Attending a track day is not only a lot of fun but it improves your driving skill. Add a little rain in the mix and you will learn even more.
Spring is just around the corner. That means track season is also right around the corner. Taking your Corvette to a track day is one of the most exciting and thrilling things you will ever do. And as a bonus, it will make you a better and safer driver. But a lot of folks decide not to go to the track if rain is in the forecast. And that is really a shame because rain makes for a wonderful teacher. That’s right, you can learn more driving skills in the wet than you can in the dry.
What makes a track day in the rain so different? Besides the obvious of course. What are the advantages? What are some of the things you should look out for? Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned over the last two decades of track day driving and instructing…
Smooth is Fast
You probably heard that phrase before. A smooth driver is a fast driver. If you are watching someone drive around the track and they look slow, they are likely setting the quickest lap times. Fast doesn’t always look fast. It is the smooth inputs that make a driver truly quick. And driving on a racetrack in the rain forces you to be smooth.
Speeds are reduced because your traction is reduced. But traction is not reduced equally. Your braking and acceleration traction is reduced by roughly one-third in the rain. However, your cornering traction is cut in half. That is important to remember as you navigate the car around the track. That is where it pays to be smooth.
Mistakes in the wet are magnified due to reduced traction. You will learn to feel the car step out and you can practice bringing it back in line. You do this at much lower speeds in the rain. Your turn into a corner should be smooth and slow. When you accelerate, do so with gentle pressure on the gas pedal. If you must lift off the throttle, again do it slowly.
When I went to racing school, I was put into a ‘slide car’ that had the rear wheels turn in a way that simulated the car being on a low grip surface. My challenge was to get the car around the track at a speed between 35 and 40 mph. That is certainly not very fast. But I learned more about car control at those low speeds than I ever did driving at 150 mph.
The Rain Line
On a dry track, you are looking for that ideal line that has you spending the least amount of time cornering or braking and the most time accelerating. In the wet, you are driving for grip.
The ideal line in the dry will almost never be the same in the wet. In the wet, you are typically looking to drive on the part of the track where cars typically spend the least amount of time. In the dry, most drivers follow similar lines. The track gets worn smooth in those sections. In the wet, you want to avoid that. You want to hunt for the abrasive sections. Grip is more critical than anything now. So, you will often be taking turns around the outside of a corner and off the normal apex. Even in the straights, your line could be different depending on where the grip is.
Driving in search of grip is another great learning tool. You begin to understand and feel how the car is reacting to your inputs and the track beneath you. You are not a robot trying to hit the exact same line over and over again. Now you are a driver seeking out the optimal path around a course with changing conditions.
Use Caution
Doing a track day in the rain is a great teacher, but you need to use common sense to stay safe. As you are out there learning remember there is no prize for fastest lap time at an HPDE. Be OK with the fact that you will not find out the top speed of your Corvette on this day.
Just like on the highway, you can aquaplane on a wet track. Again, be gentle. If it happens, don’t overreact and slam on the brakes. In fact, don’t even touch the brakes. Don’t abruptly take your foot off the gas either. The less you do the better. Keep the wheels pointed as straight as possible and you should feel the tires regain grip eventually. Learning this skill on a racetrack could save your life one day out on the street.
As you can see, the overall theme with rainy track days is to be gentle, smooth, and slow. That might not sound like a lot of fun. But you will be amazed at how much it improves your driving skill. The next time you are on the track on a sunny day you will not only be a safer driver, but chances are good that you will be faster as well.
Don’t be afraid of the rain.
Images: Chevrolet
Keyword: Tracking Your Car in the Rain Will Make You a Better Driver