To race in the rain, or not to race in the rain, that is the

[Chuck Yoder]

Our club decided to race rain or shine this past year. Which in my opinion, is a bad idea. I chose not to run in the rain as did about ¾ of the people in our club. I’ve heard it’s hard on motors, bearings, suits, and about everything else that gets wet. On a club level, what does everyone else out there think about running in the rain.

[Oscar Aguilera]

It is the best practice you'll ever get. It forces people to change the chassis and help to make drivers understand the changes and what they do to the kart. It also forces people to properly clean their karts. It teaches drivers to roll the throttle instead of mash it.

IMO all drivers should race in the rain at least 2 times per year, unless you are a Formula 1 driver and have a practice track with built in sprinklers to practice in the wet on purpose like a famous F1 driver did.

[Dax Blake]

I must agree with Oscar. There is a big change when racing in the rain. You go from a vehicle that is horsepower limited to a vehicle that is traction limited. Driving skill becomes a bigger issue. I am not aware of other forms of road course racing that shut down when it rains.

It can be hard on equipment. You must protect the air intake from water spray. A good coat of oil on bare metal is a good idea. Flushing the motor when done is a good idea.

For those concerned with safety, I did not see a single ambulance run this past weekend at Mid-Ohio during the rain. Not even for the shifter karts. Lap times in my class were off by at least 30 seconds compared to dry.

I would like to see more clubs race in the rain. One can dream.

Dax

[Bryan Mappe]

Race in the rain.

First, event promotors can still have their event. Right, Oscar?

Second, when I went from drag racing to road racing one of the attractions was that if I drove 8 hrs (or 16) and it rained I wouldn't have to drive back the next weekend to try to race again.

Its just another aspect that makes motorsports so challenging (and interesting).

[John Wehrheim]

Chuck:
I agree with everyone that if you practice or race in the rain, it will make you a much better driver.

However, you are correct, it is VERY bad for your motors. Practice or race in the rain when your motor needs to be rebuilt. That way you are not ruining a perfectly good motor. Also, there is a product out that helps prevent rusting in your motor. It is called Engine Fog. I buy it at Napa. Since using it, my cylinders have not been rusting.

[Doug Welch]

Yes racing in the rain is hard onthe kart but those issues can be mitigated. A good air box to block water from entering the cylinder, the liberal use of WD-40 or other water displacing oil on all metal surfaces, a quality rain suit for the driver, a turbo visor, the use of StochGuard and other water repellant coatings on suits, shoes and gloves can all help lessen the impact on teh driver and kart.

Nothing improves driving skill like racing in the wet.

Doug

[Bob Vehring]

I'll add two quick views, last weekend we ran the National Kart News 10 hour endurance race at Road America, this was comprized of factory team karts, drivers ranged from some top level national champions to some factory engineers to some, lets say less expieranced drivers, of the 10 hours 7 1/2 were in pouring rain, the rest were just cold and damp. We had 0 red flags, and very few spin outs. As I walked the pits after the race was suprized that most all of the drivers were saying this was the most fun they had all season, downside was all 4 engine manufactoers did lose motors due to the amount of water sucked in, and clutches also took a beating. On the other hand, as a long time Board dir. at our club track (Badger) we have always desided not to run in the rain, not because of saftey, but because of cost. While the cost of rains is not out of reach for most new racers, depending on when the call is made to switch to rains and how conditions change once your out there, they can wear out very fast, if it dries out you can trash them in 1 race. If you need several sets during the season it can effect the points as to who can afford tires and who can't, and that we don't want, our position has always been, club races dont run in the rain, div. and nat. do. Bob

[Marshall Martin]

As a primarily local racer it has always been my opinion that for a local program racing in the rain is not an advantage. I realize that on a regional or national level you can not provide rain dates because of scheduling and time. These racers accept running in the rain. Even then look at the lower turn outs on weekends where bad weather is forecasted. The serious racer will race, the fun racer will not, after a few rain experiences. It has been the policy at SBRP that if a local race was called because of rain everyone was welcome to go out and get valuable time on a wet track if they wanted to. To me this is the best senario, you get your points and you get to practice in the rain with your older equipment if you wanted to. I just do not agree with rain for a club program and I have seen several Midwest tracks try it and have yet to see one do it successfully. Save the local racer the money, give the regional and national racer the practice time, everyone is a winner.

