Purple Sector

Analyse GoPro GPS data from your track video

Open a GoPro MP4 from a track session and read its GPS and motion data to time and compare laps. Which models have GPS, and why bring the original file.

  • .mp4
  • .lrv

By Purple Sector. Published and reviewed .

Open your own file See a sample debrief
MyChron 5Queensland Raceway National
A MyChron 5 session open in Purple Sector: the Queensland Raceway National map with its six turns and the gap at each, beside the list of laps.
Shown: a real MyChron 5 session at Queensland Raceway National. A file from any logger Purple Sector reads opens in the same view.

How do I get the session file from a GoPro?

Bring: the original .MP4 straight off the SD card (or the .LRV beside it)

On a computer

  1. Copy the video off the card (in DCIM\100GOPRO) with a card reader or the camera’s USB.
  2. Open it here. Only the GPS and motion data are read.
  3. Open the same video in the Video tab to play it with the data.

On a phone

  1. Bring the untouched file straight off the card: copy it to a computer with a card reader or the camera’s USB.
  2. Open it here on that computer.

Watch out: An edited or re-exported video loses the data. A HERO12 Black has no GPS.

Vendor instructions: GoPro GPS help

What else should I know about the file?

Limits to know
  • Bring the untouched file straight off the card: an edited or re-exported video loses its data.
  • A HERO12 Black and a HERO10 Black Bones have no GPS, so they open with no map, speed or laps.
  • Turn GPS on in the camera before the session.
  • A long session the camera split into chapters (GX01…, GX02…) opens one chapter at a time for now.
GPS rate

HERO5 to HERO10 record GPS at about 18 Hz, HERO11 and HERO13 at 10 Hz, fast enough for AI coaching. The camera’s accelerometer measures the camera, not the kart, so it is used as the kart’s g only when it agrees with the GPS path. What GPS can and cannot show.

Which GoPro models record GPS?

HERO5 to HERO10 record GPS at about 18 Hz and HERO11 and HERO13 at 10 Hz, fast enough for AI coaching. GoPro also lists MAX2 and the MISSION 1 Series as GPS cameras; they are not yet tested here. A HERO12 Black and a HERO10 Black Bones have no GPS, so they open with no map, speed or laps.

Why does my video show no data?

An edited or re-exported video loses its data. Bring the untouched file straight off the camera’s SD card, and check GPS was on in the camera.

What do I see once the file opens?

Lap 6 picked against lap 1: the gap to lap 1 at every turn on the map, T3 the largest at +0.87 s.
The gap to your best at every turn.
The map closed on T3, marked +0.87 s, with both laps' lines through the corner.
The corner that cost time, with both lines.
The AI Coach card for T3, +0.87 s: “Turn in about 2 m wider into T3 and get back on the throttle about 3 m sooner out of it.”
One card for that corner, with its numbers.

See how to read the speed and time difference in a worked lap comparison at Norwell, using a public sample recording and its stated evidence limits.

How to compare laps · Circuit maps

Popular circuits: Mount Panorama · Phillip Island · Sydney Motorsport Park · The Bend Motorsport Park · Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit · Adelaide Street Circuit · Lakeside Park · Calder Park Raceway · all circuit maps.

Using a different logger?

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