How to Find Grip in the Wet

Wet running mostly applies to outdoor circuits. When it happens, much of what you know about the fast line stops being true.

Why the dry line goes away

Over a dry session the racing line collects rubber from the tyres. Rubber is excellent when dry and slippery when wet — it holds water on the surface and offers much less grip. Add any oil or dust that has built up, and the fastest line in the dry becomes one of the worst places to be in the wet.

Meanwhile the parts of the track nobody uses in the dry — wider, more towards the edges, sometimes closer to the inside than usual — are cleaner and often grippier.

So where do you drive?

There is no universal wet line. You have to look for it.

• •Try moving off the usual line and feel what happens. Often the kart is noticeably more settled.
• •Avoid painted surfaces and kerbs. Paint in the wet has very little grip.
• •Watch where standing water collects and stay out of it if you can.
• •Look at where other karts are going, and at where they are struggling.

Expect the answer to be different at each corner rather than one line all the way round.

How to drive once you have found it

Everything gets gentler and earlier:

• •Brake earlier and more gently, and get all of it done in a straight line. With rear-only brakes on a wet surface, braking while turning is how you spin.
• •Less steering, more gradually. Sudden inputs break traction.
• •Throttle progressively. Squeeze it on rather than switching it on, especially in an electric kart where torque arrives instantly.

Expectations

Lap times in the wet are slower, sometimes considerably. That is the conditions, not you, and comparing a wet time to a dry personal best is not a meaningful comparison.

The upside: wet running teaches smoothness better than anything else, because the track punishes every rough input immediately. Drivers who take wet sessions seriously usually come back better in the dry too.