Aspiring rally keeps pace with hi tech
Mobile application delivered by 21infinity allows Poland’s top non-professional rally participants to enjoy pro-class entertainment.
By 21infinity (MK, DG) with support of GZ.
Updated 7:01 am CEST, May 21, 2020
BUSINESS PARTNER
Tarmac Masters® is a popular rally series, created for both professional and non-professional drivers. It has been growing rapidly and increasing its fan base every year. With 120-130 teams participating in each event, several times a year, Tarmac Masters® is the largest non-professional rally in Poland. The full-time organizer team includes 410 people, plus dozens of volunteers engaged in every event.
NEED FOR SPEED… AND TECHNOLOGY
During a rally things change in an instant. These developments are exciting, but also dangerous at times. Therefore, managers must first ensure safety of all participants, keep the event running smoothly for the fans. At some point running such a fast-paced event with just notepads, basic office software and telephones got very difficult.
Tarmac Masters® decided to introduce a mobile rally application, able to track all participating teams in real-time and deliver news from the road straight to fans’ mobile phones. The first version was a simple, ready-made app introduced in 2018, but very soon proved insufficient for Tarmac.
We knew 21infinity team as both professionals in mobile app development and rally racers themselves. With this unique skill set they were the perfect match for our app development project. All the more that the solution was to be unique on a national scale.
– Marcin Jankiewicz, Tarmac Masters
RACE AGAINST TIME AND COST
The target group of the application were users with Android and iOS. Due to the limited time and budget, the selected framework need to allow building two apps on a single codebase. The top three taken into consideration were Flutter, React Native and Xamarin. The reason why Flutter was ultimately selected was its broad selection of refined and appealing ready-made components, which would allow 21infinity to deliver the project faster, i.e. within several months.
Due to its unique user context, the app’s development process was focused on ensuring advanced tracking and safety functionalities, comparable to solutions used at the World Rally Championship. The app’s design, universal for both Android and iOS devices, was prototyped in Adobe XD to refine the user experience even before the development process started, for further project savings.
In the future we hope to add real-time visual tracking of the favorite crew, similarly to what World Rally Championship offers.
– Dawid Gawel, 21infinity
WRC-WORTHY TRACKABILITY & COMFORT
The Crew Panel was integrated with one-signal push notifications from the rally management panel, allowing instant and direct communication between rally managers and the crews.
The solution offers advanced tracking functionalities. Firstly, in case of crew immobility, the app alerts the managers and the emergency services. Secondly, the pilot can easily track other crews on the map and check their current position, to prevent collisions with other cars at check points, or worse, a pile-up on the track. Thirdly, the tracking functionalities in the module „Halda” allowed replacing expensive measurement devices. With the Tarmac Masters app, the crews can get familiar with the details of the special stage before the rally starts, and track own progress and position in the rank as they go.
The latest addition to the Crew Panel is contactless e-card registration at time control points via push notifications. Electronic registration of crews has only been roadmapped by the FIA as the paperless future of motorsport, but here we are, already offering the feature in an amateur rally.
– Marcin Jankiewicz, Tarmac Masters
Tarmac Masters app offers also top-class features for fans. The user-friendly Fan Panel allows tracking rally results in real time, even in more than one check points, identify POIs on the map and contact emergency services in case of danger. It also allows comparing current and historical results, and is available without registration.
Tarmac Masters app offers top-class technological support of our guests and contestants, offering them comfort and security. I am convinced that it will help further increase attendance at Tarmac Masters events, and popularize the sport in general.
– Marcin Jankiewicz, Tarmac Masters
Project fact sheet
Time: 2 months
Type: Custom development, Mobile
Market: PL
Technologies used: Flutter, .NET Core, One Signal, Google Maps, GPS
Systems supported: Android 6.0+, iOS
No. of participants: 4
Solution benefits
ORGANIZERS
- Instant communication with the crews
- No need for expensive measurement devices
- Increased attendance at the event and popularization of the sport
DRIVERS
- Crew Panel integrated with push notifications
- Advanced result tracking in real-time
- Contactless e-card registration at time control points via push notifications
FANS
- Advanced result tracking in real-time
- One-push alert for emergency services
- User-friendly Fan Panel interface