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Projects Search Public Sector Clients & References Case Studies Websites Showcase	Client Isle of Man Government Project Timing software for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races Overview The Isle of Man TT motorcycle races are supported by numerous IT systems that track, display and record race information.PDMS were tasked with replacing legacy software with more resilient, higher performance and better integrated systemsA new integrated system (RaceMann), developed using PDMS FoundationsTM, was implemented in time for the 2006 TT racesRaceMann has proven to be more efficient and reliable than the previous systems and has improved the flow of information to race officials. Client quote "The TT represents a number of challenges for systems development. Most significantly the delivery date is immovable, and the first opportunity to complete user acceptance testing is when the roads close and the bikes set off from the Grandstand – there is no option to close the roads and set machines off at racing speed around the TT course in order to test the system prior to the event itself." Chris Swales RaceMann Project Manager, Isle of Man Government PDMS develops software to support the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races The Challenge The Isle of Man’s famous Tourist Trophy (TT) and Manx Grand Prix (MGP) motorbike races attract thousands of visitors to the Island every year with riders competing on a circuit of 37.73 miles around the Island’s roads. The Isle of Man Government’s Department of Tourism and Leisure (DTL) operates a suite of IT systems in support of these annual races. These systems have been developed over a period of several years, and include tried and trusted infrastructure supporting a transponder based Timing system and partner Retirement and Tracking systems. In 2004 the DTL set the goal to replace these legacy systems and to create a show-piece IT system for the TT Centenary in 2007. PDMS have been providing IT services to the Isle of Man Government for many years and because of our successful track record, we were commissioned to work in partnership with them through the TT and MGP 2006 and into TT 2007, to deliver a new integrated race system known internally as ‘RaceMann’. The main objectives of the project were to: Modernise existing systems which are built on obsolescent technologies; Integrate the disparate data sets into a centralised data repository; Review the existing infrastructure to improve its resilience and reliability; Provide platforms for the collection and delivery of information to a wider audience by a variety of technologies; this may potentially include the delivery of results to mobile handsets and the on-line registration of competitors. The project was given the official go ahead in March and one of the main challenges for PDMS’ development team was to ensure that the first phase of the project was finished, had undergone testing and was ready to go live for the TT races which commenced with practices at the end of May 2006. The Solution The existing IT systems included specialist software developed by AMB, one of the world’s leading providers of race timing and scoring software systems, and other custom systems developed by third parties to support additional TT and MGP specific requirements. PDMS developed new modules to interface with AMB’s race control software. Transponder detector loops are installed in the road at several locations around the TT circuit. These are synchronized by GPS and connected to the race control tower located at the startfinish in Douglas by ISDN lines - as much as 10 miles away! And unlike short circuit racing, for which the AMB systems were designed, the TT is a time trial - riders set off at 10 second intervals. The PDMS RaceMann system takes the data provided to it by the AMB system and "interprets" it appropriately for the TT. A variety of tracking displays are available, tailored to the needs of specific race controllers during both Practice and Race sessions. Alongside the Tracking system, PDMS have also developed integrated Retirements and Event Log systems. These allow information about events which affect the running of a Practice or Race, such as the Island's notoriously fickle weather, and information about competitors' stopping around the circuit due to mechanical failure, to be entered with ease and be widely presentable. The TT Retirements system is used by race officials in the Grandstand and a screen is also available for viewing to crews and teams in the paddock area. PDMS have developed the RaceMann system using their tried and tested FoundationsTM platform and components. The data is stored in a SQL-Server database and presented via web-servers using FoundationsTM. Information is passed to the client applications in XML format and displayed using .Net, HTML, XSL and CSS technologies. Needless to say, resilience of the system is crucial. Data is replicated between a pair of SQL Server database servers, and the RaceMann system contains automatic failover routines. Load balancing technology is used on the web-servers. Results This project was complex from a technical perspective due to resilience and performance requirements, the need to integrate with existing third party systems and the complicated infrastructure requirements Due to the combined efforts of both the PDMS and Isle of Man Government project teams, the RaceMann project met the tight deadlines and was successfully rolled out for the 2006 TT races. The new RaceMann system has replaced old, obsolete software and provided a new technical platform that is not only more resilient, but also more cost effective to maintain and support. Additionally, because of the way the new system has been developed and implemented, it will be much easier to add new features and functionality in the future. The new RaceMann system has played a large part in the success of this year’s TT races and there are plans to further enhance it ahead of the TT centenary year in 2007. These enhancements, some of which were in place for the 2006 MGP races held in August, include a new entries database module which provides for on-line entries and also allows TT officials to update competitor data, maintain stop lists and generate bulletins.

