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Tutorials

To make RC more accessible to the average user, we've provided several video tutorials showing off different aspects of the application. The first set of tutorials talk about the Race Coordinator setup screens at a very high level to give the user a better idea of how to use Race Coordinator. They also provide a high level description of the various options Race Coordinator supports. After viewing these tutorials the hope is that the user will understand how to use Race Coordinator to setup their race nights as well as give the user a good idea of just how much Race Coordinator can do.

The remaining tutorials go into the low level details of the different Race Coordinator configurations. Each tutorial talks about a very specific aspect of Race Coordinator from setting up simple race formats to understanding and creating extremely complicated formats such as group races.

Each tutorial shows what version of Race Coordinator the tutorial was done with. Generally speaking, the tutorial will be correct for that version or newer. If changes occur that invalidate a tutorial, the tutorial and the version required will be changed accordingly.

If there is anything unclear or confusing about these tutorials, please let us know. We've done them to help the community not hinder it. We'll take any comments into consideration and figure out what's best to do. Visit this page for contact information.

Overview Tutorials Table of Contents

Date RC Version Description Length
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race Coordinator components 9:48
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Wizard setup screens 9:54
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Management setup screens 7:48
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 1 of 9) 10:02
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 2 of 9) 9:24
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 3 of 9) 9:31
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 4 of 9) 9:26
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 5 of 9) 10:00
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 6 of 9) 9:42
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 7 of 9) 10:01
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 8 of 9) 10:01
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Race properties (Part 9 of 9) 10:01

Race Format Tutorials Table of Contents

Date RC Version Description Length
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Straight round robin 9:56
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Practice 6:21
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Sprint 6:41
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Custom round robin race (guaranteeing two track marshals) 9:37
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Custom rotations (Part 1 of 2) -- Rotation files 9:57
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Custom rotation (Part 2 of 2) -- Setup 9:07
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Step Up 10:02
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Group race (Mains) (Part 1 of 2) 9:46
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Group race (Mains) (Part 2 of 2) 10:01
03.23.2011 v.1.3.0.0 Event 10:05

Race Coordinator High Level Overview

Race Coordinator Components Overview

This tutorial talks at a high level about the different components that make up a Race Coordinator race. Included is a brief discussion of what a track, driver, race, car and event mean within the context of Race Coordinator.

Wizard Overview

This tutorial explains the basics behind the Wizard setup screens. Although there is a unique wizard for each Race Coordinator component, the general behavior of the wizards is all the same.

Manager Overview

This tutorial explains the basics behind the Management setup screens. Although there is a unique manager for each Race Coordinator component, the general behavior of the managers is all the same.

Race Coordinator Race Properties

Race Properties Nine Part Overview

This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Name
  • Track
  • Car Filter
  • Minimum Lap Time
  • Heat Rotations
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Heat Scoring
  • Finish Method
  • Allow Finish
  • Drift Time
  • Heat Callouts
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Auto Advance
  • Auto Start
  • Callbutton Delay
  • Practice Best Lap Prefix
  • Heat View (***Not actually a property, but discussed anyway)
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Accumulate
  • Points
    • Carry Over Percentage
    • Heat Points
    • Fastest Lap Bonus
    • Fastest Heat Lap Bonus
    • Fastest Lane Bonus
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Step Up
  • Number To Step Up
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Drop N Heats
  • Hot Start
  • Heat Start Behind Sensor
  • Heat Start Location
  • Restart on False Start
  • False Start Penalty
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Start Delay
  • Start Randomizer
  • Restart Delay
  • Restart Randomizer
  • Groups
    • Max Groups
    • Allow Empty Lanes
    • Force Multiple
    • Balance Seeds
    • Minimum Advancing
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look. ***Note, this tutorial skips over the Interface Setup which will be discussed in a tutorial by itself.
  • Teams
    • Team Count
  • Start Prefix
  • False Start Audio
  • Yellow Flag Audio
  • Heat Over Audio
  • Race Over Audio
  • Off Start Light
  • Staging Start Light
  • Go Start Light
  • Red Flag
  • Yellow Flag
  • Green Flag
  • White Flag
  • Checkered Flag
This tutorial gives a high level overview of the following race properties. If you're interested in more information on these particular properties have a look.
  • Race Day XAML
  • Race Start XAML
  • Race Restart XAML
  • Self Performance
  • Heat Performance
  • Race Record Performance

Race Formats

What follows are several common race formats found throughout the community. These are by no means all the formats Race Coordinator supports, but they represent a large portion of what the community runs. Each format is accompanied by a video demonstrating the particular format being setup within RC. Keep in mind that a race format can always be changed and the tutorials shown here are merely examples. How you race is truly up to you with Race Coordinator.

