Lap timing at HPDE events

I was going to use my iPhone with TrackAddict to capture lap times and car data, but the organizer of the event announced that timing devices could not be used. We were told this is due to the organizer's liability insurance policy that states the event is educational and no timing or competition is permitted.

This is not the first time I have run into this, but the first time it has been enforced.

So in order to continue to use TrackAddict and our iPhones, we will need to have some sort of work-around such as turning off timing and the lap timer on the iPhone, since that is what is being looked for.

Any ideas or thoughts about this?

If you wanted to record the data and video without it calculating or displaying any lap times, you could create a new track entry in the app with bogus coordinates that effectively disables timing... Add a new track, tell it "no" if it offers you a default start/finish point for the track, and then manually enter 1.0 for both Latitude and Longitude.

By having those bogus coordinates set, it wont trigger the lap timer functionality while driving, and it would cause it to think that you had a start/finish point set, so it also wont show the button to set the start/finish point while you're driving. It would just say "waiting for lap start" the whole time while driving, but will actually start recording data and video once you hit 10 MPH as usual. The display just wont show anything of interest other than speed and heading, and the resulting data would have it all as one single big lap, so you couldn't directly compare lap vs lap statistics or driving line afterward.

In this case, I'd suggest distinctively naming that track entry so that it's clear that you've deliberately disabled timing for it, otherwise you might inadvertently use it while driving that same track with a group that does allow timing.

So, that's an honest effort to get data and video while also complying with their rules against lap timing, and would at least stop lap times from being displayed live while you're driving. Obviously, if someone were so inclined, they could still later figure out the lap times from the data (such as with RaceRender), but a person could also figure out lap times from nothing more than a video, so what's acceptable to your event organizers will depend on where they're trying to draw the line with that rule, as it's pretty hard to enforce absolutely.

Another thought is that if they only require that lap times are not displayed while you're driving, but they are ok with you seeing the times after you've parked, then I could add an option in the app to accommodate that by turning off the live timer display. I just don't know what every club's rules or insurance company have to say about it, and if that goes far enough to be an acceptable solution for them...

Thanks very much for the prompt reply. I like your second thought, but it might be better if it displayed something like: "LAP TIMING OFF". I don't think there is any problem with taking lap and segment data that could later be processed into lap times. As I know it, the issue is that if the HPDE is an educational event, why are you racing against the clock?. So if lap time is displayed to the driver, he could be racing against the clock.

If you did turn off visible lap timing, I would personally like to be able to retrieve accurate lap data, so I could compare to my videos and see if I am improving in any given segment of the track. Once I sync the lap data with my videos, I can frame-by-frame a segment, then shoot to improve the next event.

I have a private message to the organization promoter, to ask exactly what the rules are. I think there are different levels of liability insurance the promoters can buy, depending on the event they are holding. Obviously, a race would carry a high risk, and a time-trial next. I will let you know if I find out anything.

Thanks again for a great APP, and mostly for the time you spend catering to our needs.

I started a thread on the Corvette Forum concerning this issue. This forum is very active and there should be a lot of response.

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...at-hpde-s.html