A lap that fits a session
Within a ten-minute session, a short lap gives far more attempts than a long one. More attempts means more chances to improve and a reason to book another session to go further.
Guide
Lap time challenges that bring drivers back: a playbook for sim centers
A challenge gives a driver a time to beat and a date to beat it by. This guide covers the choices that make one work in a venue: what to race, who it is fair for, how often to run it, where to show it and how it connects to what you sell.
The principle
Why a challenge brings people back
A first session on a simulator is a discovery. A second one needs a reason. A lap time challenge supplies one: a public ranking, a gap to the driver just above, and an end date that turns "some day" into "before Sunday". The driver who finishes eighth knows exactly how many tenths separate them from seventh, and that is what they come back for.
In Omnisim a challenge is deliberately simple: one track, one or more cars, two dates, the difficulty levels that count and, if you want, valid laps only. It is a best-lap competition, not a championship: there are no rounds, points or race director. Everything below is about using that simple format well.
We do not publish engagement figures, and you should be wary of anyone who promises a percentage. What a challenge does in your venue depends on your customers, your prices and your screens. The last section of this guide explains how to measure it with your own data.
Step 1
Choose a track and cars your drivers can learn
The track and car list decide who feels able to compete. A challenge nobody thinks they can win is just a poster.
Cars that compare drivers, not cars
Allow one car, or several cars of similar performance. If one allowed car is clearly faster, the ranking turns into a list of who picked it.
Match your simulator types
If your rigs are split between formula, GT or rally setups, run the challenge on content that suits the rigs drivers will actually sit in. A rally stage from your Assetto Corsa content can be a challenge too.
Check the content on every rig
When you create the challenge, the form names the simulators where the track or a car is missing, or installed but not offered to players, and can switch that content on as you save.
Change the track regularly
A track that has run for months rewards the regulars who know it by heart. A new one resets the order and gives newcomers a fair start.
Step 2
Set the levels so that beginners and regulars both have a chance
Each challenge lists the difficulty levels whose laps count: Novice, Intermediate and Expert, all three by default. The level of a lap is not the name the player picked on the screen: it is read from the stability aid used during that lap. 25% or less counts as Expert, up to 75% as Intermediate, above that as Novice.
So before your first challenge, open the three difficulty profiles in the simulation settings and check their stability control values against those thresholds. If your Intermediate profile runs 80% stability, its laps will be ranked as Novice. Keeping each profile clearly inside its band avoids arguments later.
Then choose a format. A single challenge open to every level is the simplest, and the leaderboard's assist column still shows who drove with help. If your regulars are much faster than your walk-in customers, run two challenges on the same track over the same dates: one restricted to Novice, one to Intermediate and Expert. A newcomer then sees a ranking they can climb.
- Each profile also sets the other aids, wear and damage: adjust them in the simulation settings.
- Two challenges on one track count as two of the four a center can run on the same day.
Step 3
Decide what a valid lap is, and say it out loud
A ranking only motivates if drivers believe it. Settle your rules before the first lap, then post them where drivers can read them.
Track limits are automatic
More than two wheels off the track invalidates the lap. Nobody at the front desk has to watch replays to enforce the basic rule.
Valid laps only, or not
Tick "Show valid laps only" for a strict competition. Leave it off for a casual one: invalid laps then appear after all valid laps, marked INVALID, so a beginner still sees their name.
A human can correct
Staff with the right role can validate or invalidate any lap by hand, for example when a driver reports a corner cut the timing missed. The leaderboard then takes the correction into account.
One name, one driver
Each driver appears once, with their best lap. Usernames are moderated, and a username already taken requires the matching email address, in free access too, so nobody can post a time under someone else's name.
Write the rules on a screen
Add an image with your rules and prizes to the display loop, next to the leaderboard. A rule nobody has read cannot settle a dispute.
Step 4
Plan a cadence instead of a one-off
One challenge is an event. A calendar of challenges is a habit. The order below is the one we suggest for a first season.
- 01
Announce it before it starts
Create the challenge a week or two ahead. Until its start date it appears as UPCOMING on your public calendar, which tells regulars what is coming.
- 02
Mix long and short
A center can run up to four challenges on the same day. A useful mix: one long challenge over a month for regulars, one short weekend challenge tied to an event, and, if needed, a level-restricted one for beginners.
- 03
Start without stress
A challenge is retroactive. If you create it, or correct it, after its start date, laps already driven since that date are counted.
- 04
Close and celebrate
At the end date the leaderboard freezes and the calendar offers a Results button with the final standings. Rewards are up to you: a promo code restricted to the winner's email address is one way to hand out a free session.
