[American Motorcyclist Association] - AMA Member Tested: MyLaps Timing Package

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Instantaneous, accurate race results

Info: www.mylaps.com/en
MSRP: Varies

By Jason Hooper

There’s a long list of things that keeps a race promoter up at night. Near the top for most is timing and scoring. In today’s digital age, racers and fans expect instantaneous and accurate race results.

While doing research for transponder-based timing and scoring options for the AMA-sanctioned Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series, I found several options. Few were purpose-built for motorcycle racing—many were originally for tracking packages in warehouses or other oddities. Then I found the MyLaps’ website and read about their off-road motorcycle racing transponders and decoders.

MyLaps claims to be the first company to automatically score a sports event back in 1982. Since, it has become the largest motorsports scoring hardware company, with products used in everything from the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship to NASCAR. Their products are designed for motorsports.

With their U.S. office in Atlanta, MyLaps has real, live tech support. Products are shipped from Georgia, so delivery is quick. As an AMA-chartered race promoter, you receive a 25 percent discount. Racers purchasing a personal-use transponder get a 20 percent discount.

For our sprint enduros, we use the MyLaps MX Flex transponder that is read by their MX Decoder and scoring loop. MyLaps offers two software options: Orbits that can score a variety of formats, or Trackside, designed for motocross.

We opted for Orbits. It has been incredibly user-friendly for our scoring crew, and we realized its versatility this past August when we used our system to score the AMA Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro.

If you’re a racer, there are big benefits to the MyLaps system, especially if you own your own transponder. When you purchase a transponder and register it, you create an account that tracks all your race results. Both live and personal results are accessible on the fly with MyLaps’ smartphone app SpeedHive.

If there’s any downside to the MyLaps system, it’s that the transponders are expensive when compared to RFID sticker systems. However, the accuracy and reliability of MyLaps’ technology far exceeds these cheaper alternatives. When compared to similarly robust and accurate systems, the MyLaps decoder, loop and software are competitively priced. If you’re scoring a race where accuracy matters, the MyLaps system is the right choice.



Click here for full story...