With one of the biggest professional fields in middle distance racing this weekend at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, correctly enforcement of the 12m drafting rule will be of paramount importance.
Initially, the innovative race technology used to detect drafting, RaceRanger, was set to be utilized in each and every one of the IRONMAN Pro Series races this year including Oceanside.
However, after some technical difficulties during onsite testing, IRONMAN have announced less than 24 hours before the race that the units are not ready for use on Saturday.
Statement from IRONMAN
In a statement shared by IRONMAN, the organization explained their decision, which was made after the best efforts of RaceRanger to rectify the problem.
“During RaceRanger’s onsite testing in Oceanside, they noticed some refinement required with the new units, discovering a firmware issue.
“RaceRanger has been working around the clock since the discovery of the issue to try to resolve it prior to race day.
“However, after these efforts and discussions with RaceRanger, it has been determined the units are not ready for use at the IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlon.”
Instead, the event will rely on the USAT Race Referees to enforce the IRONMAN Competition rules out on course, to ensure clean and fair racing for all athletes.
“We are deeply sorry”
For RaceRanger Co-Founder and CEO James Elvery, the issue couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time and he expressed his apologies for the situation.
“We have been working very hard to launch these brand-new upgraded units for this weekend’s use and are disappointed by the issues discovered during our onsite testing at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
“We have not been able to reach the performance standard we expect, and as a competition fairness tool, our first concern is to always offer the athletes and officials the most consistent, accurate and reliable information.
“We know how important the kickoff IRONMAN Pro Series event is for IRONMAN, and we are deeply sorry that our units are not ready for this weekend. We are confident that we’ll have the technology working for IRONMAN Texas and the rest of the IRONMAN Pro Series calendar through the year.”
IRONMAN Texas is the second stop of the 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series, and will be held on April 27, doubling as the North American IRONMAN Championship.
Racing to keep up: Is social media making us train harder?
