Technique Talk #2: Rain Driving

[rslonaker]

Tips for Improving

With all the recent rain, it seems appropriate to talk a little about rain driving. I know a lot of drivers are reluctant to drive on a wet track or are intimidated by it. Don’t be. Rain driving is a great way to improve your driving skill. A little knowledge and understanding goes a long way to helping. The biggest thing is the reduced grip, so rain driving becomes a quest to finding what grip is available. Many times this means altering your line, hence the “rain line”. I know some of the clubs don’t teach the rain line due to the potential for confusion when working with 100+ drivers in the course of a day during a DE. But if you have a few days under your belt, it is worth experimenting.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is the effect of everyone driving the normal or “dry” line day after day. All the rubber and oils that get ground into the asphalt on the dry line create a very effective sealer with the resulting imperviousness of the water on this part of the track. So drive off line in the rain. Think about the places that get the hardest use in the dry and these are the locations that will be the slickest in the wet. Braking zones, apex’s and low speed track outs are especially treacherous. Move in a lane in the brake zones, drive around the outside of the corner closer to the edge of the track opposite the apex and be very careful applying power at track out. In fact make a rule to never go to full throttle unless your steering wheel is completely straight.

The main rule is, be open to searching for grip. If where you are driving is difficult, try a different part of the track. In changing conditions, starting to rain, or starting to dry, the key is identifying where the grip is. You might not drive the same line twice on any two consecutive laps. The bigger hazard is when it is starting to rain. One lap, or even one corner, everything is fine and the next, your sliding off the road. Be aware of your conditions and be ready to adapt quickly. On bigger tracks like Watkins Glen it is possible to have a dry line on one portion of the track and rain line on another. Typically the older the pavement, the more pronounced the effect of the rain line. Learn from the other drivers around you. If somebody is passing you and driving away, try their line. Or their rain tires…

Tune into your control inputs and don’t do anything abrupt or sudden. Rain rewards smoothness, which translates back to your dry driving as well. Really pay attention to how you use the pedals, squeeeeze on the throttle and brake and use a very soft release for each as well. Most of all enjoy the experience as there is a lot to be gained from it and it will improve your driving overall.

Next - Technique Talk #3 - Car Control

[Slowhands]

An F1 driver's thoughts on rain driving-- Heiki Kovalainen after the Japan GP at Fuji 2007, as published on BBC Motorsport. Interesting thoughts, especially regarding bravery, commitment, and controlled risk-taking.

By Heikki Kovalainen
Renault F1 driver

When I looked out of the window on Sunday morning and saw the rain coming down, I did not feel very confident about the Japanese Grand Prix. I was hoping for dry conditions because that is what we set up the car for. At that stage, I certainly did not expect to finish second. But when I started to drive I could feel the car was working well with the extreme wet tyres and I was able to keep up with the other drivers fine. Then I knew I had a chance and started to believe I could get on the podium.

I had both Ferraris behind me about 10 laps from the end so I knew that would be tricky. I could not keep up with Lewis and Felipe Massa and then Kimi Raikkonen quickly started closing down the gap. I just tried to keep my own line - anything other than the racing line was too wet - to force Kimi to go on the wet line and make it more difficult to overtake me. I knew he would do everything he could during the last lap to go past me and his car is faster than mine, so I had to take some big risks, I had to really pull my finger out at the end! Second is obviously so much better than third, especially in those conditions, and you never want to get overtaken on the last lap.

I had a pretty close call. When Kimi overtook me and then I overtook him there was a lot of standing water but I had to go flat out and that was as close as I got to losing the car.

It was very, very wet - but I have always quite enjoyed racing in those conditions, it is a different exercise to what we normally go through and it creates good racing. You can make a bigger difference in the wet if you are just a little bit braver than the guy in front or the guy behind but you still have to take controlled risks. It takes a lot of concentration and you are on the limit pretty much the whole time. As soon as you get some gaps and the visibility gets better you need to make the most of it and try to do as many good laps as you can.

If you set up the car for the dry [in F1], you cannot make any set-up changes. You can change the tyre pressure but not the springs or anything like that. Our downforce level was probably a little bit light and the car was a bit too fast on the straight line, especially in qualifying. But I think the really wet conditions helped us and our relative pace to the others was much better than in qualifying - the set-up was not much of a handicap in those conditions. Don't get me wrong - it is slippery in those conditions but we have good tyres that can take a lot of water puddles and even some standing water, so the car is reasonably stable. You do get bigger puddles where you get aquaplaning but you just try to go straight over them and you try not to do any cornering while you are on top of the water so you do not lose the car.

The biggest problem is visibility. You cannot see anything behind the other cars on a straight line. I went to the left-hand side of the track and I just looked at the white line and I could not see anything else. You have to hope no-one has broken down in front of you or no-one slows down in the middle of the straight. You can see the 200-metre board, the 150-metre board and then when you see the 100-metre board you hit the brakes! It is obviously quite risky but I've done it before and it is something the drivers are used to.

It is a strange feeling going blind on the straight and just watching the white line and that is the only reference point to keep the car going in the right direction. It is tricky but also exciting. You have to follow the markers and hope no-one has stopped because if they have you are going to hit them and have a big accident.

[GT-Subject]

Good Advice Rob,

I, for one, love to drive in the rain!! It is all about being smooth through the wet line, no sudden changes in steering input, throttle or brake, just be smooth. And relax!!!!!! - if you finish you are bound to improve your position.

GT