hf1

All other things being equal, how much more likely are you to crash in the rain vs dry? (2x, 3x, 4x,...?)

mannym5

I enjoy rain racing as well and agree with the "equalizer" concept. Some of my best races were in damp-wet conditions. It's also a great way to improve car control.

Agreed that NJMP race was one of my favorite races as well. Especially the restart around the 16min mark of my vid This was also my first spb race win. With me being out on dry stickers to start made the first several laps quite interesting lol.

mark kibort

Here is the highlights of the GTGP race at laguna .... started out damp, got real wet. ended up in 5th overall on slicks!!!!!
some carnage to some real nice cars too.

https://vimeo.com/16519743

Frank 993 C4S

This - always!

hf1

Nice driving! So, did you bring rain tires for the weekend? No wipers?

The "rain equalizer" concept is mute for SPB, IMO. They're (supposedly) all equal already, and good car control in the dry usually translates into good car control on the wet.

mannym5

This was a weird situation and tough call. It was one small rain cloud passing over us during grid time and then sunny skies to follow. I did have rain tires with me but decided to leave the dry's on and I also did not have time to make the switch given how sudden the rain cloud came and passed. Same goes for my wiper blades.. Dry's ended up being the right choice IMO considering how much it dried up by the end of the race.
Agreed the equalizer concept isn't as relevant for spb.. Although come to think of it, I've never been able to pass and pull away from Matt Muller like that in any other race. He is a super fast and skilled driver with a very well setup car.
Car control abilities should carry over from the dry in theory, but I don't think that's always the case. Some people may not be as confident/comfortable to push it in the wet. Especially in constant changing conditions where no 2 laps are the same.
This Glen enduro I drove with my fathers old(not so well prepped) sp3 car is probably a better example of the equalizer effect. Dryer first half conditions I fell back from the super fast eurosport cars. Super wet second half of the race(skip to 22:30) I was catching the leader by several seconds per lap on the same tires, but ultimately ran out of time before I could catch him. Ended up p2. Another one of my favorite races.

hf1

I noticed this, as well. And it continued even as it got relatively dry. I was wondering if there was smth wrong with his car or whether he was on rains because the diff was so large. Regardless, great driving on your part!

Good point. There are many consistently fast drivers in the dry that are very close to the grip limit at all times but don't often cross/straddle it, and it's all about the latter in the rain.

mannym5

Thanks.. I had the same initial thoughts post race, but same tires and no car issues. Having new non heat cycled tires with stickers on them made it very difficult to get up to speed for me in the beginning. If I had already scrubbed them in I may have been able to keep up a little better in the beginning, but who knows.

Astroman

+1 Never for me. I don't even bring rain tires anymore because I don't want to be tempted.

I know it's fun, but for me, it isn't worth a destroyed car. I know too many good drivers that have wrecked their cars bigly (or been hit) in the rain.

Sh*t, some race weekends are sketchy enough out there in the dry. No need to add another risk factor.

gbuff

Years and years ago Ralph was my instructor at Tremblant.....we go flying down the hill into Le Diable--I go to downshift and the #$@$#@#$ shift **** comes off in my hand! I calmly hand it to him and he spent the rest of that lap trying to bash it back on in between shifts

Gary

Cyril

Racing and DE: Always

rmag

My exact sentiments. NFW it's worth the risk anymore.

924RACR

Absolutely, and often on slicks... I really gotta get some more rims made up for my car, so I can run some intermediates...

hf1

Very interesting range of responses. My uneducated guess is that crash risk in the rain is at least 3x bigger than in the dry, and this is only partially dependent on driver (car control) skill, as the risk exposure to other driver's mishaps increases as well.

If the above estimate is correct, then one's response to the question would be highly dependent on the value of the car they are driving. In other words, someone racing a car worth 1/3 of the value they are comfortable leaving at the track can afford to take 3x the risk of losing it, and would have less of a concern about racing in rain.

The above is just a quick theory and doesn't address injury risk.

ProCoach

I don't think the data would support the premise that "you're three times more likely to crash in the rain than in the dry."

Every driver's assessment of risk/benefit ratio is different. This is true for the decision whether to go out OR decisions made while on-track in different conditions.

Just got through this discussion about "how hard to push on cold slicks." Well, I've won a LOT of races because I pushed hard and was out of shape first green flag lap but judged perfectly (or as well as I could) the risk/benefit to doing so.

I like the rain, as long as visibility is not too compromised...