# Making a circuit wall plaque with the Race Track preset > a famous circuit cut as a bold ribbon on a racing-red backplate Every motorsport fan knows their circuit by silhouette alone. This preset draws the circuit as a bold black ribbon over a racing-red round backplate, with the surrounding access roads as fine supporting detail. The ribbon comes from the built-in race track library, so you get the racing layout alone, without the pit lane or old loops that share the tarmac. It ships set up on the Silverstone Grand Prix layout and switches to any of the 100-plus circuits in the library, or to a GPX lap of your local kart track. The result is a layered plaque for the garage, office, or sim-racing rig. ## What you need ### Layered laser build (recommended) - Backplate: 3 mm red [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets) (gloss "racing red" cast acrylic; the preset's `#C0181F`) or red-painted MDF, circle ~200 to 300 mm - Track layer: 3 mm black acrylic (matte black over gloss red is *chef's kiss*) - Laser cutter, acrylic adhesive (Weld-On, or clear silicone for forgiving positioning), keyhole hanger or stand ### Single-piece engrave - Two-color acrylic (red cap / black or white core) or painted [plywood](https://yxecreations.com/collections/laser-grade-plywood) ## 1. Start from the preset Open [the Race Track preset](/map-designer?preset=race-track). It loads on the Silverstone Grand Prix layout at zoom 14 in a circle frame with a black border ring. To switch circuits, edit the **Track** layer, set **Route source** to **Race track** and search; Spa, Suzuka, Monza and Laguna Seca are all in the list. **Zoom to route** then moves the map to the new track. A kart track that isn't listed can be uploaded as a GPX or KML lap on the **Upload file** tab. Framing tips: - Zoom so the full circuit fits inside the circle with breathing room: 13.8 to 14.5 covers most grand prix tracks; small karting circuits may need 15+. - Rotate your mental composition around the track's iconic corner: put Eau Rouge or the Suzuka esses where the eye lands first. - Venues with several layouts list each one separately in the picker, and the length shown after you pick tells similar layouts apart. ## 2. Tune the layers Three layer groups: **Track**: a Route layer from the race track library, width 6, black. It exports as a real filled ribbon: a continuous closed loop you can physically cut. Width 6 is right for a 250 mm plaque; go 8 for chunkier or for small kart tracks that need visual weight. The global border (black ring, padding 10) also applies to this layer, giving the cut layer a matching outer ring. **Access roads**: Score mode (line mode): secondary, street, minor, and "other" roads, black. These are the paddock lanes, service roads, and pit access that give the plaque its sense of place. **Important:** in Score mode the laser scores each road as a single thin centerline in one pass; this is *engraving detail*, not cuttable geometry. In the layered build these scored lines land on the red backplate, not on the cut track. If you want a cleaner, logo-like plaque, hide this group entirely. **Backplate**: a solid racing-red (`#C0181F`) disc behind everything. It's the physical bottom layer in laser builds and the background color in prints. ## 3. Export In the export modal: - **Layered build:** use the per-layer toggles. Export the **Track layer SVG** (your black cut file (ribbon + border ring), then the **Access roads SVG** (score/engrave file for the backplate) thin centerlines, not fills), then the backplate is just a plain circle at final size. - **Single-piece engrave:** export the **combined SVG** or high-res PNG with everything visible. - **Print:** **high-res PNG (4096 px)**, Background toggle on so the red disc prints. - **Hanger hole** if you want to hang it by a cord instead of a keyhole hanger: position top-center; it cuts through the backplate ring. - **Small-polygon cleanup** on, mostly to tidy the access-road fragments. ## Laser Cutting & Engraving ### Layered laser build 1. Cut the backplate circle from red acrylic at final size (250 mm is a strong wall size). Score the **Access roads** lines onto it in the same job so registration is perfect. 2. Cut the **Track layer** from black acrylic: the circuit ribbon and the outer border ring. Cut slowly: the ribbon has tight corner radii at chicanes. 3. De-mask both parts. Dry-fit the ribbon over the scored backplate: the scored service roads should kiss the edges of the black track exactly. 4. Glue: tiny dots of adhesive on the back of the ribbon at the straights (never at thin corner sections; squeeze-out shows), position using the scored access roads as the registration map, then the border ring last. [3M tape](https://yxecreations.com/collections/3m-tape) 467 or 468 transfer tape is a zero-squeeze-out alternative for acrylic-on-acrylic. 5. Add a keyhole hanger or easel stand. ### Single-piece engrave 1. On red/black two-color acrylic: raster-engrave the Track and Access roads through the red cap; the circuit appears in the core color. One material, zero assembly. 2. Or on painted MDF: spray red, engrave through to bare board, cut the circle. ## 3D Printing ### Print the track as a raised circuit 1. Export 3MF from the preview dialog so the racing red backplate and the dark track come through as separate filament colours. 2. Open the 3MF in your slicer and check the scale: 180 to 250 mm across keeps the width-6 track ribbon chunky enough to print cleanly. 3. Assign filament colours: red for the backplate, black or white for the Track layer. The width-2 access roads are too thin to print well, so hide that layer before export or let the slicer drop them. 4. Print flat on a smooth plate with 0.2 mm layers. The track sits proud of the plate like a real circuit map. 5. For a two-piece look, export STL instead and print the track and backplate separately in different materials, then bond them with 3M 467 transfer tape. A printed circuit plaque makes a great gift paired with race-day photos, and the closed track ribbon means there are no fragile loose strands to worry about. ## UV & Sublimation Printing ### Print The combined PNG makes instant posters, mousepads (sublimation), and phone-grip discs: the red/black palette is print-ready as-is. ## Make it yours - Engrave the circuit name, country, and lap record along the inside of the border ring. - Start/finish detail: add a small white-filled rectangle decal or paint marker dash at the start line. - Sector colors: cut the track ribbon in three pieces from three acrylic colors (purple/green/yellow; sim racers will get it). - Home-circuit pairing: this preset for the track, the City Map preset for the host town, hung side by side. - Driver tribute: backplate in the driver's livery color instead of red; papaya, rosso, silver. - Mini key fobs: 50 mm version with just the Track layer and a hanger hole, finished with [snap clips](https://yxecreations.com/products/keychain-snap-clips-multiple-colours); batch a whole season calendar of circuits. - Swap the circle for the hexagon export shape and build a wall of hex plaques, one per circuit visited. --- Open the tool: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/race-track Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/race-track