Last month’s Total 24 Hours of Spa, the world’s biggest endurance race for GT3 cars, marked the official debut of the LUMIRANK light position system in a 24-hour race. An LED display was installed behind the windscreens of all 65 cars competing in the race to inform the TV spectators and race fans at the track about the current position of the respective car in its class. Different colours were used to identify the classes in the race. The debut of the new LUMIRANK light position system was hailed as a great success by everyone involved.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt commented: “To me, the position display is a very useful innovation. Thus, fans have the opportunity to exactly understand the positions in each class. Especially in a 24-hour race with so many cars in the field, such a service for the spectators is a great thing.”
Stéphane Ratel, whose SRO Motorsports Group is the promoter of the Total 24 Hours of Spa and numerous other GT racing series and events, said: “During this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa, we have carried numerous surveys, the conclusions of which are simple. Spectators, TV viewers and internet users had made it clear that it was very difficult to follow the progress of the race after the first fuel stops. Teams and drivers had different requirements: teams wanted to identify their car in the field of 66 entrants, while the drivers wanted to know who the car in their rear-view mirrors was. The LUMIRANK system addressed all these requirements: it is now easy to identify the cars of the three categories and to find out their position immediately. This was a first at this level of competition and we are very happy with this co-operation.”
Invented and produced by German company, LPS Technologies, LUMIRANK is protected by utility models. The displays consist of 210 high-powered LEDs and weigh only 240 g. The displays are only 3.5 mm thin and have a size of 256 x 192 mm, while the position figures are 180 mm high. The system is permanently linked to the time-keeping system of the race.
Stefan Sack, inventor of the LUMIRANK system and C.E.O. of LPS Technologies, is quite pleased with the feedback received after the race at Spa: “It was overwhelming. Fans, drivers, teams, TV viewers and internet users were really positive about LUMIRANK. We now continue working on improving the system even further, using all the data and experience we got from Spa. Negotiations with other race organisers and series promoters are underway. I am sure that LUMIRANK can be a valuable addition to many other motor racing events and categories worldwide!”
Source : Lumirank