New event types for Road Rally and Karting

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

new_eventtypesWe made a small adjustment to our event types today to what you see in the image. The changes are brief but will be helpful as we've diversified the kinds of event we host:


  1. Renamed Autocross to Autocross/Solo to help with SCCA-oriented competitors

  2. Renamed Fun Run/Rallye into Fun Run/Tour and added new type for Road Rally

  3. Added new type for Karting for our indoor and outdoor speed junkies



We have had requests to add other, more specific types, but we try really hard to keep these buckets as generic as possible. It's an arbitrary decision on our part but we don't view the event type as a way for organizations to personalize their events and listings. Rather, we look at them as a taxonomy for potential attendees to find events and this is why we have kept the list as short as is reasonable.

We're always open to input so don't hesitate to leave a comment or drop us a note!
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Outstanding credits now listed under My Account

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

Adding a credit - options afford considerable control over redemptionMotorsportReg.com credits are a treasurer's best friend. Rather than taking the time to write and mail a refund check, or worse, refund to a credit card and take another hit in fees from Visa or MasterCard, an in-system credit is just like monopoly money that an attendee can use like cash towards a future registration.

The benefit of these credits is the ways in which they can be limited to restrict redemption. Since it's rare that an organization wants a credit to stay on their books indefinitely, these controls support a wide variety of cancellation policies as suggested by the screen shot to the left and a credit is always limited to the organization who created it. Plus, credits roll their balance forward if they aren't fully redeemed eliminating manual book keeping. Credits automatically flow into the event financial report for a clear breakdown of who paid and how, alongside online payment, offline payments and discounts.

While this information has always been available to organizers, there was only one point when the attendee could see their credit, on the payment screen.Redeeming a credit while paying for an event

myaccount_creditsStarting today, we're now listing these credits under the My Account tab. While this doesn't introduce a radical new capability, it does provide peace of mind for the attendee when they can see the credit listed and it will eliminate a small, but constant number of inquiries to you and us. You can point your members to look under their "My Account" tab going forward.
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Topics: Features

Targeting press releases to potential enthusiasts

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

Formula RallyX Image - picture by Mike MalsedThe dirt-loving guys over at Formula Rally-X are waging something of an uphill battle: convincing Americans to give Rallycross in the Southwesternish United States. It's not that Rallycross isn't fun, it's that not everyone knows it exists nor that they can get off the sidelines and join in the action.

That's why this press release at Off-Road.com is a genius marketing maneuver: expose your oh-boy-this-is-so-much-fun event format to people who already like taking their vehicles off road and getting dirty. Think about your program: where might you find like-minded folks who aren't aware your program exists and that they can get involved?
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Topics: Marketing

Racers get updated entry lists

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

attendee_race2Our racing customers have been vocal about a more competitive-oriented entry list for their events. While most events are suited just fine to an alphabetical list with sorting enabled, racers have more sophisticated needs. They want to know how many people are coming and how many people are in their class. Is it going to be a tough weekend? Is their top competition signed up? Ok, lock and load, they'll be there too.

attendee_race1Tonight we rolled out an update that includes customized entry lists for any event flagged as Club Racing or Autocross. Club Racing events include a total by group at the top (if Group is checked in your attendee list settings) and then break down the entries by class with sub-totals. Check out this SCCA Cal Club example.

attendee_soloAutocross events get a similar treatment except for special handling for events that use our built-in PAX class support. These events will see PAX classes listed first, followed by a per-class break down with sub-totals. SCCA South Carolina's Solo program has a good example which includes PAX classes.

attendee_basicAll other event types will continue to display the same entry list which is by default sorted by name. Once more than 10 entries are displayed, we enable clickable headers which will sort the table in any direction desired like in this PCA Northern New Jersey driving school.

Clubs control these lists and it's possible for it to be entirely disabled. Each list is cached for 15 minutes at a time for performance reasons so it may take a moment before new registrations show up. We love giving people what they want - now get back to racing!
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Topics: Features

Deferred payment processing has landed

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

Early sketch of planning for new payment feature - from 2005It's here. No, we really mean it. Two weeks ago, deferred payment processing went live in a silky smooth release on a lazy Sunday afternoon. We've been planning this feature literally for years starting with sketches dating back to 2005. The ability to control when attendees are charged - at the time of registration, at the cancel deadline, immediately before the event or even after the event is now available to all MotorsportReg.com users when upgrading to our Premium Plan.

But that's hardly all... let's run through the changes:

Deferred Processing & Settlement



dpp_individualOnce your account is switched to the premium plan, you'll see the following options for when to finalize registrations. We first started planning this feature over 18 months ago. There is a long list of technical hurdles to clear to provide this capability in a secure and robust manner. We're excited to introduce this first - no other motorsport registration service has this capability.

Attendees clearly see their payment will settle laterDuring registration, attendees enter their payment information like normal but rather than charge them on the spot, we'll simply verify their account and hold the data in our PCI DSS-compliant Secure Vault. This lets the payment settle much closer to the event as a benefit to the attendee.

As an organizer, you have two ways of flagging the payment for settlement: on a one-by-one basis while looking at an individual registration or in batch using the new Payments tool. One click and every attendee will be settled excluding cancellations. You'll never cut a refund check again!

Void 'til EOD



Void 'til EODWhen we charge a credit card, technically the card doesn't settle until we "close the batch". This happens automatically at midnight Pacific time. Until midnight, you can cancel a transaction with no fees and we've exposed this capability via the Void 'til EOD button (EOD = End of Day). You can use this to make adjustments or alternative arrangements with the attendee.

