their group's "turn" to race (in the mean time they are getting bored and possibly running amok), a combined group will keep racers more involved in the race since they are mixed in.

Disadvantages:

1. Racers are Mixed Together - Some may not like racers going head-to-head with other racers, due to age or skill level.
2. Possible Competitive Disadvantage - If using points scoring, finish order does matter. If some racers face more opponents from some of the other subgroups (e.g. faces more older or skillful competitors), then that racer may be at a competitive disadvantage than his other peers. If using times scoring, this is not an issue, since finish order really does not matter.
3. Harder to Observe who is Winning - Racers will go against other racers in that group, even though they may not be directly competing for the same awards (when awards are based on the subgroup standings). Casual observation of the race may not show who is in the running for the awards. Though, some would think of this as an advantage, since there is more "mystery" to keep racers more involved.

The built-in "static" schedulers (Perfect-N and Lane Rotation) will ensure that every racer will run in every lane of the track and will do so an equal number of times. This is so no one can complain that the reason they did not win a trophy was because they drew the "slow" lane. Whether there is a slow lane in actuality or not, people always perceive there is (even with a brand new track).

However, you do have a few options to run racers in fewer lanes that you have on your track.

1. Don't use some of your lanes. Just because you have a track with so many lanes, doesn't mean that you have to use all of them. Personally, I think it is a waste of money to get anything more than a 4 lane track. Much more cost, harder to store, harder to setup, harder to transport, and leads to a slower race (more cars to pre-stage, load to the track, and retrieve). Besides, for the slower racers, it feels worse going up against so many more cars and being in the bottom half of a heat, than being in the bottom half of a heat on a 4 lane track.
2. Run a Dynamic schedule. You basically build the schedule as all racers complete a run. Each run down the track for all racers is a "phase". At the end of each phase, the software will ask you if you wish to start a new phase. Stop after the desired number of phases. A Dynamic schedule is a slower way to run a race as opposed to a "static" schedule like Perfect-N and Lane Rotation, since you build the schedule one phase at a time.
3. Build a custom set of charts that you can then import into the software. Each chart will represent a certain number of racers. After your check-in is complete, import the chart corresponding to the total number of checked-in racers. You can actually use one of the static schedulers to do this. Set the software for a N lane track, where N is the number of runs that you want to give each racer. Open up the scheduler screen. Set the number of racers and then click on the Generate button. Using the Options menu on the scheduler screen, save it as a CSV (comma separated) file. Then open up that CSV file in a spreadsheet program and take the last half of the heats and paste them next to the first half. You will need to scan through and make sure that you do not have racers racing themselves. Save that back as a CSV file. Repeat for a different number of racers. Of course, this only works if you are trying to run the racers in exactly half your number of track lanes.

In the end, we believe that Option 1 is the best choice, so you can avoid the "slow" lane argument as everyone will run down all lanes of the track an equal number of times.

This is best explained by going to the Race Scheduling Methods page.

These are some of the ways you can accommodate a latecomer:

1. Pass all of the racers through inspection in the Registration tab, then each racer will have a spot reserved for them. If they miss a heat, then you will have to decide if you want to run them separately and then manually enter their time into the heat they missed (only works for times scoring).
2. Adding a Bye racer or two. You have the same issue as above with them coming after a heat is already run.
3. Run them as a separate group, but then you'd need to manually tabulate the standings to factor them in (only works for times scoring).
4. Use the No Chart feature to add in heats for that racer (only works for times scoring, since the racer may only be competing against no one else).
5. Restart the race, but of course, this is likely to be the most disruptive to the other racers.

It depends on the scheduler being used. In most cases, it will not matter.

With Perfect-N Type schedules, you will not get empty slots (Byes) in the schedule, unless you select one of the upgrade options to add a Bye to achieve a better quality schedule.

Normal, Modified and Phase Shifted Lane Rotation schedules are the same way. Though, with Clustered Lane Rotation schedules, you will end up with one or more Byes added to make the number of racers divisible by the number of lanes. If possible, these Byes will be spread out, so you don't have more than one Bye per heat.