- 05
Chain the next one
Have the next challenge already scheduled so the calendar never goes empty. A series is simply challenges back to back: Omnisim does not add up points between them.
Step 5
Put the challenge where drivers wait
A leaderboard works when people see it between sessions: at the bar, in the queue, on their phone on the way home.
A loop on the venue TV
The Display page builds a loop per center: the live leaderboard, the challenge calendar, your videos and images. Defaults are 30 s for the leaderboard and 25 s for the calendar.
Readable from a distance
On a TV, the leaderboard fits the screen height and pages every 30 seconds when there are more drivers than lines. Up to four challenges sit side by side, with the time to beat.
On every phone
The same public link opens a scrolling layout on phones and tablets, without an account. Print it behind a QR code on the tables or send it to the drivers who raced that day.
In the driver's language
Public pages exist in 13 languages and follow the visitor's browser. Your center's logo and colors appear on its pages.
When the TV refuses
Some older TV browsers cannot open the page. A streaming stick or mini-PC on the HDMI input solves it: see the TV troubleshooting page.
Step 6
Run one challenge across several venues
If you operate more than one center, a single challenge can include several of them. It is one competition with one leaderboard: each driver's center is shown, and the leaderboard notes how many centers the challenge runs at. Drivers in one venue now race against another, which gives a local ranking a wider audience.
Fairness matters more here. The same track and cars must be installed and offered in every venue, and the challenge form names the simulators that lack them. Days are counted in each center's own time zone, so a challenge ending on Sunday runs until the end of Sunday, local time, everywhere. If your venues run different hardware, consider whether a mixed ranking is fair, or run separate challenges per venue.
Each center keeps its own public leaderboard and calendar, and a page gathering all centers is available too. Archiving a center removes its laps from shared challenges.
- Running several venues from one account: see our multi-location sim racing software.
Step 7
Connect the challenge to what you sell, then measure
A driver who wants to beat a time needs an easy way to book the next attempt. If you sell online, running challenges appear as a banner on your booking page, and the public calendar has Participate and Book buttons that lead to it. A booklet of sessions, or a pass with a daily session limit, suits the driver who comes back several times during a challenge. A promo code limited to certain time slots can fill a challenge evening on a quiet weekday.
For an event, a private party or a trade show, switch rigs to free access: no ticket, each player types a username and drives for your default session length, and their laps still feed the leaderboard.
Then look at your own numbers rather than anyone's promises. Each challenge card counts its participants. The laps page counts total laps, valid laps and unique drivers for the dates you filter, and the drivers list shows what each customer has spent, with CSV export. Compare a month with a challenge to a month without one, in your own venue.
- Selling sessions, booklets and passes online: see our sim racing booking software.
- What the leaderboard and challenge features include, screen by screen: see our sim racing leaderboards page.
Questions about running challenges
How long should a sim racing challenge last?
There is no single answer. A weekend suits an event or a launch; a month gives regulars time to come back and improve. You can combine both: a center can run up to four challenges on the same day.
Which track should I choose for a first challenge?
A track with a short lap that most of your drivers know or can learn within one session, with one car or a few cars of similar performance. It must be installed and offered on the simulators of every participating center.
How do I stop experienced drivers from discouraging beginners?
Restrict levels. A lap's level comes from the stability aid used, so you can run a Novice-only challenge alongside an Intermediate and Expert one on the same track. Check first that your difficulty profiles sit clearly inside the level bands described in the challenge guide.
Do I need to enter lap times or check every lap?
No. Laps come from the simulators automatically, and a lap with more than two wheels off the track is invalidated on its own. Staff only step in to correct a lap by hand when needed.
Can I run a championship with points over several rounds?
No. Omnisim challenges are best-lap competitions between two dates. There are no points tables, seasons or race control. You can schedule challenges back to back, but any points between them would have to be counted outside Omnisim.
Can drivers without a ticket take part?
Yes, when the simulator is in free access. Each player enters a username and their laps are ranked under that name.
Does Omnisim guarantee more visits from challenges?
No, and we publish no figure. Omnisim gives you the format, the screens and the counters: participants per challenge, laps and unique drivers per period. Use them to measure the effect in your own venue.
See also
Leaderboards & challenges →Lap time challenges fed straight from your simulators: live public leaderboards for TV and phone, a challenge calendar and a display loop for your screens.Online booking & payments →Sell sim racing sessions, booklets and passes online, paid to your own Stripe account with no Omnisim commission. Customers get a QR code to scan at the rig.Multi-center →Run several sim racing centers from one Omnisim account: per-center settings, roles per site, cross-center challenges, one Stripe account, no fee per center.
Run your first challenge on your own simulators
Start a 14-day free trial, no credit card required, and put a challenge on your venue's screen this week.