How fast are they going? Mazda Raceway turned to Apex Signs with a challenge – how to add an exciting new dimension to the motor racing fan experience?
The answer, huge radar speed trap screens. The sign placement decision at Mazda Raceway was pretty easy – there are two bridges, both of which are located over fast sections of the track.
We chose full color 3ft x 10ft screens as we wanted maximize the viewing distance for folks in the grandstands. Also, this size gives us an LED matrix of 64 x 256 pixels which is pretty good for displaying sponsor logos, messages, etc., even full motion video. All four screens can either show the same information, or completely different data at the same time. For this application we laid over 4,000 feet of fiber optic cable back to the timing and scoring building to give total control throughout an event.
For a simpler one-screen system without all the fiber optic cable the radar gun would need to be within 50ft of the screen. This configuration might be mounted on a rolling platform that could be placed inside the pit wall at either end of a front straight away (depending whether you are running clockwise or counterclockwise), and simply point the radar gun over the wall at the track.
In its simplest operation you might switch it on in the morning, then off at the end of the day! The way it works is that when the radar gun detects an approaching vehicle the speed displayed comes on, and will notch up or down as faster or slower vehicles go by. After the last vehicle has gone by the speed display will hold for 5 seconds (you can set the hold time), the screen will then either go blank until the next vehicle approaches, or it can display a logo or other preset informational message.
To change the messages, or change the operation during the day you’d walk up and plug in a laptop computer. At Laguna Seca however full control is achieved at any time throughout the day via an Internet connection.
The race announcers love it, the fans love it; it adds a whole new dimension to the racing experience! Clubs will pay to rent it. Sponsors will pay to have their logos displayed, and marquee sponsors will want their “stamp” on it (you may have noticed the “ZOOM ZOOM” tagline on the Mazda displays).
YouTube videos can be found here…
1) IMSA & FIA 2011
2) CanAm 2011 Friday
3) CanAm 2011 Sunday