Running an Event
This page walks through a full race day from start to finish. It assumes you've already built your event with the Event Wizard — here we cover actually running it and getting results out the other end.
If you're new, read this once top to bottom; each step links to the detailed page for that part.
Before you start
A quick pre-flight before the first driver lines up:
- Decoder connected. Your timing hardware should be showing in Decoder settings. The first decoder is the finish line; any others are splits.
- Event loaded. Either finish the wizard or open a saved event (Loading and Saving events). Sensible Laps autosaves as you go — see Recovering an event.
- Driver screens (optional). Bring up the web interface on any TVs or the rostrum so drivers can see live timing.
- Sounds (optional). Set your horn/announcement sounds so the start, last lap and finish are called automatically.
How the screen is laid out
Four areas do the work on race day:
| Area | Role |
|---|---|
| Control Panel (top right) | Drives the meeting — play, pause, stop, restart. |
| Event Schedule | The linear list of what runs next, top to bottom. |
| Race Control | The live race — laps, gaps and the race clock. |
| Event Management | Change entries, divisions and settings mid-meeting. |
1. Warm up with practice (optional)
The All Contestants event at the top of the Event Management tree holds the practice race. Run practice here to check transponders are being picked up before racing proper begins.
2. Start the meeting
Press play on the Control Panel. The first un-run pre-race delay in the schedule begins counting down — this is the time for drivers to get to the line.
- Pause the delay, or nudge it forward/back, if you need more or less time.
- When the delay ends, the race starts automatically.
3. Run each race
While a race runs, Race Control shows every driver's laps, gaps and the race clock live.
- Use stop / restart on the Control Panel if you need to abort or re-run the start.
- When the race time is up but a driver can't get across the line, Sensible Laps waits two minutes, then finishes the race automatically. If everyone has already finished, just press stop to move straight into the next delay.
Then press play again to start the next race's delay. Working through the schedule this way runs the whole meeting.
4. Between rounds — reseeding
After a qualifying round, the schedule reseeds the next round based on results — how it sorts depends on your qualifying type and format. The reseed that happens after each race is shown against it in the Event Schedule, and the new running order appears in Division Detail.
5. Fixing mistakes
Race day rarely goes perfectly. Common corrections:
- Jump to a different race — select it in the Event Schedule and click Go here now (you'll be asked whether to re-run a single race or the schedule from that point).
- Re-run a race — same Go here now flow on an already-run item.
- Change a race's length or mode — on Race Detail, before that race starts.
- Reset one race, or reset the whole event, from Event Detail.
- Move a driver between groups or re-order a division — see Division Detail.
6. Finals
How finals are structured is set by the division mode you chose in the wizard — for example, Classic runs A/B/C mains with an LCQ bump-up, while Heads Up! runs the Reedy Race format. You run them exactly like any other race: work down the schedule with play and stop.
7. Finish and publish results
When the last race is done:
- Finish the event from Event Detail — any un-run races are marked complete.
- Export the results — save/print a copy for the club noticeboard, and/or upload to results.sensiblelaps.com. See Export Results.
Upload the event too
When you upload, include the event file as well as the results. If the timing PC ever fails you can re-download the whole meeting later, not just the final standings.