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Client

Isle of Man Government

Project

Timing software for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races

Overview

The Isle of Man TT motorcycle races are supported by numerous IT systems that track, display and record race information.PDMS were tasked with replacing legacy software with more resilient, higher performance and better integrated systemsA new integrated system (RaceMann), developed using PDMS FoundationsTM, was implemented in time for the 2006 TT racesRaceMann has proven to be more efficient and reliable than the previous systems and has improved the flow of information to race officials.

Client quote

"The TT represents a number of challenges for systems development. Most significantly the delivery date is immovable, and the first opportunity to complete user acceptance testing is when the roads close and the bikes set off from the Grandstand – there is no option to close the roads and set machines off at racing speed around the TT course in order to test the system prior to the event itself."

Chris Swales

RaceMann Project Manager, Isle of Man Government

PDMS develops software to support the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races

The Challenge

The Isle of Man’s famous Tourist Trophy (TT) and Manx Grand Prix (MGP) motorbike races attract thousands of visitors to the Island every year with riders competing on a circuit of 37.73 miles around the Island’s roads. The Isle of Man Government’s Department of Tourism and Leisure (DTL) operates a suite of IT systems in support of these annual races. These systems have been developed over a period of several years, and include tried and trusted infrastructure supporting a transponder based Timing system and partner Retirement and Tracking systems. In 2004 the DTL set the goal to replace these legacy systems and to create a show-piece IT system for the TT Centenary in 2007. PDMS have been providing IT services to the Isle of Man Government for many years and because of our successful track record, we were commissioned to work in partnership with them through the TT and MGP 2006 and into TT 2007, to deliver a new integrated race system known internally as ‘RaceMann’.

The main objectives of the project were to:

Modernise existing systems which are built on obsolescent technologies;
Integrate the disparate data sets into a centralised data repository;
Review the existing infrastructure to improve its resilience and reliability;
Provide platforms for the collection and delivery of information to a wider audience by a variety of technologies; this may potentially include the delivery of results to mobile handsets and the on-line registration of competitors.

The project was given the official go ahead in March and one of the main challenges for PDMS’ development team was to ensure that the first phase of the project was finished, had undergone testing and was ready to go live for the TT races which commenced with practices at the end of May 2006.

The Solution

The existing IT systems included specialist software developed by AMB, one of the world’s leading providers of race timing and scoring software systems, and other custom systems developed by third parties to support additional TT and MGP specific requirements.

PDMS developed new modules to interface with AMB’s race control software. Transponder detector loops are installed in the road at several locations around the TT circuit. These are synchronized by GPS and connected to the race control tower located at the startfinish in Douglas by ISDN lines - as much as 10 miles away! And unlike short circuit racing, for which the AMB systems were designed, the TT is a time trial - riders set off at 10 second intervals. The PDMS RaceMann system takes the data provided to it by the AMB system and "interprets" it appropriately for the TT. A variety of tracking displays are available, tailored to the needs of specific race controllers during both Practice and Race sessions.

Alongside the Tracking system, PDMS have also developed integrated Retirements and Event Log systems. These allow information about events which affect the running of a Practice or Race, such as the Island's notoriously fickle weather, and information about competitors' stopping around the circuit due to mechanical failure, to be entered with ease and be widely presentable. The TT Retirements system is used by race officials in the Grandstand and a screen is also available for viewing to crews and teams in the paddock area.

PDMS have developed the RaceMann system using their tried and tested FoundationsTM platform and components. The data is stored in a SQL-Server database and presented via web-servers using FoundationsTM. Information is passed to the client applications in XML format and displayed using .Net, HTML, XSL and CSS technologies.

Needless to say, resilience of the system is crucial. Data is replicated between a pair of SQL Server database servers, and the RaceMann system contains automatic failover routines. Load balancing technology is used on the web-servers.

Results

This project was complex from a technical perspective due to resilience and performance requirements, the need to integrate with existing third party systems and the complicated infrastructure requirements Due to the combined efforts of both the PDMS and Isle of Man Government project teams, the RaceMann project met the tight deadlines and was successfully rolled out for the 2006 TT races.

The new RaceMann system has replaced old, obsolete software and provided a new technical platform that is not only more resilient, but also more cost effective to maintain and support. Additionally, because of the way the new system has been developed and implemented, it will be much easier to add new features and functionality in the future.

The new RaceMann system has played a large part in the success of this year’s TT races and there are plans to further enhance it ahead of the TT centenary year in 2007. These enhancements, some of which were in place for the 2006 MGP races held in August, include a new entries database module which provides for on-line entries and also allows TT officials to update competitor data, maintain stop lists and generate bulletins.