KEY POINTS:
Waikato farmers are rejoicing as rain falls on their parched soil. But on the streets of Hamilton, V8 drivers will be looking to the heavens and cursing the deluge just days before the Supercar series hits town.
The first practice session for the Hamilton400 starts on Friday. The
thought of manhandling 1.3 tonnes of brute force revving up to 600 horsepower around a brand new street circuit in the wet is enough to make a grown V8 driver cry.
"It's going to be lethal in terms of the grip level," said Tasman Motorsport driver Jason Richards.
"You've got to assume all the tarmac put down, plus the oil, dirt, dust, grime and other stuff you don't get on a race track, coupled with manhole covers in the wet, is going to make it incredibly slippery."
A V8 Supercar will break into wheel spin when changing between fifth and sixth gear. Once the wheels start spinning the car will start to slide and move around. If the throttle is lifted too quickly compression lock occurs which is akin to pulling the hand brake on.
When grip is heavily reduced in the wet, tyres can lose grip in a flash. At speed, some drivers can be caught unawares, and before they know it the back of the car is trying to overtake the front.
"Nobody's driven on the circuit in the wet so we're all in the same boat," said Richards. "We don't know where the problem areas are. The painted lines on the track, and in particular the centre lines, are going to be a big problem, as will aquaplaning, so we have to be really careful."
Public roads, like the ones being used in Hamilton, have a crown in the middle. If drivers get on the wrong side of the crown while putting the power down, it's going to compound the problem of grip in the wet, letting all hell loose in the car.
"Trying to handle that is going to be hard. Once you drop off the wrong side the grip drops off dramatically. Because we're so grip-limited by the amount of horsepower, and size of the tyres we're allowed, it's hard to get a decent amount of traction.
"The wet weather tyres we've got are a hard compound so in heavy rain they never really get warmed up enough to generate good grip but they do last a while on a drying track."
On a purpose built race track the race-line is often covered in rubber that helps in the dry but is slippery in the wet. When going offline where there is no rubber, it is possible to find more grip.
So arguably the racing lines at Hamilton may offer some grip in the wet, but if there's any oil around it's going to make things very interesting.
The big wet in Hamilton will add to a thrilling weekend for both spectators and drivers.
Russell Ingall may yet have the last laugh after his suggestion that the third round of the championship would be a crash-fest was ignored.
