Vehicle Tracking for Sol Rally Barbados 2009

Information streams for spectators at home and away Organiser of Sol Rally Barbados, the Caribbean's biggest annual international motor sport event, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) has once again partnered with GeoOrbis to provide vehicle tracking during this weekend's event, which kicks off with The Ceremonial Start at Simpson Motors between 7.00 and 9.00pm this evening (May 29). Cars to be tracked include 14 select competitors, plus Car Zero and the Sweeper car, which will allow Rally Control to keep closer track of how the event is running. Data from the GPS units will be broadcast on the Giant Daylight Screen at the Automotive Art Canefield stage on Saturday, slotted into an exciting programme of live footage from the event's signature stage from the cameras of Merville Lynch Productions. There are other benefits, however: + for fans overseas, it represents an opportunity to 'watch' some of their favourite drivers do battle over the two days of the event + for locals, it can be a valuable tool in knowing what point the rally has reached, so they can time their journeys either to spectate, or to avoid rally traffic altogether The rally units will be reporting at one-second intervals (the fastest available on any commercial tracking system) so fans can see and compare drivers' speeds through corners or top speeds on straights. Competitors carrying the units include Sol RB08 winner Kris Meeke and some of those eager to take the title from him, including Paul Bourne, Roger Hill, Trevor Manning, Jeffrey Panton, Steve Perez and Roger Skeete. Other potentential top 10 finishers being tracked include Brett Clarke and Barry Gale, while the two-wheel drive cars under scrutiny are those of Phil Collins, Sean Cox, Josh Read, Jonathan Still and Ian Warren. System requirements to run the tracking system are a PC compatible computer, running Windows 95,97, XP or Vista; Internet Explorer with the latest Java download (www.java.com). An internet connection with ADSL or better is recommended. Copy and paste the following link into the Internet Explorer address bar: http://www1.interfleet.com/production. Password - rally, username - barbados. Anyone having issues is advised to download the PDF file available at the end of this article. Stay in touch with Sol RB09 through the Internet During the last four weeks, the official Sol Rally Barbados web site has enjoyed a more than 90 per cent increase in hits compared with the same period last year, with web surfers in 97 countries around the globe taking an interest in the event. There has been growth from Europe and North America, with key areas of interest being news, and the entry list, which was downloaded nearly 700 times within the first 10 days of the provisional being posted. One new link on the site this year is to www.rallyfm.net, which will be recording the commentary of the event at Automotive Art Canefield and Red Bull Kendal stages, as well as the Shell V-Power SuperSpecial at Bushy Park. These recordings will then be uploaded to the www.rallyfm.net web site as podcasts for its worldwide audience. RallyFM.net has already been hard at work during the build-up, recording interviews at scrutineering, the action at the Shell V-Power King of the Hill and further interviews during the Welcome Party at the Divi Southwinds Beach Resort. These podcasts have already attracted thousands of listeners and the audience is growing by the hour. To listen to the podcasts follow the link from the Sol Rally Barbados web site www.rallybarbados.bb or go directly to www.rallyfm.net. The event commentary information team has also been expanded, in part to feed the growing requirements of the Internet. Reporters will gather driver quotes and information at the end of Sailor Gully and Redline Fuels Dark Hole stages on Saturday, to relay to the live commentary station at Automotive Art Canefield, and to feed news snippets to the event web site. Longer reports will be prepared at lunchtime and overnight, with a similar programme planned for Sunday. Sol Rally Barbados 2009 (May 29-31) and Shell V-Power King of the Hill (May 24) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007; title sponsor is the Sol Group. Marketing partners are Automotive Art, Banks, Digicel, McEnearney Quality, Red Bull and Simpson Motors; official partners are the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Barbados Tourism Authority, Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Geest Line, Stoute's Car Rental and Virgin Atlantic; associate sponsors are ARMAG, Caribbean Airlines, Crane & Equipments, Merville Lynch Productions, Little Switzerland, Redline Fuels and Shelbury Construction. Media enquiries: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web site - www.rallybarbados.bb