I totally agree. I am normally a mid pack driver but the first race of my season was in the rain. I won the 2nd heat by almost a whole straight away. When I really came down in the main I didn’t make the correct adjustments but still pulled 3rd
I love racing in the rain. It’s so calming for me. (Especially for a driver that has seasonal affective disorder.) I used to get so worked up in the dry that, the rain would calm away those nerves. It makes me less worked up, and also I get super pumped to race because most drivers hate to drive in it.
My first regional race win was in the pouring rain. Honestly, I’ve had to work more on my dry pace, than my rain pace because I’ve had to learn how to push hard in the grip of the dry, rather than being delicately proactive in the wet conditions. Racing in the rain is hugely mental.
I think I would agree with TJ’s statement about the rain, just because the rain almost has a dampening effect on how important which chassis/setup you have can be.
Let’s take my last weekend as an example. I, personally, am absolutely trash at Springfield. I couldn’t get my kart to work at all. I had, the weekend before, tried my friends Merlin and immediately came within a tenth of the times the frontrunners were setting. So, my setup was not the best and I was struggling to figure it out (but that’s a different problem/story).
It poured rain on Saturday after morning warm-up, right before we were set to qualify. I was fully prepared to come in 13th, of the 15 competing. We threw on a used set of rain tires and, to my surprise as I came off, I qualified 5th. In a pretty stacked top 10 I was happy with that result.
Pre-final comes around, still wet enough that we needed rain tires, and I was able to hold my own out there. Now, worn tires on a drying track is not a great recipe, and with about 3 or 4 laps to go my tires were shredded and I had no grip, but I managed to recover for a 9th place finish.
Final comes around, track is dry. I fell like a rock and was immediately 13th within a couple laps. I just couldn’t figure anything out at that point.
So bringing this all back to TJ’s point about rain being the great equalizer, the rain really puts everything on a much more even playing field. Get the setup in about the right ballpark and it just comes down to driving the kart the best.
Also, being 6’2" really helps with rain racing. I would recommend throwing a bit of foam on the seat to pick up the center of gravity a bit more. That, and like TJ said really throwing your weight around in the seat is hugely beneficial in the scenarios.
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Good to hear Aaron, but I also know different stories. Stories of karts that just won’t work in the rain, when the problems of a wrong setup or a bend chassis are emphasized in the rain and you are completely nowhere. Maybe rain is indeed the great equalizer, or maybe you just found the sweetspot in setup in the rain that worked against you in the dry. Anyway, it worked for you and that’s all that matters!
Definitely echo TJ’s thoughts on the rain being an equalizer. In my first and only Yamaha Senior race at USPKS in 2015, my dad thought that our motor at 10-12~ hours coming in on the weekend would be competitive. Big mistake. I think I ended something awful like 15th in Happy Hour. Just no top end speed what-so-ever.
But the rain came on Saturday and I qualified 2nd just 0.026 off pole. Ended the day 4th after a rough final, but still a good run. Everything dried up for Sunday, and I went straight back to 14th before getting crashed out in the main.
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In the last rain race, I beat two 125 shifters (of 3) with my 80. So yes, rain is a great equalizer when traction and smooth driving are more important than power.
Oh absolutely a chassis problem will be magnified in the rain. A bent frame will only behave worse and so on. That’s why I said get the setup in the general ballpark. Of course, a dry setup won’t work in the wet but the importance of having the perfect setup is much less significant.
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About rain being the great equalizer: I am watching the free practice of the GP in Austin right now and it’s bizar how much faster Hamilton is than Vettel in the rain. It has to be said that Hamilton is an absolute beast in the rain but for me it’s evident that the situations in the rain aren’t equal. The Mercedes is simply better suited for rain than the Ferrari. A gap of five seconds is not down to the driver.
Also I believe that Vettel was doing a bit of a race sim there. His tires were from FP1 and had a ton of laps on them. I think they were looking to see for Sunday what happens over a run when weather comes in.
But you see Gasly right up there in the rain on that one as well, though he had some fresher tires on. Rain is a crapshoot!
TJ and others, would you please comment… I am studying anything I can find in previous (other) posts but…
Would you help me think here… say we are 20 min from lining up on the grid and my the rain starts. My dry weather gearing is 17-66 (3.88) and I need to quickly change for wet track.
Changes will be -
- Wet tires
- Change to shorter gearing - I’m thinking 4.1 to 4.2 but will need to test… whatever we need to keep the clutch locked up and RPM near max torque right?
- slap on the air filter cover (last time we ran too rich w/o needle adjustment - For LO206 would you all say to immediately lower the needle one or two notches?)
- would you say that the clutch for wet race should be set softer where it fully engages at lower RPM… like 4 yellow springs around 2400?
- what else is critical?
I think the biggest thing Rain teaches you is to be smooth. Nothing breaks traction in the rain like snappy inputs. In the dry, you can get away with quick turn in or slamming the throttle down as the grip levels will forgive you. In the rain, if you turn the steering too quickly the front end will push and if you apply throttle too quickly off the corners, the rear will step out. Its like you have to slow everything down to go fast. You start turning in earlier at a slower rate to hold the grip. On exit, you put down just enough power to drive out of the corner with out sliding. These are all principles good drivers talk about in the dry. I imagine the affects those principles are merely exaggerated by the low grip conditions of the wet. I suspect Great Drivers have learned the to better read the limits of grip and hold their vehicles right up against those limits.
Racing in the rain with slicks really teaches you to be smooth, especially with a shifter kart!
I mean depending the track I think you are getting way ahead of yourself for 206. As I said in the other thread. You said you had 20 minutes. You’re not going to be changing clutch springs in 20 minutes along with everything else.
Im on a 219 chain and jump 2-5 teeth on the rear gear. Push the rear hubs in to as narrow as I can go. Put on the filter cover. Toss a foam pad in the bottom of the seat. Slap on some rains and send it. If you have more time then you can look at front end alignment changes pending how it felt in the first session.
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I agree with Lindsay, if you only have 20 min, make sure you get the chassis settings he mentioned figured out. Widen the front, narrow the rear, sit on something to simulate a raised seat, and if you have time, change gear and go up a few teeth.
I disagree slightly with Greg regarding the driving aspects of rain. It isn’t necessarily all about smoothness, though you do have to have a very acute feeling for the grip limit. @Terence_Dove’s old lessons on rain driving from Karting1 is how I try to do it. Big input at the beginning of the corner, charge the corner, get the kart to jack, and then smoothly modulate all inputs through the corner to keep the kart from breaking free. I’ve posted this pic a dozen times on this forum, but it shows what I mean:
Really need to use your body weight in the rain.
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Thank you all for help…
I think gear manners less than some other things. You will usually have enough power to spin tires in rain. More is not needed. I think equalizer comes mostly because the fast guy has brake, apex, and throttle point dialed in for dry track. In rain it changes lap by lap tending to bring the less consistent more on line with more consistent since everyone is not going to be consistent.
I’d say it depends on the track. With rain corner speeds are going to come down. Which means optimal rpm is going to be affected. This is in regards to 206. More horsepower classes I would agree it might not be as critical.
Ha Ha! Remember the Axle Thread…I don’t have a problem getting the kart to Jack in the Corners. My issue is too much inside wheel lift. Maybe that’s why I keep up better in the Rain. 
Thought it apropos.
Guys, thank for all good comments and hints - this is all so helpful. Appreciate all!