Driving in the wet!

I spent a lot of time last year training on different skid pans ready for the 2021 season to start and it’s great fun. I do wish I’d done it sooner though as I would recommend this to anyone who drives a car as you will learn vital skills and recovery drills for everyday driving but under safe conditions.

In the winter when the roads and air temperature is cold the rubber compound on your tyres has a lot less grip (this is also worth remembering for all drivers!). In racing to make a tyre grip well to the track you need to generate heat to soften the rubber which generates more flex against the road surface which comes from both friction and the warmth of the track and air temperature, so on a cold winters day if you add in a wet surface it can get pretty lively and exciting!   

The trick to driving on a wet track is to find the driest part of the circuit with the best grip, the problem is that these areas can change from one lap to the next. You tend to avoid what would normally be the quickest racing line in the dry as this well-worn path has a smoother surface due to embedded rubber and oil in the asphalt which offers less grip…but dead quick in the dry!

Using the longer way round the outside of corners, using less steering angle and having more subtle smooth use of the brakes and throttle is essential to staying on the track in the wet. But at the same time, you have to push your available grip to its limit. Managing your oversteer and understeer on corners becomes vital and it becomes normal for the ABS to kick in under heavy braking when you reach your ‘braking threshold’. So there is a lot you must become comfortable with as your car fidgets around the circuit like it has ‘ants in its pants’ while in treacherous conditions.

Using ‘Wet Tyres’

To help the drivers pace we use ‘Wet Tyres’ on a rainy day, these have wider treads and generate a greater displacement of water which is fabulous unless you are following a car with these tyres. That’s when the spray can get so bad that you can barely see the track in front of you but they do offer better grip.

There are dozens of variations of how you drive a given circuit to get the fastest time depending on whether it is wet, dry, warm or cold and knowing how each part of that track reacts is vital. Therefore, it is so important to do as much training in all weathers and times of the year as you never know what it will be like on race day.