If your race format isn't explicitly demonstrated here hopefully there's enough information collectively in these tutorials and within Race Coordinator wizards themselves for you to make the proper adjustments to your format. As always, we are here to help so please do not hesitate to contact us.

Straight Round Robin

One of the simplest and most common race formats is the Straight Round Robin race. This race is also one of the easiest races to setup within RC because all of the more advanced settings can be ignored.

Practice

A practice race is a race in which no scoring is kept. Laps are timed and counted, but there is no final standings. The seeding the drivers have coming into the practice race is the same seeding when the practice is over. These races are very useful to run before the main event so that drivers can get use to the track and tune their cars. This is also a very simple race to setup because most of the properties can be ignored.

Sprints

The Sprint race is another really easy race format to setup within RC. We will demonstrate it's setup here using a Single Lane heat rotation in which the driver races on the track by themselves and can use any lane on the track for the duration of the heat. This will also demonstrate setting up a race that is scored by fastest lap time rather than total number of laps.


Round Robin with Guaranteed Track Marshals (customized round robin)

Sometimes race night just doesn't have a large turnout. But you still want to race and are running on a track that really requires at least two marshals. No problem RC supports any heat rotation you can dream of including ones that force one or more sit outs no matter how many drivers show up. This example shows how you could configure a 4 lane race that requires two marshals. This rotation will guarantee two marshals no matter how many drivers show up and at the same time will use all 4 lanes every heat if 6 or more drivers show up.

Custom Rotations

Race Coordinator supports more heat rotation types than simple round robin or single lane rotations. In fact, RC supports literally any heat rotation you can think of. To create your own customized heat rotation, you must create rotation files and add them to the race format. Once done, your custom rotation will be used to dictate heat counts and how the drivers move through those heats.
The biggest limitation to this system is that the rotation files themselves contain the exact heat rotation for a specific number of drivers on a specific number of lanes. This means that if you build a custom rotation file for 10 drivers on a 4 lane track, but 15 drivers show up, 5 drivers will not have lane assignments.
To over come this limitation, RC allows you to specify as many custom rotation files as you need. This means that you create the exact heat rotation you want when 10 drivers show up, then one for 11 drivers, then 12, etc... RC will pick the rotation file to use that best matches the number of drivers that show up for the day. As long as you have a custom rotation file that supports at least as many drivers as you have or more, every driver will have a lane assignment. The ideal situation is to have a custom rotation file for the exact number of drivers you have. If you don't you'll either get empty lanes in some heats (including possibly completely empty heats) or you'll get drivers that don't have any lane assignments. These two tutorials show you how to create the custom heat rotation files and then how to create a race using them.

Step Up

One common way to run a Step Up race is to run each driver on a single lane and after the heat step up one or more of the drivers to the next heat. In the case of only running a single lane, it is common to allow the highest seeded driver in the heat to select their lane. Then the next highest selects an empty lane and so on leaving the lowest seeded driver in the heat no choice in lane selection. This can be done within RC once the heat is setup but hasn't started yet through the Race Director/Modify Heats option on the Race Day screen.
Note that it is not unheard of to run Step Up races using Round Robin heat rotations before the step up occurs so that each driver races on every lane on the track.

Group Races (Mains)

Group races are the absolute most complicated race format to setup in RC. Decisions need to be made about how many groups (or Mains) the race should be broken down into as well as how to place drivers in the groups. If that wasn't enough group races are usually run one of two ways. Either as a winners and loser bracket in which two groups race, the winner of Main A is the overall race winner, and the winner of Main B is the winner of the losers bracket. The other way is as a qualifying race that leads into another race in an event. In this case specifying carefully how the drivers advance is crucial to getting the drivers you want into the next race. In both cases the Main heats can be run in anyway shape or form. From Round Robins, to step ups, to using F1 scoring. You name it, you got it.
The first video here talks in depth about how groups are formed based on the properties available. The second video shows how to setup a group race.


Events

Race Events are one of the coolest features of RC for the larger club races. Because events can contain any number of any kind of race formats, we'll demonstrate creating an event out of some of the races seen in these tutorials. We'll do a fairly simple one in which we start with a Practice race, then do a Sprint qualifier, followed by a second Practice(if for no other reason than to show you can have the same race included more than once) and finish off with a Step Up finals. What you'll see in this event is just how powerful this can be as each race not only seeds the next race, but determines how many drivers advance to that next race.

Definitions

The slot car community is very diverse when it comes to how a race is run and what terms individuals use. Some of these may seem obvious, but experience has shown that many people use these terms slightly differently and it's important to all be talking about the same things.

 

             
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