GrandPrix Race Manager Instructional Videos:

Intro to GrandPrix Race Manager

Step 1 - Create a Race Data File
Step 2 - Software Settings
Step 3 - Report Settings
Step 4 - Hardware Settings - Timer, Solenoid and Light Tree setup and testing.
Step 4b - Hardware Settings (Custom Timer) - How to setup the software to interface with a non-supported commercial or DIY serial timer.
Step 5 - Define Competition Groups
Step 6 - Define Awards (optional)
Step 7 - Register Racers
Step 8 - Create Race Schedules (Built-in Schedulers)
Step 8b - Create Race Schedules (Custom Schedules)
Step 9 - Run the Race
Step 9b - Starting a New Round, Grand Finals Round and/or Grand Turtle Round (optional)
Step 10 - Awards Ceremony (optional)

Serial Port Communications Troubleshooting:
USB Drivers - Microsoft Windows - Make sure that you have the appropriate drivers installed.
USB Drivers - Mac - Make sure that you have the appropriate drivers installed.
Communications Tests - Some tests to verify that the port is working correctly.

Miscellaneous:
Reports - How to generate and export reports.
Partial Heat Rerun - How to rerun a heat without rerunning all of the racers in that heat.
No Timer Communications - How to deal with not being able to get the timer and the software communications to work.
Add Racer After Racing Started - How to add a racer(s) to your schedule after racing has already begun.
Exclude Racers - How to allow a racer to run but not show up in the standings.
Exclude Grand Finals Winners - How to keep the Grand Finals winners from showing up in the standings for their original race group.

Interfacing to Other Software:
Interface to RaceFX - How to interface GrandPrix Race Manager and RaceFX to automatically play sound effects during the race.
Interface to RaceReplay - How to interface GrandPrix Race Manager and RaceReplay to automatically record and do a video replay of each heat.
Interface to DerbyDMV - How GrandPrix Race Manager and DerbyDMV can use the same data file and images.

Below is a comparison of the features for the different versions of GrandPrix Race Manager.  Both the Lite and Pro versions will allow you to run and manage an efficient race.  The Pro version provides more features and flexibility to the users that require them.

Mouse over an underlined feature to see a description of that feature.

Note: This is not an all inclusive list of the differences between versions.

Feature	Lite	Pro
Number of Lanes Supported	1 to 8	1 to 8
Configure to race Cars, Semi Trucks, Rockets or Boats
Solenoid Start Support
Light Tree Support
Customize to Your Organization
Assign Your Own Car Numbers
Heat Scoring	Cumulative, Average or Single Fastest Times - Auto or Manual Worst times can be ignored Cumulative Points - Auto or Manual	Cumulative, Average or Single Fastest Times - Auto or Manual Worst times can be ignored Cumulative Points - Auto or Manual
Race Schemes Supported	Top finishers from a racing group can be advanced to a succeeding round, if desired. Unlimited number of rounds. Top finishers overall or from each race group can be raced in a Grand Finals round, if desired.	Top finishers from a racing group can be advanced to a succeeding round, if desired. Unlimited number of rounds. Top finishers overall or from each race group can be raced in a Grand Finals round, if desired.
Compute Standings
Generate Reports
Display Statistics
Large Screen Displays for Audience Viewing
Serial Timers Supported	Fast Track NewBold Timers RaceMaster IV SmartLine The Champ The Judge	Fast Track NewBold Timers RaceMaster IV SmartLine The Champ The Judge Other Serial Timers
Race Methods Supported	• Perfect-N Series • Lane Rotation (Normal, Phase Shifted, Modified & Clustered) • Dynamic	• Perfect-N Series • Lane Rotation (Normal, Phase Shifted, Modified & Clustered) • Dynamic • Manual/Ad-Hoc Scheduling • Other Scheduling Methods
Track Records Tracking
Top Times Tracking
Master Scheduling
Apply Tiebreaker Rules
Display Racer Photos
Rename the "Vehicle Name" Data Field
Allow Selected Racers to Race but Exclude from Standings
Exclude Grand Finals Winners from Group Standings
Extended Desktop Mode
Interface with RaceReplay software
Interface with RaceFX software
	Purchase a Lite License	Purchase a Pro License

Suggested Race Format

The software is flexible, so you can run just one round of racing for each group, or advance the top racers of a group to a new round or even run a Grand Finals Round of your top racers from each race group.  Since there are several different ways that you can use our software to run a race, we are often asked for our recommendation. Below is a suggested format.

Disclaimer: Please note that no one solution will fit the needs of all organizations. You really need to decide what will work best for your organization, number of racers, time constraints, and so on.

Scoring Method - Times or Points. Many people have argued the virtues of each. Basically, if you are confident in the accuracy of your timing system (including your start gate and switch) and the consistency of the crew running the track for the duration of the race, then we'd say go with Times; otherwise, if you have any doubt, go with Points. A drawback with points, though, is a greater chance for ties. This is less of a problem if you can fit in a lot of racing.

Scheduling Method - Use the Perfect-N Type scheduler for scheduling (for points scoring, it is recommended that you run two or more runs per lane to reduce the chance of ties). The Perfect-N Type schedule generator will yield schedules that will meet these minimum criteria:

1. Each racer will race the same number of times in each lane. The total number of heats is easy to determine with the formula below.

