Rally Car

rallies.info Results Service

For Event Results Click Here

Introduction

rallies.info provides a full results service to all types of rally. We will take in times, either direct from the clocks, from Time Cards, or from Check Sheets, and produce full results, mainly online nowadays, but also on paper where required.

The results service has been running since 1989, when the Clerk of the Course of Beverley & District Motor Club's Armstrong Massey Rally asked me if I could write some software to calculate results on that single venue rally. The program was duly written, and the service was started. Over the following years, the program was modified to include calculating the road times on multi-venue rallies, and then subsequently made flexible enough to cope with road rallies, and most recently has been amended to allow endurance, historic and targa results to be provided. As you will be able to see from the archive, we've done all sorts of event from small road rallies to large multi-day multi-venue stage rallies.

Types of Event

We now routinely provide a results service for the following types of rally:

How it works

All you need to provide is the times and we will produce results for your rally. The best way to get the times into results is to use rally clocks which connect directly into the results system, either via the Internet, or via a radio signal. Or failing that we can use time cards and type them in manually. We produce interim results during the day, which are immediately put onto this website, and can also be printed out and put on notice boards, or given out to competitors.

Frequently Asked Questions

I've answered below some of the questions which I've been asked most about the service, but if you have any more questions, do get in touch

How Live are your Live Internet Results?

This really depends on how quickly the times get to us. If we've got automatic clocks, then the stage times will usually be on the website in less than 30 seconds from when each car finishes a stage. If we're typing in manually, then usually the slowest element is the time taken to collect the time cards.

Where do we need to locate the results service?

This depends on the type of event. The simplest is a single-venue stage rally, where results is located in or around Rally HQ and time cards are hand delivered from the card collection point. In these cases, all that is needed is somewhere to work. This can be in a building, if one is available, or can alternatively be in a caravan, or even in a tent or marquee if required (though it does have to be somewhere waterproof and reasonably windproof, otherwise handling documents can get tricky!).

On a multi-venue rally, results is usually located in Rally HQ, remote from the Time Card Collection points and the Results Handout. See below for how these two challenges are dealt with.

Do we need to provide electricity?

If results is located in a building, we will need to plug into the normal mains supply. However, if results is located in a caravan, tent, marquee or even in the back of a car, then we have an inverter which allows the computer equipment to be powered from the car.

Do we need to provide an Internet connection?

No, we are fully self contained regarding Internet connections, providing there is an EE phone signal where we are working. If we are working somewhere with no phone signal, then if we can get a working Wi-Fi connection, that will work just as well. We don't need a particularly fast connection, as the system was designed to work when mobile data was really expensive, and so uses very little data.

We have also done results for events remotely where it has not been possible to get to the event in person. This is usually not quite as good as being there in person, but is quite workable, especially where all data is returned electronically. We also sometimes work with one of us on site, and others helping remotely, and this can work really well.

How do we get times to you to type in?

As mentioned above, automatic clocks are the ideal way, but failing that there are loads of more traditional ways. Firstly, if the time cards are collected locally, they can simply be handed across and typed in. If cards are collected at a remote Passage Control, they can be read out by the PC on the phone and we can type them in from there. Or the latest method we have introduced is to take a photograph of a time card or check sheet and upload it into the results system, just using a normal mobile phone. We can then type in from there. Over the years, we've done all sorts of ways of getting results back, so get in touch and we'll work something out.

How do we get results to competitors?

We used to print out copies of results and either put them on a notice board or hand them out to competitors, but recently we've found that most competitors now look on the website and don't need paper copies. With ever improving phone signals, that is getting easier and easier, and this website is optimised for use on mobile phones and tablets.

We usually bring a results display screen, which shows upto about 90 competitors on one screen, and we can of course still print out results to hand out if people prefer it.

How big a rally can you cope with?

We've done events with 160 competitors, and with 140 controls. We can also cope quite happily with multiple events running at once. At the other end of the scale, We've done road rallies with only 30 or so competitors. We've never found an event too big to cope with.

Do you know anything about rallies apart from results?

Matthew is a Motorsport UK licensed National Rally Clerk of the Course, and is the Clerk of the Course for the East Riding Stage Rally (a closed road stage rally) and Deputy Clerk of the Course for both the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire (a forest stage rally) and the Beaver Rally (a Road Rally), and both Matthew and Tom are licensed Rally Timekeepers. We've both been involved in organising rallies for decades, and we know the Blue Book pretty comprehensively, especially Section R.

What would you need from us before the event?

Before the event, we will need to get the results database set up, and plan where we're going to be, and what's happening when. So, we'll need the following:-

Normally, organisers either e-mail these documents to us, or we download them from your website. We don't usually need paper copies.

What would you need from us during the event?

During the event, we need to get a prompt and reliable source of the following documentation:-

Note that by far the most common reason for slow and/or inaccurate results is slow delivery of times and documents. It's quite common for the Course Closing car to keep all the Check Sheets until the end of the event, and then come in after results have gone provisional and drop 100 assorted report forms and checksheets on the desk. Please make sure that there is a way for these documents to get to results during the day, so they can be properly processed.

How long will the results stay on the website for?

We have no plans to remove any results from the website, as it's a useful and interesting archive, which goes back to 1994. Sadly, we seem to have lost the earlier results data files.

Is the system reliable?

The programs have been used on hundreds of events over the years, and so they are unlikely to suddenly develop a fault. If a fault does occur, we should be able to fix it very quickly anyway.

We bring a spare for all computer equipment used on the day, and there is a backup Web Server in case the main one fails. Because the system constantly copies the times onto the web server, this is a built in backup, and a replacement PC would download this data from the webserver before starting work.

The greatest chance for errors are in reading information and typing it in. However, by checking the Timekeepers' Checksheets against what has been typed into the computer, most of these errors can be located and corrected. We also have an 'Unusual Times' report which can identify statistically odd times for investigation. This is particularly useful if there is not time to check all the checksheets (for instance right at the end of an event).

How much does it cost?

We charge based on the time involved, and the work, so small events will be much cheaper than large ones. Please email for our current pricing structure.