GridFinder

Inspiration

Motorsports events are scattered across countless websites, making it difficult for beginners and seasoned racers to find safe, sanctioned races.
We wanted to solve this problem by creating one central platform to search, filter, and explore events through an interactive map.

The inspiration came from struggling to find local karting and grassroots racing events ourselves — it felt like there was no "hub" for motorsport communities like there is for restaurants or concerts.
Think of GridFinder as OpenTable for racing, connecting racers with opportunities to safely get on track.

What We Learned

• How to integrate geospatial mapping libraries like MapLibre for custom maps.
  
• Building a responsive Next.js web app with TailwindCSS for fast, clean UI development.
  
• Working with external APIs + libraries
  
• Collaborating effectively in a 24-hour hackathon setting while staying organized and focused.
  
• Designing scalable filters and search logic for real-world datasets.

How We Built It

We built GridFinder as a Next.js app with a custom interactive map using MapLibre.
We put together a database through public information given by sanctioned racing organisations. When the API failed or returned limited data, we used fallback JSON datasets to guarantee demo stability during the hackathon.

Technical Architecture:

1. Frontend – Built with Next.js and TailwindCSS for clean, fast UI components.
2. Map Component – MapLibre with custom color themes for a unique racing vibe.
3. Data Layer – Prisma DB and a local JSON backup.
4. Filtering System – Location, skill level, sanctioning body, and event type filters.
5. Gemini API - Interactive helper chatbot.

Challenges We Faced

• Data Fragmentation: Motorsport events are hosted on dozens of platforms, making it tough to get consistent, reliable data.
• Map Styling: Customizing map themes to match our brand while keeping it lightweight and performant.
• Time Crunch: Balancing feature scope and bug fixes within a 36-hour hackathon limit.

Built With

• Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript
  
• Frameworks: Next.js, TailwindCSS
  
• Map Library: MapLibre
  
• Gemini API
• Tools: GitHub, Vercel, VS Code
  
• Other: JSON datasets for fallback mode + Prisma for the database

Built With

• gemini
• javascript
• json
• maplibre
• next.js
• prisma
• tailwindcss
• typescript
• vscode