Richta Rally Timing explained…
- Jonathan Binnington
- Mar 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 19
The “Main Event” of every VIME event is the time-speed-distance navigation trial.
Backcountry motorcycling over up-island highway-designated mountain gravel roads, navigating by rallysport roadbook tulip diagrams while attempting to meet the (sometimes arbitrary) average speeds over route “legs”.
The routes are duplicated in the Gaia (GPS mapping app) and “roadbook-only” navigation classes as part of the event escalator, taking rallysport novices from map reading to roadbook reading before tackling roadbook plus speed managing, but I’m here to talk about how Richta works and how to work Richta.
What is Richta?
In a nutshell, Richta is a suite of smartphone apps that provide a GPS-driven timing and scoring system for time-speed-distance regularity rallies.
Richta differs from other GPS rally timing systems in that the functions it provides are confined to monitoring each event participants average speed between virtual GPS timing gates. Those times are then compared to the “target time” for that leg, calculated by the RallyMaster (me) from the eternal triangle, speed = distance / time.
By arithmetic manipulation, Leg target time = leg distance / set leg average speed
Richta compares your actual leg elapsed time to the set target time and awards Time Penalties (TPs), one Time Penalty for each second ahead or behind the target time.
It also tallies your TPs across the whole course and conveys them at the finish line to the RallyMaster app in order to make up the results table, shown in the Scoreboard app.
The event is set up so that each leg is timed by itself. If you make a cock of a leg, you can’t “get lost time back” by arriving early at subsequent timing gates. What has gone before is gone. Forget about previous mistakes and work on what is yet to come…. There is no incentive to race, speed or ride recklessly.
Get it?
Richta is a straightforward timing and scoring system and is highly appropriate for grassroots events such as ours. It won’t do anything tricksy, such as switch off any displays if maximum speeds are exceeded or monitor any instantaneous speeds. Such complications are for higher level events and other systems.
In keeping with the “modular” philosophy, Richta doesn’t display roadbook PDFs either. You the rider get to decide if you want to play with paper scrolls or go electronic and display the roadbook as a PDF in Rally Roadbook Reader and get the GPS speedometer, odometer compass and clock as part of that app suite of features.
Rally Roadbook Reader runs independently of Richta.
The final brick in the modularity is the Gaia mapping app. Gaia also runs independently of Richta, on smartphones.
Making it work….
When you go to wherever you go for your apps (iOS and Android) you will see at least three Richta apps.
Rally Master is what I use to set the positions of the GPS timing gates, set the target leg times and manage event participants on the day (such as making sure your smartphone is registering in the event).
Competitor is what you need on your GPS-capable smartphone to record your progress around the course.
Richta GPS - Scoreboard is the app that displays your score and everyone else’s who has registered for the event in Competitor.
Download (for free) Competitor and register for each day of the whole event (I will send instructions for this closer to the event).
Richta Competitor does not need cell connection or a SIM card to work. You can do everything you need to over wifi or by hotspotting to a cellphone.
Note on iOS versus Android….
Apparently, iOS works differently to Android.
Android as an operating system works one app at a time. If you are running Richta Competitor, Android will stop any other apps running in the background. If you have a text message, phone call or email arrive Android will stop Richta Competitor while it deals with that - AND NOT START RICHTA AGAIN!!!
iOS is apparently capable of multitasking. Competitor won’t stop if you receive a text/call/email.
BUT…. Competitor needs uninterrupted access to the GPS chip in your phone - for both Android and iOS. You can’t run Competitor with another app that takes data from the GPS chip. Even with it running in the background.
Close all apps on your smartphone except Competitor.
You will need a second (non-SIM card) phone to run Rally Roadbook Reader - and arrange usb charging for both of these to keep them going all day long.
If you need to consult Gaia, do it on your Roadbook Reader phone, not on your Richta phone
On the day…
You will need two smartphones, both with usb charging as they will need to be on and active all day long.
On your handlebars or navigation tower you will have your GPS capable phone showing the roadbook PDF.
In your pocket (warm and dry) you will have your second smartphone running Richta Competitor.
You will already have registered for that day’s event (downloads the GPS coordinates for the day and the target times).
You will have checked that your phone’s GPS position is registering on the Rally Master app - at which point you are ready to go.
Put your Richta phone away and concentrate on your roadbook (and your clock, and your odometer, and the road, and your bike, and……)
When you return to the finish line your Competitor app will automatically talk to the Rally Master app (by wifi or cell) and upload your times and scores. These will also be viewable in Scoreboard to anyone who had the app and passwords.
The apps you need (for iOS) are these:
Richta Competitor.
Richta Scoreboard.
Rally Roadbook Reader.
Gaia.
If you aren’t already a tech savvy expert, I can guide you through downloading, setting up, installing and whatever else you need to get you started on your moto-rally career.
JD Binnington 19/3/25
Addendum.
iPhones will continue to run Competitor if the screen display is turned off.
Android needs the screen continuously on.
You will need to arrange on-bike charging for all devices.