Colorado Springs, CO — March 3, 2005 — By Chris Dolack, World of
Outlaws Senior Writer
It figures that the Fons would invent something so cool for motor
sports that it’s still in use today.
OK, so maybe he has nothing to do with “Happy Days” or Henry Winkler,
but Alfonsus Maria Bervoets, better known as Fons, was responsible for
the creation in 1981 of a portable timing device for model race cars.
Fons invented the system so his brother, Pieter, who built model race
cars, could accurately measure the times in races.
Along with a college friend, Fons developed a transponder and scoring
system that was eventually used in a European Championship. It proved
to be so successful that on Jan. 1, 1982, a company bearing his
initials was founded—AMB i.t. (Identification and Timing).
The technology quickly improved, with automatic systems being developed
and used in events as big as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
By the late 1990s, AMB had become so popular for measuring the times in
motor sports events that racing organizations from the Indy Racing
League to NASCAR were using it at their speedways. Now, it has even
found its way to dirt track racing. Beginning this season, AMB i.t. is
the Official Timing System of DIRT MotorSports, including the World of
Outlaws Sprint Series and the World of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model
Series.
The cars are outfitted with transponders, each with a unique number. As
they cross the finish line, the system, called the TranX260, identifies
each car’s transponder and relays the information to a computer. Now
lap times are a breeze, and scoring becomes more efficient overall.
So the next time you see a photo finish at the track, chances are it
won’t be a photo at all that decides the winner. While the flashes are
lighting up, the finishing order already is determined on a computer
through AMB i.t.
Outlaws Senior Writer
It figures that the Fons would invent something so cool for motor
sports that it’s still in use today.
OK, so maybe he has nothing to do with “Happy Days” or Henry Winkler,
but Alfonsus Maria Bervoets, better known as Fons, was responsible for
the creation in 1981 of a portable timing device for model race cars.
Fons invented the system so his brother, Pieter, who built model race
cars, could accurately measure the times in races.
Along with a college friend, Fons developed a transponder and scoring
system that was eventually used in a European Championship. It proved
to be so successful that on Jan. 1, 1982, a company bearing his
initials was founded—AMB i.t. (Identification and Timing).
The technology quickly improved, with automatic systems being developed
and used in events as big as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
By the late 1990s, AMB had become so popular for measuring the times in
motor sports events that racing organizations from the Indy Racing
League to NASCAR were using it at their speedways. Now, it has even
found its way to dirt track racing. Beginning this season, AMB i.t. is
the Official Timing System of DIRT MotorSports, including the World of
Outlaws Sprint Series and the World of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model
Series.
The cars are outfitted with transponders, each with a unique number. As
they cross the finish line, the system, called the TranX260, identifies
each car’s transponder and relays the information to a computer. Now
lap times are a breeze, and scoring becomes more efficient overall.
So the next time you see a photo finish at the track, chances are it
won’t be a photo at all that decides the winner. While the flashes are
lighting up, the finishing order already is determined on a computer
through AMB i.t.
