Northline Raceway was originally designed as a 4 car track with 2 separate ways to go around it. By taking advantage of it’s lane change feature, it now runs 8 cars on AC2Car electronics. Our success has led to developing the AC2Car system of racing for others to copy.
The unique lane change feature on Northline’s model of the Hairpin turn at Long Beach, allows cars in lanes 1,2 and 3 to choose to continue racing on the outer slot cut for each lane. Or, push a button and a solenoid driven switch guides the car into an inside slot also cut for that lane. Note in the pictures that Lane 4 was designed to be simpler for youngsters to run. It bisects the center of the track with no lane changing feature. I would not suggest that today, since the lane changing proved to be easier than anticipated.
Once a car leaves the Hairpin, the track makes a 90 degree left at our reproduction of Turn 7 at Riverside. From there cars climb up a large 180 degree constant radii turn, just as road racers did on the Carousel at Bridgehampton.
After negotiating a tight left hander, the cars climb steeply up a hill to level off at the top around Shell Corner. At this height, 20” above the pit area, the cars turn hard right and then quick left down our model of the famous Cork Screw Turn at Laguna Seca Raceway.
The cars shoot down for 10 feet then under an overpass where the pit entrance is. Cars that do not choose to enter the pits climb up hill a bit to turn right on to the main straight. After crossing the start/finish line half way over the 11 foot straight, they enter turn #1 which is a 90 degree right hander.
At this point Northline Raceway’s slots begin to separate allowing more cars room to pass. I would not build it this way again since spreading the slots has been found to causes many drivers to “boldly” attempt passes where they actually should not. This causes delays in racing until drivers learn the course better. If I had to do it over, I would keep the 3 lanes grouped together separately on either side of the track. This is what we recommend today on our Track building page
After turn #1, turns #2 thru #6 represent the S turns at Suzuka. The cars shoot through the long “Detroit Gran-Prix” tunnel exiting up hill out into a left hand, decreasing radii turn. The Nurburgring’s Dunlop Corner. A hard right takes cars onto a 14 foot long banked curve, recreating Daytona’s steep banking.
After racing across the banking, sometimes 4 abreast, cars jockey for position as they slow for the turn above the overpass. Here the cars must queue up single file because they are funneled together to once again enter the Hairpin. Once more a decision is made by each driver to decide whether to do nothing and remain on the outside of the track, or hold the lane change button down as his car crosses the switching area at the hairpin, to run his next lap on the inside of the roadway.
No question. The 20” sweeping drop of our Laguna Seca Corkscrew Turn worried me until I successfully tested it, and the scenery has yet to be finished, but the model of that turn is what guys talk about most after racing Northline Raceway.
Although it is only complete in my mind, I can also see the scale scoring tower and pit garages across pit row as another future focal point. Cars will be able to pit with random pit times for fuel, or fuel and tires. As at many tracks, a race director with sensors on the main straight will control a stop light that keeps a car exiting pit row from endangering cars racing past the pit exit.
Also in the works through my son Andy, is a leader board which will display laps counted for all 8 cars and their race position. And, a track control system that tracks all the cars through 8 separate zones around the circuit. When a car crashes, the microprocessor driven system will flash scale caution lights in the last zone the car had passed through to warn others of the possible hazard.
Big ideas for the future. But hey, so was running two cars in one slot and lane changing. I’m happy to report that we’re having fun doing both today!