I finally bailed on tomorrow's track day @ Willow Springs. Winter storm is on the way. 90% chance of rain. Sucks. It is my understanding that alot of people are still going. Who here has toughed it out and attended a track day with rain??
I have before. I had crashed earlier in the day while it was dry and stuck around and kept riding after it started raining as I thought I've already damaged my bike so what does it matter if I go down again. I was on my XJR1300 at the time and I was enjoying the wet with having the back end sliding around a bit. Obviously I wasn't as fast as in the dry, but I reckon I had more fun in the wet afternoon sessions than I did in the morning dry sessions.
I and some 30 other ducatisti did NHIS in heavy rain in 2004. Could even see rain cascading down into the bowl. Still had fun even though I don't like riding in the rain. Need to be smooth with your controls. Incredible what DOT tires can do these days.
don't forget the streams still cascading off our leathers 5 minutes AFTER we've been in the pits as much fun as the rain was, i really do hope we have a dry one again this year.
Rained either part of the day or all day the last three track days I did. Didn't mind it at all. Helps you to be smooth. It is also eye opening on how far you can actually push the bike and yourself in the wet.
A couple times, on wet pavement between cloudbursts but not while it's actively pouring rain. I didn't have a lot of fun, personally - you're really asking for a dump if you try to go fast, so about the best you can do is cruise around hoping that none of those slips and slides will go too far. I'd rather slide around in the dirt and stay dry.
you've got balls my friend to ride in the rain at loudon,i raced there last year in formula usa weekend on a dry track and i coulnt wait for the weekend to end,man is that track nasty, it's by far the most dangerous track i raced on, i actualy low sided in corner 3 during my final,i have rode a few times in the rain and i dont enjoy it at all,sometimes it's better than nothing.
Racing or riding on a race track in the rain is no problem for smooth riders. It can be fun if you are good at being smooth. I want it to rain during my races, I usually place in the top 3 during rain races where we werent able to switch to rain tires, still on DOTs. It is a good learning tool so you can really start to feel how sliding feels. I love beating guys that dont like the wet track.
You'll learn more about being smooth in the rain in 1 day than you'll learn in an entire season on a dry track. Slow down, do things smoothly and delibarately (no sudden inputs).
Besides, it's only a little bit of water, it's not like you're riding while it's snowing (which I've seen people do!).
These are from the same day as Ed posted above. I had a blast! We were ringing the water out of our gloves. You definitely learn throttle control on wet days.
PS- I hate to use the photos. They were taken by Owens Racing Photos.
Rain and Track
as much fun as the rain was, i really do hope we have a dry one again this year.
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