A new snooker clubhouse was built and after experimenting with a newer layout, Chris decided to section off part of the club and build a larger track. This was made solely of Carrera track and that’s when things got serious. With a few race meetings under his belt the property was sold on and for four years the Carrera track has been in storage waiting a new home. Eventually new premises were secured and in a very short time Chris built the new Four Seasons track in the same grand style as its predecessor.
Carrera track is unique to a degree as it is fitted with stainless steel conductor rails. For those who aren’t aware, stainless has lesser magnetic qualities and the average RTR slotcar will struggle for adhesion. This explains why Carrera models have always had two traction magnets underneath. SCX can be fine tuned to the track but models from Fly, Slot.it and others will need some attention before they can be expected to perform well.
Turns two and three
Chris measured up available space and set about designing a track on one of the freely available track design programs. He came up with a highly drivable track which flows well but is still enough of a challenge for the racer. This is how it goes.
Main straight
The start line and all the driver stations are at one end of the track. From the start line there is a short straight to turn one which is a three quarter bend on to the main straight. Flat out down the main straight will bring you to a deceptive left hander in turn two. The track initially heads to the right but the turns into a sweeping left hander to take you along the outer edge of the track base board.
turns four and five
A ninety degree left hander will the give you an opportunity to briefly accelerate to the most technical part of the track. Turn four is a sweeping left hander which develops into a right hander passing under the main straight. On the other side of the fly over there is turn six, another sweeper which leaves you at a small straight. Turn seven is a left hander which again after a short straight brings you to the final turn eight and back on to the stop start straight.
Most models will negotiate the entire circuit in the low sixes. A race depending on the class, will see models circulate in the high to mid fives, and on those special high speed occasions a sub five, in the region of 4.8 to 4.9 will be a race winning time if you can keep it up!
Turns seven and eight
Most of the bends have shoulder sections on them and Carrera fencing is second to none. It can retain a model on the track in surprisingly hard deslots. Power is supplied by four Carrera power packs and the track has separate start lights. Racing is controlled by a race management system which will rotate all drivers across all lanes randomly, a welcome change from the much disliked and outdated ‘bracket’ racing systems.
So there we have yet another great track in the Brisbane environs, and more importantly, it’s on the southside!! Four Seasons hope to have a regular club night on Friday evenings, so if you are looking for extra places to race, check out Four Seasons at Eagleby. For location details you can email or pm me at this board, just click the little icon to the right under my avatar,.............and we’ll see you there!!