GT3 Techno

I had my first racing experience in the rain last weekend and the thing that was the most difficult for me was to lose my reference points for breaking as visibility was bad in the first couple of laps. When the pack started to spread visibility wasn't much of an issue anymore.

So how do you brake when you can't even see the braking lights of the car in front of you ?

Doug007

Use the force?

bobt993

Try and avoid staying in the wash zone . I try and my car off a fender or in my own lane. Slicks still stop well in a straight line if you get heat in the tires . Rains are great everywhere. Just be piggy with your real estate.

GT3 Techno

That is exactly what I was trying to do after the first couple of laps and visibility wasn't that bad by then as cars started to spread. But the first lap was a complete white-out on the full width of the track in certain corners and I drove like a chicken...

bobt993

^^^ And that sucks because it is very hard to be aggressive when your not sure what is behind or along side of you. I have been pretty lucky with rain races and it helped having a lot of seat time in the rain. Early on I was too cheap to buy rain tires and would still drive/race when it was a monsoon out. Most important is to get real heat in the tires on the out lap behind the pace car. Swerving won't do it. Use hard braking stabs into the ABS if you have it. Left foot and drag the brakes on that out lap also till you smell the brakes. If you get the tires hot enough there is a ton of grip. I have jumped 10 spots on a mixed grid on the first lap by getting the tires right before the green flag. Some faster cars may still get by you, but as you indicated your clear of traffic at that point and things tend to calm down a bit. If your pace car lap puts you out before the first corner get a speed reference of where the grip goes away or use a similar corner on the track to make a good judgement on min speed for entry. Especially if your on the outside of the turn. Most racers are guessing on the first corner in the rain so they brake a bit more to avoid a big slide and that is when you can go wide and rim shot the first corner. Anytime I follow this plan it has worked really well. Oh, and avoid being sandwiched in the middle of the track. Pick a side so you can bail if there is carnage ahead of you.

todinlaw

Don't be afraid of using rain x.

I love racing in the rain and do well with it, but event though i thought i was good at it, i took some professional coaching on rain racing in terms of finding grip and lowering lap times, and different ways to attack a corner in the rain, there is more to i that just staying off the dry line.

as far as knowing were you are and braking points. you need to get to the point that you are visualizing the track in your head and do not need all the normal visual ques. equates to lots of seat time.

fhp911

All I can say is -- You have my sympathy! It looks truly terrible out there.

note: I was a spectator at the 1965 Sebring 12 hour. There was a monumental rainstorm -- Phil Hill drove his Daytona Cobra Coupe into a parking lot at one point, thinking it was the next corner.