Here is a track accessory that gives relief to the track, the starting light ramp that I also call “arch” will complete your race starting area. Let’s see what it will allow us to do.
The kit contains the arch but also an Adapter Unit rail, two adapter unit compatible borders and 4 start-end of borders.
The Adapter Unit is a straight rail that allows you to connect different elements so that they are powered but also to retrieve information from the track. As accessories, we can mention the controller chargers, the cockpits, the Control Tower and of course the starting light arch.
Below is a starting grid with different accessories. The starting light ramps are a little far away for my taste but this photo from the Carrera site shows all the elements that can be placed on the starting area.
For my part, I chose to put the arch just after the starting line. The assembly is not very complicated but you have to put the red connection pieces in place to properly connect the elements because the arch has a bit of a spring effect, we will see why later. During assembly there is an essential point to pay attention to, it is the direction of the Adapter Unit rail. An arrow indicates the direction of passage of the cars. It must be respected.
The circuit can be switched off with the Control Unit switch (starting base).
Immediately we notice one thing, the Carrera logo above the arch lights up. This will not change much in the experience of the race but it is a small detail that is always nice.
Now let’s start a race on the Control Unit. During the countdown to the start of the race, the 5 diodes on the starting base light up from one to five then go out to start the race.
And of course on the arch, there are 5 sets of 2 diodes, and these diodes exactly match the prince of the one on the starting base. During the unpairing procedure, the two on the left light up, then the following ones.
4 lanes
In the end our starting light ramps are just a diode report on a nicer accessory.
Usually the starting lights on the circuits are a little more basic, with lights fixed on a basic structure. Here Carrera has chosen an arch that has a much better design. Personally, I do not blame Carrera for this adaptation which looks much better on my track.
You have a 4-lane track using the Multistart lane increase, or the digital chicanes that allow you to go from 2 to 4 lanes, and you want to place the ramp there. The Carrera document does not mention this possibility but looking at the ramp and the 2 track edges everything suggests that it is possible. All you have to do is remove the edges that are between the arch and the track, and add an Adapter unit in parallel with the one already present. Then we fit the arch on our two Adapter Units and that’s it.
Please note: on the two outer tracks the height under the arch is lower. Therefore some large vehicles such as trucks cannot pass!
For classic racing vehicles that are lower, there is no problem on the four lanes.
Summary:
Reference: 20030354
Indicative price: €75