With Dynamic scheduling, you will end up with one or more Byes added to make the number of racers divisible by the number of lanes. If possible, these Byes will be spread out, so you don't have more than one Bye per heat.

I you are using some other scheduling method, then it is up to that scheduling method on how it deals with that situation.

Yes, you can replace the existing sound files with other ones, as long as the file name is the same. Just copy the new sound files into the Sounds folder for GrandPrix Race Manager to replace the current file(s).

Currently, though, there is not a way to modify the button images.

If you are looking for more flexibility in sound effects and the ability to play a lot more sounds, check out our RaceFX Sound Effects Player software.

Track records can be changed by going to the clicking on the Setup button on the Main screen, and selecting Track Records Setup. In the Track Records Setup screen you can set, reset or delete track records.

Heats can be run out of order, by selecting the heat number from the drop-down list or clicking the Next or Previous button until you get to the desired heat.

This can come in handy if someone needs time to conduct a repair before they run again. Just make sure to go back and run that skipped heat(s) before you finish the round and move on to something else.

No. You can easily jump around between groups and even run the heats out of order. Just make sure to verify that all heats have been run before starting a new round or viewing the standings.

With GrandPrix Race Manager V8.0 and above, you can use the Master Scheduling feature to collate all the heats from the group schedules into a single race schedule. This helps keep all racers more involved in the race and not waiting around for their group's turn to race.

Normally, to start a heat, you would click on the "Ready Timer" button.  For a heat that has already been run, that button will instead say "Rerun Heat".  Just click on that button to rerun the heat.  You will get a warning asking if you want to reset the times, and then you will run your heat as before.

If you are inputting results manually, click on the "Manual Entry" button, change the results as necessary and then save them.

If you are using GrandPrix Race Manager in combination with our RaceReplay software, then GrandPrix Race Manager can control the recording of video and trigger the replay sequence or you can do the recording and replay manually.

Computer Setup - How GrandPrix Race Manager communicates with RaceReplay is dependent on your computer setup, if running both programs on the same computer or on networked computers. You will need to select the appropriate option in the Advanced Software Setup screen within GrandPrix Race Manager.

1. Same Computer - If running GrandPrix Race Manager and RaceReplay on the same computer, you can leave GrandPrix Race Manager set to Local communications.
2. Different Computers (Networked) - If running GrandPrix Race Manager V9.0 or above with RaceReplay V2.0 and above on different computers that are networked together, you will need to specify the IP Address for the computer running RaceReplay. To determine the IP Address, go to the Software Setup screen in RaceReplay. The IP address will be listed under the Network Communications section. This is what you will need to enter into the Advanced Software Setup screen for GrandPrix Race Manager.

Controlling Recording with Instant Replay - To have GrandPrix Race Manager control the recording and initiate the instant replay, two things need to be set.

1. In GrandPrix Race Manager, go to the Options menu of the Racing screen (not the Main screen) and select the "Control Instant Replay" option.
2. In RaceReplay, go to the Options menu, select "Replay" and then select the "Auto Replay" option.

Controlling Recording with Manual Replay - To have GrandPrix Race Manager control the recording but you wish to manually trigger the replay for only select heats, then do the following:

1. In GrandPrix Race Manager, go to the Options menu of the Racing screen (not the Main screen) and select the "Control Instant Replay" option.
2. In RaceReplay, go to the Options menu, select "Replay" and make sure that the "Auto Replay" option is turned off.

When Not Replaying - You have two options on what RaceReplay is to do when not displaying the video replay.

1. Minimize Out of Sight - For RaceReplay to minimize out of sight after playing a video replay, go to the Options menu of the Main screen, select After recording/Replay and then select the Minimize Screen option.
2. Keep Visible - You wish RaceReplay to remain visible after playing a video replay, so you can manually trigger a replay or monitor the live preview, then do the following:
   • Make sure that you do not have the Minimize Screen option turned on (as described above).
   • You can reduce the video size down to the minimum to take up less screen space, if desired.
   • Go to the Options menu of the Main screen and select the Always On Top option. This will make sure RaceReplay will stay over the top of other programs, like GrandPrix Race Manager.

