Another new guy

G'day Combat20

Nice set. One very lucky boy.

A returnee not so long ago myself, I dipped my foot into the pool with a Carrera Evolution F1 Lap Contest old school analogue set reinforcing it shortly afterward with a second (different) set and Ferrari 488 cars for more track options.

8' x 4' is restrictive in layout design using Carerra 1:24 track, but that set you have will build a figure 8 with crossover adding to the play value which will fit comfortably in that space. Don't dismiss the play value/fun to be had with a simple figure 8, especially for a 9 year old. They're superb for teaching slot car and track handling fundamentals, time trial or lap # distance racing, and with Carrera, those shorter wheelbase cars (vs F1) in the Furore set in particular will track on those rails sticking like they're glued to the track even through the inside radius corners at high speed without the need of assistance/advantage of the outside track guard rail.

Others have offered track planners for alternative configs. I'd suggest KISS and remember, he's 9 looking for play value, a part of which if I remember way back lies in keeping the car circulating rather than retrieving it all the time.

Welcome, have fun, all the best.

Thank you for the responses, excellent advice provided. I have the Furoe track operating and I am very impressed with the quality of the product. The cars are fast, quiet and very scale. I purchased the Carrera digital set because of the digital features, with every intent to program the cars to operate at a lower speed, making them much more controllable for a child (and me). I will do some more research, but suspect I will purchase a position tower (part number 30357) so that my grandson and his friends can more easily see who placed 1st, 2nd, etc. I purchased a lap counter part number (30355) with the set, but it, as with the programming options for the track, are a bit complicated and proficiency will always be a problem. I suspect the position tower will be more useful for the children.

I have designed several interesting track layouts with Ultimate Racer and will eventually decide on something and construct a table. As suggested by 3rdchildhood, a 4'x8' layout was very restrictive, but a 6'x10' has many possibiities.

Thanks again for the advice.