PITSCO G4 Racing Event Manager

🚀 Quick Start

1. Connect to Timer: Click "Connect" button and select "G4 Race Timer" from the Bluetooth device list
2. Setup Event: Enter event name, date, location, and track distance in Event Setup tab
3. Register Cars: Add cars in Car Registration tab (Middle School or High School division)
4. Run Time Trials: Assign cars to lanes and run qualifying races in Time Trials tab
5. Generate Bracket: Create single or double elimination bracket in Brackets tab
6. Run Tournament: Race through the bracket matches until a champion is crowned!

📋 Event Setup

Purpose: Configure basic event information and save/load events.

• Event Details: Name, date, location, and track distance (feet + inches)
• Save Event Details: Saves current event to browser storage and archives it for later
• Load Previous Event: Quick access to your last 20 saved events
• Export Event to File: Download complete event as .json file for backup or sharing
• Import Event from File: Load a previously exported .json event file

🏎️ Car Registration

Purpose: Register all cars participating in the event.

• Two Divisions: Middle School (MS) and High School (HS) - tracked separately
• Car Number: Unique identifier for each car (e.g., 42, 007, etc.)
• Driver Name: Name of the person racing the car
• DQ Checkbox: Mark a car as disqualified (removes from brackets/leaderboards)
• Edit/Delete: Modify car details or remove cars entirely

⏱️ Time Trials

Purpose: Run qualifying races to determine bracket seeding.

• Lane Assignment: Select which cars race in Lane 1 and Lane 2
• BLE Warning: Yellow warning shows if timer is not connected via Bluetooth
• Race Results: Automatically appear when timer sends BLE notification
• Accept/Re-run: Accept the result or run the race again
• Best Time Tracking: System automatically keeps the fastest time for each car
• Results Table: Click column headers to sort by finish time or reaction time

💡 Tip: Run multiple time trials for each car to get their best qualifying time!

🏆 Brackets

Purpose: Generate and run tournament brackets.

Bracket Configuration

• Bracket Size: 4, 8, or 16 cars
• Bracket Type:
  • Single Elimination: Lose once, you're out. Simple and fast.
  • Double Elimination: Lose twice to be eliminated. Winners bracket, losers bracket, and grand finals.
• Seeding: Automatic based on time trial results (fastest = #1 seed)

Visual Bracket Tree

• Columns: Each round shown as a vertical column (scroll horizontally for large brackets)
• Current Match: Glows orange - this is the race you should run next
• Winner: Green background with bold border
• Loser: Grayed out with strikethrough
• TBD: Participants not yet determined (muted, italic)

Running Bracket Races

1. Click the "🏁 Race" button on the current (glowing) match
2. Confirm you want to start the race
3. Run the race on your physical timer
4. Results automatically appear in a popup modal
5. Click "✓ Accept & Advance" to advance the winner
6. Or click "🔄 Re-run" to race again
7. Or click "✏️ Manual Override" to manually select the winner

Double Elimination Details

• Winners Bracket: Green border - undefeated racers
• Losers Bracket: Yellow border - racers who lost once, fighting for second chance
• Grand Finals: Blue border - Winners bracket champion vs Losers bracket champion
• Advancement: Win in winners bracket → advance. Lose → drop to losers bracket
• Elimination: Lose in losers bracket → eliminated from tournament

📊 Leaderboards & Export

Purpose: View top performers and export data.

• Fastest Finish Times: Top 16 racers by finish time (per division) with 🥇🥈🥉 medals
• Fastest Reaction Times: Top 16 racers by reaction time (per division)
• Export Time Trials CSV: Download all time trial results as spreadsheet
• Export Brackets CSV: Download all bracket race results as spreadsheet

🔧 Troubleshooting

BLE Connection Issues

• Can't find G4 Race Timer: Make sure ESP32 is powered on and BLE is enabled
• Connection drops: Move computer/tablet closer to timer, avoid obstacles
• No race results: Check that BLE is connected (green dot) before clicking Race button
• Browser compatibility: Use Chrome, Edge, or Opera (Safari doesn't support Web Bluetooth)

Data Issues

• Lost event data: Use "Load Previous Event" to access last 20 events from browser storage
• Backing up events: Use "Export Event to File" to save .json backup files
• Moving to another computer: Export event, transfer .json file, then import on new device
• Browser cleared: If browser cache is cleared, localStorage data is lost. Always export important events!

Bracket Issues

• Not enough qualifiers: Run more time trials until you have enough cars for your bracket size
• Wrong winner advanced: No undo - use "Manual Override" carefully or re-generate bracket
• DQ'd car still showing: Check the DQ checkbox in Car Registration tab

💡 Tips & Best Practices

• Save early, save often: Click "Save Event Details" after major milestones
• Export before important events: Create a .json backup before championships/finals
• Test BLE first: Run a practice race to verify timer connection before the real event
• Multiple time trials: Let racers run 2-3 time trials to get their best qualifying time
• Use tablets: App works great on iPads/tablets for track-side use
• Keep browser open: Closing the browser tab during an event is safe, data persists in localStorage

💻 System Requirements

• Browser: Chrome, Edge, or Opera (Web Bluetooth support required)
• Hardware: G4 Race Timer with ESP32-S3 BLE Server
• Connection: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) capability on your device
• Storage: Browser localStorage enabled (for event saving)