American Express



welcome_vert_thmb_90x90We've recently added American Express processing to round out our Visa, Mastercard, Discover and e-Check acceptance. There are some compelling reasons to add American Express: businesses report increased sales which might mean getting attendees off the fence and into your events. If you're interested in American Express, contact us for details.

Check or Cash? You decide.



checkorcashSome organizations want more detail in their payment report and we listened. You can now use our offline payment capability to record cash and check payments as well as arbitrary credit or discount amounts. This increased flexibility makes balancing your registrations easier and faster with more ad-hoc capability letting registrars and organizers bypass some of the restrictions that impact attendees. You can also edit credit and discount payments in case an adjustment is needed or you make a mistake.

Outstanding Credit Report



New credit report shows all outstanding creditsAnd released just this week to much rejoicing from treasurers around the country, the outstanding credit report will list all in-system credits that have yet to be redeemed. If you're tracking your outstanding credits as revenue on your books, this report will make it easier to reconcile year to year as well as monitor who has credit remaining.

Want a taste?



You don't have to beg. All of this is available on MotorsportReg.com today. If you're interested in upgrading, just give us a call or drop an email and we'll upgrade your account on the spot.
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Topics: Features, Travel

MotorsportReg.com Welcomes Miller Motorsports Park

Date

June 11, 2013 by Mark

millerlogo



TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (March 17, 2009) — As is fitting for a state-of-the-art motorsports facility, Miller Motorsports Park is now offering a state-of-the-art online registration process for participants in its local racing series and the Miller Performance Training Center.

Miller Motorsports Park has teamed up with MotorsportReg.com to offer our racers and students a simple, secure and stress-free means of registering for races and schools. Registrants can pay online via credit card and will still need to check in at the Box Office upon arrival at the track, but the wait will be much less and the entire process will be much more efficient. In addition, when a registrant registers for any subsequent event, their data will already exist in the system and the process will be streamlined even further.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer online registration to our racers and students,” said Ty Pursley, MMP Box Office and Group Sales Manager. “This is something we have wanted to do since the track opened in 2006, and in MotorsportReg.com we now have a partner who can help us make this a seamless experience for our customers.”

“MotorsportReg.com is proud to be the registration solution for Miller Motorsports Park,” said Brian Ghidinelli, company founder. “We are excited to partner with this world-class facility and look forward to streamlining the registration experience for Miller customers.”

Go to the following links and create a user profile to get registered for available upcoming events. To register for a driving school with the Miller Performance Training Center, please visit www.MillerPerformanceTrainingCenter.MotorsportReg.com. To register for Open Track Days or to enter races in the Miller Park Racing Association, Masters of the Mountains Series, Utah Supermoto Championship, Icebreaker Kart Championship presented by HeritageWest Credit Union or Utah Kart Championship Series, please visit www.MMP.MotorsportReg.com. Registrants can still refer to www.MillerMotorsportsPark.comm for event details and be directed to the appropriate link for online registration.

For tickets or information regarding Miller Motorsports Park, call 435-277-RACE (7223) or visit the track’s website at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com.


John Gardner

Media Manager

Miller Motorsports Park

2901 N. Sheep Lane

Tooele, UT 84074

Office: 435.277.8101

Cell: 704.467.1424

FAX: 435.277.8008

Email: jgardner@millermotorsportspark.com

Web: www.millermotorsportspark.com
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Topics: Customers

Free Rally Font for Download

Date

August 14, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

rallyfontMy friend Dan Switzer sent me a link to a Rally font that gives you common symbols and stage signals for rally. Many of the icons are suitable for other forms of motorsports as well. It's available as a free download so grab a copy and start making some flyers!

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Topics: Misc

Thanks MiDiv!

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

SCCA MiDiv Convention 2009MotorsportReg.com sponsored the 2009 SCCA MiDiv Convention in Kansas City, MO this past weekend. I had the opportunity to schmooze with some of our existing customers and meet new people from the 14 regions of MiDiv. We handled online registration for the event and I gave two presentations titled "Online Registration 2.0", our take on the emerging opportunities and responsibilities around online registration. Both were well attended and I received great questions from Club Racing, PDX, Rally and Solo chairs.

Thanks to Donna Hill, the event chairperson, for her hospitality and help in getting us involved in the event. It was our third SCCA event of 2009 and every bit as great as the previous two. She doubled as an excellent emcee for the awards banquet on Saturday night!
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Topics: Travel

Monterey Bay Porsche Club Schedules Events around Historic Automobile Races

Date

August 14, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

Monterey, CA, Feb 25, 2009 – The Porsche Club of America - Monterey Bay Region (MBR) is organizing the Porsche Corral parking and other club activities surrounding the Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, August 14-16, 2009. Porsche is the featured marque at the Historic races. MBR is organizing the following events to occur during the week leading up to the Historic Races:

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Time Trial Vehicle Classification Registration

Date

June 11, 2013 by Brian Ghidinelli

Triangle Z Club Time Trial Vehicle Profile EventGet a load of this one: Stacy King from Triangle Z Club and Asphalt Ventures put together a beginning-of-year vehicle profile questionnaire for his Time Trial program. He can export all this data from his event into a spreadsheet and then perform whatever calculations are necessary to properly class the cars. This is a great example of someone taking our tools and doing awesome things with them that we never imagined.

(If the image is small when you click the link, click it to make it full-size. Some browsers scale it to fit which will make it unreadable)
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Topics: Features

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