💦 Wet Track Days: Perfect Playground for Car Control Mastery!


Hey there fellow track enthusiasts,

It's almost the end of the season, but there are still a few track days left for us maniacs that don't mind driving in not-the-best conditions!

A couple of weeks ago, I went down to Grobnik to one of the last track days of the season and the driving conditions were extremely difficult!

Most track day drivers (old-me included) are reluctant to drive in the wet and "waste" time even attending such events.

The truth is, wet and mixed conditions are the best possible way to advance as a driver and gain precious skills that cannot be obtained otherwise. Here's why!

  1. Get a Grip on Traction: When the track is wet, your car's grip levels drop, making it a bit slippery. But that's the magic part! Learning to handle your car in these conditions teaches you how to finesse the pedals and steering wheel. You'll become a pro at managing traction, and that's a skill that's handy in any weather.
  2. Stability control, who? Slower speeds and less grip also make a perfect opportunity to finally turn off the car's stability and/or traction control. Because you'll naturally be going a lot slower and you'll be able to feel when your car breaks traction, it's a great way to experience how the car behaves without computers trying to make it go straight.
  3. Master the Art of Braking: Wet tracks mean you'll need to be gentle on the brakes. This teaches you how to brake smoothly and avoid skids. Those skills are like a safety net when you're driving in the rain on regular roads.
  4. Throttle control like Senna: In a RWD car, throttle control on wet conditions is especially crucial and learning how to be smooth with the throttle is much safer on a wide track with less consequences if you end up spinning.
  5. Polish Your Steering Skills: Wet conditions demand a light touch on the steering wheel. The precision you develop on a wet track translates to better control when you encounter tricky situations like icy or gravelly roads.
  6. Boost Your Confidence: Nailing a wet track is a real confidence booster. You'll feel like a superhero behind the wheel. When you know you can handle your car in the rain, you'll feel more relaxed and ready for anything when you hit the streets.
  7. Real-World Ready: Driving on a wet track is like a dress rehearsal for driving in the rain, which we all know happens a lot. The skills you pick up in the rain on the track will come in handy when you're out and about on a rainy day.

So, if you're serious about becoming a more skilled and confident driver, don't let rainy days deter you from hitting the track. Embrace the opportunity to learn and master car control on wet track days – it's an investment in your safety and driving prowess that will pay off every time you hit the road.

Stay safe and keep chasing those rainy-day thrills!

Happy driving,

JZ

Hey there!

I'm Jure, a track day junkie, and a Porsche fanboy. Sign up below and I'll keep you up to day on all the cool European track days coming up, as well as useful track day driving tips!

Read more from Hey there!

Hello, hello! It's been a while since you've heard from me. The track day season is well underway (or even getting close to the end), and quite a lot of stuff happened on my side! I've been busy with some personal stuff, as well as replacing our 997.2 GT3 with a new track toy - the 991.2 GT3 PDK. Yep, a PDK. 😅 I'll get into more details about the decision later on, but so far it's a great track tool and I've already racked up more than 4.000 kilometres on the clock and did 4 track days so...

I've gotten this question more times than I care to admit. The answer depends on the goals you want to accomplish with your lap timer and your budget. Let's take a look at a few things to consider before we jump into my suggestions. Knowing and improving your lap time In my last email, I talked about the various goals you can have when doing a track day, but apart from having fun and exploring the limits of your car, it's great if you can measure how good you are. Lap times are hard facts...

Hey, hey! I think we can all agree track days are a lot of fun, especially if we end them with our cars in one piece. 😅 That said, track days can also serve as days where we can explore a new driving technique, test a car's setup or maybe practice our drift skills (if we're a bit naughty). Through my years of doing track days and talking with you, my fellow track junkies, I've come up with a list of 3 main goals we, as amateur drivers, can have on a track day. Why are they useful? Well, it...