Most motor races begin when all drivers are in their cars. with engines revving. and a starter drops a flag. At Le Mans in France things are different. This race is a test of endurance for both men and machines, and lasts for 24 hours. The cars are lined up at the trackside with the drivers standing on the opposite side of the track, and as soon as the starter drops his flag the drivers run across the track, start their cars and drive off.

To make a Le Mans start track you will need two 9” straights. one of which could be an old broken piece from which you trim one end by removing any track connecting clips. The track should be halved (1), cutting at approximately 45 degrees. Place the cut piece of track into position and mark the slots onto the uncut piece of track (2). In order to equalize the length of the two lanes I chose to incorporate a cross over arrangement as shown in the diagram.

The slots are cut into the track with an Abrafile or a fret saw and opened up to 2 mm with a thin warding file (3). The two pieces of track are then glued together using cyanoacrylate and the position of any missing parts of the pickup rail are marked with a pencil (4). One hole, each 1 mm in diameter, is drilled on the pencil lines for each individual piece of pickup rail, which is cut to length from a piece of 5 mm piano wire, and a small wire is soldered to each piece. The wire was pushed through the hole and the rail fixed in place with glue. When set, the rails were filed flat, and to the same height as the rest. The wires being soldered together as shown (6).

A small platform (5) may be added for the rear wheels of the car to rest on, and if made from glossy polystyrene sheet you get a good wheel spin affect. Spray the section with flat black aerosol, and if you wish, a nice touch is to cut the word “Start” in a stencil, and spray onto the track.