[Chad Hartzell]

I too race at SBRP with Chuck and Marshall. I loved racing in the rain, even though I was not to keen on the idea.

One thing that can be pointed out is that the reason this rule came into effect for Michiana Kart Klub is that there were just enough people present at a poorly attended club meeting to vote on the motion. And it passed. We have a membership list of over 190 members, obviously some are not active participants, however, if I recall, there were less than 30 at the meeting this was voted in.

We need to understand the importance of these winter meetings and the outcome they may have on the direction of an organization. If not, you could feasibly vote in a class for people born in January who were members of the 4-H goat club and race only with their index fingers on the steering wheel while humming the tune to "The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy".

Don't get any ideas Chuck & Marshall!

[Bob Vehring]

I think they allready have that class in the Enduro series but not sure which can it uses

[Chuck Yoder]

Marshal, I have to agree with the thought behind your reply, let the regional and national racers pratice in the rain, but as for club racers who are out to have fun and not spend a tremendous amout of money, give them the points and send them home. As a middle aged fat man with little to no natural ability, and zero reaction time, I have nothing to prove, and probobly slim to no chance of ever advanceing my racing carrer to anything more than just a hobby. So running in the rain at the CLUB level is not something I think that I will try anytime soon. At a street race it might be a different story, but I don't think that's a good time to try it for the first time.

Chad, You might be on to something, however, I think flight of the bumble bee would be better. Seriously, get out to your clubs winter meetings and suport what you belive in. Don't let the few make the decisions for the many.

Chuck Yoder

[Erik Frank]

Chuck,

For what its worth, there was an involved discussion about racing in the rain over in the road racing section. Here is the link to that thread:
http://www.ekartingnews.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=6&t=000048

-erik

[Kim Zobbe-Hogdal]

quote:

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Originally posted by Chuck Yoder:
On a club level, what does everyone else out there think about running in the rain.[/QB]

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I grew up in and then married into car road racing families. We always raced in the rain. Heck I can remember by dad racing in the snow at IRP. When my girls started racing karts, it never occured to me that they wouldn't race if it rained. Here in sunny Minnesota, they have only raced twice in the rain in 3 years of racing. Yes, they spun out, but they have been known to spin the the dry too. What do clubs do about the points races when they cancel a race because of rain? What happens if you get some races in and it starts to rain, do those races count? Do they change the number of races you can throw out? Most of the people who race at our track in central MN drive at least 2-3 hours to get there. I'm sure most would be upset if the races were cancelled because of rain.
Kim www.beattheboys.com

[Dave Malloy]

My club doesn't race in the rain but this past weekend we raced in heavy mist/light drizzle. Last year I was in a race where it began snowing lightly. If it is raining without the hope of clearing up, the race is cancelled without points. If it is raining lightly with some chance of clearing and it is later cancelled, then all paid entrants receive winner's points and are permitted to practice if it clears.

[Dave Ridenour]

Kim,
I too race with Michiana Kart Klub and before we voted in the run rain or shine the points were : If you got 0-1 heats in, you would receive 2nd place points for being there and registered. If you got 2 heats in, but not the feature, you would receive points from the position that you had earned from those heats (basically the line-up for the feature). So if a race was called in the middle of the 2nd heat, the ones that already ran the 2nd heat got the positions that they earned and the ones that did not got 2nd place points. If a race was called because of rain the track was always open for those die-hards that wanted to drive in the rain and / or "get their $$$'s worth the drive", and / or get practice for their other series that they run.
I agree that at the club level, it's not a very good idea to make rain racing mandatory and didn't even bring my kart (even though I have rain equipment)to 3 races this year because of the forcast. I decided I would just work instead.
I will also agree that racing in the rain does make you learn more about driving, chassis set up, and much more, but it just is not fun to get soaked and have everything filthy from mud splatters. If it is for more than club points I would do it, actually I have done it and I learned a lot, but not enough to want to do it again unless there was money involved or getting 1st place(that's always cool).

April Ridenour