The production of quick and accurate results both during and at the end of an event gives ultimate satisfaction to competitors and officials.
In the past this was often not the case, which was frustrating to both competitors and organisers.
The prompt and accurate production of results now occurs automatically with many rallies, and is primarily due to the work of Garry Searle who has been the Australian rally results specialist since the mid-1990s.
Garry participated as a competitor in rallies in New South Wales early in his motorsport involvement winning the Group 7 series in NSW back in the 80’s. He then graduated to event administration, concentrating on producing results, a natural development given his computer expertise. Garry also sat on the NSW Rally Panel for several years.
He and his very good friend Alex Ross developed software which worked well and together they started in the early 1990s to produce results for the Canberra International Rally and some State Championship rounds. T
hen a major opportunity came when the pair were recruited by event administrator Tom Snooks to score the 1995 Mobil 1 Round Trial, a three-week 20,000 km journey around Australia. From there Garry advanced to work on Targa Tasmania, the month long 1998 Playstation Round Australia Trial, and the Australasian Safaris.
Garry totally revolutionised the results system for Targa Tasmania in 1998, after six years of almost total failure to produce quick and accurate results for the event.
Scoring Targa was a gigantic task each year with some 250 competitors running at 30 second intervals over five days and with the competition complexities involved with the event.
As the internet developed so the task became easier with electronics automatically relaying times to the centralised computer, but it was Garry who designed and implemented the systems.
Events which are constantly on the move, such as the Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial in 2008 are particularly difficult for the scorers. A system was developed whereby Alex Ross in the sweep car driven by Jim Reddiex would take a phone photo of the control master card at each control and transmit it to the scorers at event headquarters.
Competitors were receiving results as they pulled in at the finish of each day!
These systems have since been adapted to suit such events as Classic Adelaide, Grand Prix Rally, East Coast Classic, Targa High Country, Targa Adelaide, Targa West, et al. He has scored the Australian Rally Championship since 2005.
Garry has also mentored scorers of events in various states, providing them with copies of his system and information on how to adapt it to their event requirements.
Because of Garry Searle’s enthusiasm, dedication and expertise, not to say his calmness under great pressure at the end of an event to produce accurate results for finish podium announcements, rallies today have a system that is reliable and flexible and produces an accurate outcome.
Garry Searle has made an invaluable contribution to Australian rallying in terms of competitor and organiser satisfaction and thoroughly deserves his place in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.
NEXT: Ivar Stanelis* Citation reproduced courtesy of the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.
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As the internet developed so the task became easier with electronics automatically relaying times to the centralised computer, but it was Garry who designed and implemented the systems.
Events which are constantly on the move, such as the Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial in 2008 are particularly difficult for the scorers. A system was developed whereby Alex Ross in the sweep car driven by Jim Reddiex would take a phone photo of the control master card at each control and transmit it to the scorers at event headquarters.
Competitors were receiving results as they pulled in at the finish of each day!
These systems have since been adapted to suit such events as Classic Adelaide, Grand Prix Rally, East Coast Classic, Targa High Country, Targa Adelaide, Targa West, et al. He has scored the Australian Rally Championship since 2005.
Garry has also mentored scorers of events in various states, providing them with copies of his system and information on how to adapt it to their event requirements.
Because of Garry Searle’s enthusiasm, dedication and expertise, not to say his calmness under great pressure at the end of an event to produce accurate results for finish podium announcements, rallies today have a system that is reliable and flexible and produces an accurate outcome.
Garry Searle has made an invaluable contribution to Australian rallying in terms of competitor and organiser satisfaction and thoroughly deserves his place in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.
NEXT: Ivar Stanelis
* Citation reproduced courtesy of the Australian Rally Hall of Fame.
