There’s (Yet Another) App for That!

Greetings from the Richta home office in Larryville, Kansas

I’d like to share with you the results of a project my son David and I recently undertook. This story starts in January 2020…

I was at the SCCA National Convention, where there was more than a little discussion about the Richta GPS Checkpoints system launched in April 2019. A member of the SCCA staff approached me asking, “Could my road rally timing and scoring apps be used on a race track for a Time Trial event?” Well, timing at a race track is very simple compared to timing and scoring a road rally, as there is only one timing location and no scoring involved is more complex than a subtraction to compute the lap time. Adapting the current apps would be impractical, but starting with the current apps and erasing 75% of the code would be a good start toward creating an app that would perform the job of a transponder at a race track. 

I returned home and got to work on a Richta Transponder app. By June, it was ready for testing at a track. However, Covid had managed to shut down most SCCA events, so we put the Transponder app on the shelf.

Almost five years later, in late 2023, I was approached by Frank Beyer of the SCCA Central New York Region. Frank was an experienced Rallymaster and was an early user of Richta GPS Checkpoints. “Could my apps be adapted to a race track?” asked Frank. I responded, “Been there, done that, and there were no users of that app when it was ready.” Frank said, “I think we can use it!”

Frank and members of the SCCA Glen Region organize a competition for electric and hybrid cars each spring at Watkins Glen called The Green Grand Prix. The event includes track time for entrants, and one point is awarded for each ideal lap time. There is also an autocross in the afternoon. Green Grand Prix had been borrowing physical transponders for the event, but that source of transponders was not going to be available for the 2024 event.

After some preliminary discussions, I agreed to dust off the Transponder code and get the Richta iOS Development Division (my son David Bireta) to replicate the Android code for Apple devices. Test tracks were defined in the neighborhoods of the organizing committee so they could test the apps at their convenience. A test day at Watkins Glen occurred the week before the Green Grand Prix. All was ready.

At the event, 39 cars collectively completed over 1,000 laps of the short course at Watkins Glen, and the Transponder apps did their job. Frank took the list of lap times and did some spreadsheet work to count the number of ideal lap times (defined as a precise 45mph average for the entire lap) for each car. The winner had 16 perfect laps.

What now? David and I are going to make changes to the apps to correct a small bug (mine, not his), align the Apple and Android apps more closely, and add reports to make it easier to report ideal lap times. (Scoring this event is more complex than simply printing lap times, it turns out!) 

The updated apps will be released on the respective app stores (Transponder and T&S Chief) and will be available for use at next year’s Green Grand Prix. 

However, I am holding off on a full build-out of the apps and will not be adding all the bells and whistles apps like these should have. I won’t be adding Track, Event, and Session Management tools, for example, until a market for the apps develops. 

Questions and comments are welcome! Reach out to me at rbireta@gmail.com.