Silverstone in the wet=Dangerous
Discussion
Had a 15 Minute track time at silverstone yesterday at Trax Modified Car show! Now i don't know whether its just silverstone as iv done many trackdays in the wet before!
But silverstone has been the worst yet in the rain! It really was quite dangerous as soon as you put any power down on the corners the back was stepping out and lots of understeer! Couldn't take a corner faster than 20mph unless you wanted to risk Under-steering off.
And to have 30+ Cars on the track at once was silly also!
Why does silverstone get so Slippery were as Brands/Donnington stay nice and grippy? Must be the surface surely?
But silverstone has been the worst yet in the rain! It really was quite dangerous as soon as you put any power down on the corners the back was stepping out and lots of understeer! Couldn't take a corner faster than 20mph unless you wanted to risk Under-steering off.
And to have 30+ Cars on the track at once was silly also!
Why does silverstone get so Slippery were as Brands/Donnington stay nice and grippy? Must be the surface surely?
If you know the right lines, then there is loads of grip. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x633fj_porsche-su... Here is a video from the Supercup, where I win in the wet at Silverstone, watch the lines and you will get an idea of where the grip is. If that's not enough, get some tuition from me, although I can’t guarantee it to be wet 
Silverstone's dry line is very slippery in the wet for a number of reasons. Firstly, because it gets used nearly every day of the year for something, which makes the racing line tarmac very smooth, which = no grip in the wet, add rubber to that, even more slippery and then all the crap that comes out of the tarmac when wet, like fuel, diesel, oil ect... Makes it even worse.
You need to use the wet line, which is where all the grip is.
Silverstone's dry line is very slippery in the wet for a number of reasons. Firstly, because it gets used nearly every day of the year for something, which makes the racing line tarmac very smooth, which = no grip in the wet, add rubber to that, even more slippery and then all the crap that comes out of the tarmac when wet, like fuel, diesel, oil ect... Makes it even worse.
You need to use the wet line, which is where all the grip is.
i did a (very wet)track day at Silverstone a few years ago in my 350z, we were informed at the breifing that the F1 guys had been tyre testing the day before so the track was a little slippy, it was like driving on sheet ice, though it did get better as the day went on. Pity the poor guy in the GT3 who stuffed it into the tyre wall in his first session, must dig out the photos.
I did a 20 minute session at the dreadful Traxx show on Sunday and was also amazed at how slippery some corners were.
I drove Castle Combe in the wet recently and found that dropping the entry speeds by 10% or 20% was adequate, but on Sunday I was literally crawling into some of the corners and still fighting understeer.
I see a lot of people are describing it as like driving on ice, and that's exactly how I described it to my brother after the session had finished.
At Castle Combe the wet didn't phase me one bit, I was on the track all day and loved it. At Silverstone I was more than ready to go home after 20 minutes.
I drove Castle Combe in the wet recently and found that dropping the entry speeds by 10% or 20% was adequate, but on Sunday I was literally crawling into some of the corners and still fighting understeer.
I see a lot of people are describing it as like driving on ice, and that's exactly how I described it to my brother after the session had finished.
At Castle Combe the wet didn't phase me one bit, I was on the track all day and loved it. At Silverstone I was more than ready to go home after 20 minutes.
Racing at Silverstone in the rain with the right line is just great, the difference between right and wrong is enormous, and there is enormous opportunity to make up places. Woodcote I feel is the most difficult though, partly due to the high speed and proximity to the pit straight wall on the outside.
I drive FF1600 / FF2000 at 420 Kg the whole car seems to just pick up aquaplane moving sideways, not sure I have ever quite found the sweet spot through there in the rain.
However I did have a master class following the Late David Leslie, in similar cars he just drove the car through the corner almost without effort, I followed but it just felt so wrong, I tried all sorts but it never felt right, and it is a critical corner for the fast approach to Copse.
Will be back in two weeks for the WHT, its bound to rain so I will check out the video of Sean's to see if there is anything I could do better, Thanks Sean. Sean if you have any particular tips for woodcote in a FF I would love to hear them, post of PM me.
I drive FF1600 / FF2000 at 420 Kg the whole car seems to just pick up aquaplane moving sideways, not sure I have ever quite found the sweet spot through there in the rain.
However I did have a master class following the Late David Leslie, in similar cars he just drove the car through the corner almost without effort, I followed but it just felt so wrong, I tried all sorts but it never felt right, and it is a critical corner for the fast approach to Copse.
Will be back in two weeks for the WHT, its bound to rain so I will check out the video of Sean's to see if there is anything I could do better, Thanks Sean. Sean if you have any particular tips for woodcote in a FF I would love to hear them, post of PM me.
Elderly said:
Sticking to the OP's thread title - "Silverstone in the wet=Dangerous";
IMO there is only one dangerous place at Silverstone in the wet and that is the exit of Woodcote.
Yep. In the dry Woodcote is not a corner. In the wet this is a different story.IMO there is only one dangerous place at Silverstone in the wet and that is the exit of Woodcote.
Did a very wet track day there once and actually got the power down on the way out of Luffied and hit Woodcote at the absolute limit of grip. My line was just marginally ever so slightly wrong and I needed ALL of the rumble strip on the exit - and then a tiny bit - because there was no way I could adjust the line at all.
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