   Total # of Heats = (# of Racers) X (# of Runs per Lane)
   
   Note: You can budget about 90 seconds a heat, if your race crew is moderately organized. Very organized crews can do under 45 seconds a heat.

2. No head-to-head match up count exceeds another by more than 1 (basically, competition between racers will be spread out as much as possible).

Preliminary Round - The purpose of the preliminary round is to:

1. To give each racer an equal opportunity to race.
2. To allow each racer to race against a fair number of opponents.
3. To reduce the number of racers to a more manageable number to run in the Trophy Round.

   Note: With small groups of racers, it is possible to skip a preliminary round and proceeded directly to a trophy round. If you find that your number of racers for a race group is equal to the number of finalists listed in the table below, you can just run a trophy round. This will save a lot of time in running the race and will still give you an accurate trophy order for the race group.

Trophy Round - The purpose of the trophy round is to accurately determine the trophy order.

Using the table below:

1. Find the number of trophies that you wish to award.
2. Select how many lanes to use. This can be less than the total number of lanes that you have. You will need to change the number of lanes in the Software Settings screen if it is less.
3. This will give you the number of finalists to advance to the Trophy Round and the number of runs per lane to set in the schedule generator to get the most accurate chart.

With these parameters, the Perfect-N Type scheduler will yield what are called Complimentary Perfect-N schedules. These schedules meet the minimum requirements above, but will also match each racer against every other racer. Everyone will actually meet each other twice, but from opposite lanes the second time around so lane differences will be equalized. These schedules provide the most accurate means of determining trophy order.

Trophies	Lanes to Use	Finalists	Runs Per Lane
1	2 or 3	3	2
2	2, 4 or 5	5	4 (2 Lanes) 2 (4 or 5 Lanes)
	3 or 4	4	2
3	3, 4, 6 or 7	7	2
	5 or 6	6	2
4	7 or 8	8	2
	8	9	2
5	6	11	2
8	8	15	2

Note: There are other possible combinations to create Complimentary Perfect-N schedules, but all involve a greater number of runs per lane resulting in a lot more heats. You can see other possible combinations on Stan Pope's website at http://stanpope.net/grdir.html. Just look for the CP chart symbols.

Dynamic Scheduling

General

Basically, the goal of Dynamic scheduling is to maximize the number of racers to win at least one heat. Dynamic schedules are built over the course of the race, based on how each vehicle performs during each "phase" of racing. This does produce some very tight heats, since vehicles are matched based on their performance in the previous phases.

• Phase 1 - Each racer will be randomly assigned to a heat and lane.
• Phase 2, 3, etc. - Seeding for all other phases will be based on:
  1. Each racer's heat win count (the number of times they received 1st Place in a heat)
  2. Lowest total number of points (based on their finish order for each heat). 1st Place = 1 Point, 2nd Place = 2 Points, etc.
• Racers are matched up based on the above two performance measures. Racers will be scheduled to race in each lane of the track, as much as possible, however it cannot be guaranteed that each vehicle will run in each lane.
• At the end of each phase you will be asked if you wish to start a new phase.
• You can run as many phases as you wish, up to a maximum of 8 phases. It all depends on how much time you have dedicated to racing. You should run at least the same number of phases as you have track lanes. That will ensure that the majority of all racers will have run in each lane of the track.

Advantages/Disadvantages

Dynamic scheduling has its advantages and disadvantages that you should be aware of, so you should examine them before deciding on this type of scheduling for your race.

• Advantages:
  1. Maximum Number of Heat Winners - You will have more racers walk away with at least one heat win, compared to all other race scheduling methods. It is usually not possible for all racers to walk away with a heat win, unless you deliberately introduce some slow "turtle" vehicles.
  2. More Competitive Heats - Since racers are seeded for each phase based on their vehicle's performance during the previous phases, you will have a higher number of close heats (at all levels of vehicle performance), compared to most other scheduling methods.
  3. Equal Number of Heats - The race is made more fair by allowing the racers an equal chance to compete by racing an equal number of times.
  4. Use Points or Times Scoring - Even though seedings are based on win count and total points, you can base the final standings on either total points or on times.
  5. No Timer Required - Since you can score by points (based on finish order) and enter results manually, you do not need a timer with this scheduling method.

• Disadvantages:
  1. Makes Strong Vehicles Look Less Strong - Maximizing heat winners does have a cost. A vehicle that may have won all of its heats using another scheduling method likely will not fare as well with Dynamic scheduling. However, strong performing vehicles will still end up at the top of the final standings.
  2. Lane Equity is Not Assured - The scheduler will do its best to schedule each racer to run in each lane and do so an equal number of times, but this is not always possible in order to maximize heat winners.
  3. Lower Number of Opponents - Compared to other race methods (like Perfect-N Type charts), racers will not have as many opponents, since seedings are performance based.
  4. Finish Order Doesn't Reflect Final Standings - You can have a situation where a weaker performing vehicle wins all or most of its heats but does not win an award. You can also have a stronger car that comes in with less wins but ends up with an award.