Into the attic...

Right, so @ 4 yrs ago I decided I'd like to put a permanent circuit in my loft, but with limited space, funds, time and ability I was probably up against it. Planning was going well until a friend of mine pointed out that if I didn't insulate it first I wouold probably have a ruined, distorted track within a year, as insulation not only keeps out the cold but helps to keep out the heat as well!! Very important this as it's now usable in December as well as in August.

I had to try and do things on the cheap, so after pricing up insulation and tongue and groove to line the loft we were in trouble. A good old summer sale of insulation and some £1 bed sheets from the pound shop saw me up and running with an insulated loft, lined reasonably tidily, with some cheap laminate flooring and a T&G ceiling.

I now had my clean canvass to work with. But by now enthusiasm had waned and any thoughts of some of the beautiful creations you see on here with hills/switchbacks etc.. had far from passed. It was to be a simple, usable design that was within my abilities and a 'quick fix' if you like... don't ask me to define 'quick'........

The big change was learning (on here) about PBPro and SSDC, which made it all of a sudden something very interesting. The circuit still needed to be simple to make it something the kids could also enjoy.

Some time later.. a lot of time later, I am nearly done. With the help of some great after-market products I am really pleased with the results. I have the SSDC running on a laptop at the moment but hope to pickup a larger screen soon. A little more finishing required to hide some wires and the edges of the board, and I have some trees en-route from China (if they ever get here).

First pic tries to illustrate how it fits into the loft space, @ 3m square running betwee the rafters, which are not obscuring, probably need another coat of paint though



Pit straight is just a single pit lane with the Carrera pit buildings:-



First corner sponsored by "Fosters" is a tight hairpin, and it's the only problem part of the course for the kids where I set the throttle level, they can crash on this corner, but not enough to send the cars flying! As at £35 each you don;t want a digital car becoming a missile!! Fosters leads into a single lane chicane forcing a lane change for the inside line:-



Turn 2 "Shell" leads into a semi-chicane before the back straight under a Dunlop bridge:-




Turn 3 is a flat out Radius 4 corner with plenty of run off.. needed for when the throttles aren't restricted...:-


With a final blast to turn 4, last opportunity to make sure you can get into the pits under the "Vodafone" banner:-


It's taken a long time. The expense of £35 on artificial grass I think was worth it, but what makes it hang together is the technology and the advertising boards.

Oh and one final pic, xbox 360, with surround sound setup (£25 in sale at Currys) and a racing seat (free from freecycle!!!):-



I've really enjoyed some of the mastery shown on this site, and lots of the tips and tricks really help, especially when you are as impatient as I am for results. I wish I had made more use of the space and had some undulation in the track, maybe next time or a single lane rally track beckons somehow... for now I think enough is enough and its time to enjoy it!! Before the wife wants to move house