Why I Built Race Ninja

I'm Antony. I built Race Ninja because my son needed better data and nothing out there worked for us.

My son Roman started karting two and a half years ago. Ten years old, never sat in a kart before, absolutely zero experience. His first session he was 32 seconds behind last place. Thirty-two seconds. In a one-minute lap. That's not a gap, that's a different postcode.

But he wanted to get faster. And I figured if I could see what was happening in the data, I could help him.

Starting From Scratch

I'm a software developer. I build data platforms for a living. So I started pulling telemetry out of his GoPro footage. GPS coordinates, accelerometer data, gyroscope readings. It's all baked into the video file, most people don't even know it's there.

I wrote scripts to extract it. Then scripts to process it. Then scripts to visualise it. Before long I had a full analysis pipeline running on Google Cloud, and Roman had something no one else at his level had. Real data.

Not expensive hardware data. Just his GoPro, strapped to his fairing, doing what it was already doing. We just started actually using what it recorded. And later, when he got a dashboard fitted, we layered that data in too.

From Last to the Front

By the end of that first season, he'd gone from 32 seconds behind last to a solid midfield-to-top-10 runner. At the end of year awards, Roman was presented with a trophy that has over 50 years of history. It isn't given out every year. Instead, it's held back for exceptional improvements, endeavour and enthusiasm. That's the large trophy in the picture above. The smaller one was for top novice.

This year, he's made the jump up to MSUK Senior Rotax at a more competitive club. Straight away he's pushing for top 10 places, setting personal bests and posting more consistent lap times every single week. This isn't fiction. This is the fact of data.

Perfect Lap Changed Everything

The feature that's been a game changer is Perfect Lap. Between sessions, we stitch together his fastest sectors into one lap. The fastest version of himself that actually existed across that session. He can see it, study it, understand precisely what he did in each sector to make it his quickest, right down to exact braking points. Then he goes out, smashes it, and creates another perfect version of himself to go out and achieve again. It's an upward spiral driven by real data, not guesswork.

The best part? It's infectious. My six-year-old daughter watches Roman analyse his data on his iPad, and he talks her through it. She's already desperate to start karting herself, and Roman has made it very clear he will be her mechanic so he can make her fast.

Why Grassroots Racing Deserves Better

Others in our team started noticing what we were doing. They wanted in. That's when I realised this wasn't just a bunch of scripts for my son. It was something the wider racing community could use.

The thing that frustrated me was how neglected grassroots racing is when it comes to data. The top level has incredible analysis tools, but they're expensive, they need dedicated hardware, and they need a powerful laptop or PC to run. If you're a club racer or a track day driver, you're on your own. That didn't sit right with me.

What Race Ninja Actually Does

I built Race Ninja to be accessible to everyone. Upload your GoPro or DJI footage and within minutes you get a full analysis pack. Telemetry, racing lines, braking points, performance traces, Perfect Lap, Head to Head comparisons, and more. No extra hardware, no sensors, no expensive data systems, no powerful computer needed. Just the camera you probably already have and an internet connection.

All the heavy lifting happens on an array of servers backed by Google Cloud. I've been fortunate enough to attract their funding into this project, which is a big part of why I can offer it at the price I do. They've taken a genuine interest in the data pipelines themselves.

It's Not Perfect. But It's Real.

There's loads still to do. Every week I'm adding features, fixing things, and listening to the community. Someone called it "AI slop" and I won't lie, that stung. But the bones of this thing are solid, the data is real, and it's getting better fast.

I'm building this in the open. If you're into karting, track days, hill climbs, or any form of motorsport where you've got a GoPro on your car, kart, or bike, I'd genuinely love your feedback. What works, what doesn't, what you'd want to see next.

If you want to try it, it's free to start. No credit card needed. Just upload a video and see what comes back.