Choosing a reference run

The reference run is the canonical pass for a track session. It defines the track itself — where it starts, where it ends, and which intermediate splits matter. Every other run in the session is compared against it.

Why this choice matters

Two things follow from picking a reference run:

1. The reference run's splits become the template. Every other run's splits are predicted by aligning that run against the reference. If the reference's splits are sloppy, every comparison will be sloppy.
2. The leaderboard and time-delta numbers are all relative to the reference's splits. A run that beats the reference at a split shows a negative delta there; a run that's slower shows a positive delta.

What makes a good reference

The strongest reference run is:

• complete — runs the full track from intended start to intended finish, no shortcuts, no early stops
• clean — no crashes, no major mistakes, no walking sections
• visually clear — the camera saw the track for the whole run, not fogged or covered, not knocked off-axis mid-run
• representative — the line you actually want to be measured against, ridden at race pace

It does not need to be the fastest run. Many riders use a clean mid-pace lap as the reference and then chase faster times against it. The reference defines the geometry of the track; the leaderboard captures who rode it fastest.

Changing the reference

You can change which run is the reference at any time. When you do:

• the new reference's splits become the template
• splits on other runs are re-predicted against the new template
• the leaderboard recalculates against the new reference's split layout

Changing the reference does not delete any runs or any of your manual splits. It just re-points which run defines the track.

When to change the reference

Common reasons:

• you uploaded a better, cleaner pass that's a better template
• the original reference had a wonky camera angle that was hurting alignment for other runs
• the track has changed (the line shifted, a feature was added) and you want a reference that reflects the current shape

If the track itself has fundamentally changed — a new section, a re-routed corner — you're better off creating a new track session rather than re-pointing the reference. A track session is one geometry; once that geometry changes, you've left it.

Reference runs and visibility

If you're on a team, designating a run as the reference makes it visible to other team members in the session — even if the underlying run was private up to that point. This is how teams keep their reference canonical: one shared reference for everyone.

If you're a solo rider, this doesn't change anything you can see, but it's worth knowing if you ever join a team later.