I think transponders have done us a disservice.
Don’t get me wrong, they are great and give the lap scorers a break but over the years they have seen racing numbers disappear into the background as no one is reading the numbers anymore.
Trouble is, as a spectator I can’t tell one competitor from another now, the cars are all a technicolour blur which isn’t helped by the fact that all the modern race cars look the same. They have so many sponsor stickers on their cars (or bikes for that matter) that you can’t see what colour the car is.
I wonder if the sponsors realize that when a car has so many different sponsor stickers that collectively we tend to not notice any of them.
Once upon a time you used to be able to see the HDT cars at a distance and see a big 05 or 25 on them, now I don’t know if I’m barracking for a Ford or a Holden till they stop in the pits.
Same with bikes, check out the side plates Husky have been using over the last few years, barely big enough for a sponsor sticker let alone a 3 digit race No.
Yeah I know, I’m getting old and shouldn't be watching without glasses.