Start of Recording - If your timer indicates when the start gate has dropped, then the recording will start at this time; otherwise, recording will start when you see the yellow "Ready" message.

Note: If there is a significant delay in the start of the heat, then the recorded file size will get quite large. Make sure you set the file storage options in RaceReplay as desired.

Stop Recording - As soon as results are received from the timing system, recording will be stopped.

Start of Replay Sequence - The replay sequence will be started once GrandPrix Race Manager has finished performing its end of heat tasks (updating track record, notification of round complete, etc.). This is to make sure that GrandPrix Race Manager will not interfere with the replay sequence.

The software's Help file has a Tiebreaker section that goes into detail on how to deal with tie situations.

The computer display can be duplicated on a projection system or TV or you can split up the computer display between the two displays by configuring Windows to run in dual monitor mode.

If Windows is not configured to run in dual monitor mode, everything that you see on the computer screen will be displayed on the secondary display screen.

If you have Windows configured for dual monitor display, you can click on the title bar of a screen and drag it over to the secondary monitor. In this way, you can just show the audience certain screens, like the Racing screen.

Note 1: With laptops, to enable the video output to a secondary monitor you usually have to hold the Function Key down and then one of the "F" keys. Consult your owner's manual if you are not which of those "F" keys to use.

Note 2: For a TV, you may need to use a video adapter unit to connect it to the computer.

This can occur if trying to display racer images. You can do one of two things, hide the racer image column or change the size of displayed images.

To hide the racer image column, go to the View menu of the Racing screen. The Image Column option will be checked if that column is being displayed. Select that menu option and it will then hide that column.

To change the displayed size of the images (not the size of the images themselves), go to the General tab of the Software Options screen. Adjust the Maximum Height of the racer images until you are able to see all lanes on the racing screen.

When using timers, it is important to follow the sequence of operation from your owner's manual. Usually, this is from doing something out of the prescribed order. You may end up with times that are extremely small or ones that are the maximum allowed.

The software's Help file has a wealth of troubleshooting information, under the Support section, so make sure to refer to that as well.

Make sure that you have setup and tested your timer in the Hardware Setup screen.

Yes, there is a feature that will import racer data from a CSV (Comma Separated Values) text file. This type of file can be created from spreadsheet or database programs. Refer to the help file for the file format and more information on this feature.

Vehicle numbers need to be a numerical (no letters or other special characters).  Zero or negative vehicle numbers are not allowed.  Vehicle numbers can start from 1 and go to most any number you want (there is a maximum number, but it is very large).

• Must be numerical (no letters or other special characters)
• Must start from 1 or above
• No two racers can have the same number, even if they are in different race groups
• Do not need to consecutive (you can have number gaps)
• Cannot have leading zeros (e.g. 007 is treated as 7)

Since vehicle numbers do not need to be consecutive, you have the flexibility of letting the racers choose their own vehicle numbers.  Given the chance, though, the kids would love to pick their own vehicle numbers and incorporate it into their design.

If you wish, you can setup each race group with a different series of numbers (e.g. 100 series numbers for one group, 200 series for another, etc.).

Yes, with Version 3.0 and above, you can use your timer and score by points.

We advise against scoring by points if you are using a timer, since it is far less accurate and has a much higher chance of ties.

No, you cannot override the standings without first changing the race results, which is not recommended.

You can write down the results, factoring in the tiebreakers, and use that list to announce the winners instead of using the Standings screen.

The difference in the standings between points and times can be quite significant and is expected. When using points, the number resolution is to a whole number, where as scoring by times yields a scoring resolution down to 0.001 or better.

Point scoring cannot differentiate to the fine degree that times scoring can, so standings can be quite different between the two scoring methods. If you have a timer, using times scoring is far more accurate in determining the fastest cars.

Yes. In the Reports Setup screen, you can select another image or logo to be displayed.

Your new images do need to be the same dimensions, otherwise they may look out of proportion.

Yes. You can export the reports to various file formats and then post on your website.

However, there is an increasing concern about posting full names of children on the web. In the Reports Setup screen you can opt to display only the racer's first name and last initial.