How long does it take the 'ring to dry after a rain shower?
Discussion
combemarshal said:
Ah ya wimps, whats wrong with a little moisture!!!!
I would say it was a tad quicker than most tracks due to the narrowness of the track, depends on how many people are brave enough to go out and what sort of car they are driving
I would say it was a tad quicker than most tracks due to the narrowness of the track, depends on how many people are brave enough to go out and what sort of car they are driving
Well Im happy to follow you then! And I even promise to bring a tow rope to pull you out of one of the armco's! There arent many people that are brave enough to go out there on normal rubber!!! It isnt that narrow either. The problem with the place is that it is in so many different eco systems that one part can be dry will another can be soaking wet!
So many places are undercover, that they take an awful long time to dry!
The worst thing is the 3 or 4 different climates you can get on one lap.
When its hammering down the whole way round you know where you are. I did a lap in June where it was bone dry till I can to the fast right at the entrance to Adenaur Forst. It was like someone had drawn a line across the track, one side was dry one side wet ....... You spin me right round baby right round. Ended up on the infield wondering what the hell had just happened. Later that day I was speaking to a friend who had been walking his dog at AF at the time. He said it was like a freak hail storm which came and went in 2 minutes.
As said the line drys pretty quickly, just dont push it till you know places like Bergwerk, Hochiechen and Hohe Acht are dry.
Gary
When its hammering down the whole way round you know where you are. I did a lap in June where it was bone dry till I can to the fast right at the entrance to Adenaur Forst. It was like someone had drawn a line across the track, one side was dry one side wet ....... You spin me right round baby right round. Ended up on the infield wondering what the hell had just happened. Later that day I was speaking to a friend who had been walking his dog at AF at the time. He said it was like a freak hail storm which came and went in 2 minutes.
As said the line drys pretty quickly, just dont push it till you know places like Bergwerk, Hochiechen and Hohe Acht are dry.
Gary
I think thats all part of the challenge of the place. Unless you have a sky that is genuinely cloudless, you cannot bank on a dry lap.
The lap itself jouneys through different 'areas' and topography, each with almost their own weather system constantly changing.
The old adage of 'slippery when wet' is one to keep at the front of your mind!In most places, it does take a time to dry out and if you get off line ...
... and when the weather does 'close in', doesn't it ever get 'sticky'?!
Freaky. Caution is the watchword.
The lap itself jouneys through different 'areas' and topography, each with almost their own weather system constantly changing.
The old adage of 'slippery when wet' is one to keep at the front of your mind!In most places, it does take a time to dry out and if you get off line ...
... and when the weather does 'close in', doesn't it ever get 'sticky'?!
Freaky. Caution is the watchword.
gutmann pug said:
The worst thing is the 3 or 4 different climates you can get on one lap.
When its hammering down the whole way round you know where you are. I did a lap in June where it was bone dry till I can to the fast right at the entrance to Adenaur Forst. It was like someone had drawn a line across the track, one side was dry one side wet ....... You spin me right round baby right round. Ended up on the infield wondering what the hell had just happened. Later that day I was speaking to a friend who had been walking his dog at AF at the time. He said it was like a freak hail storm which came and went in 2 minutes.
As said the line drys pretty quickly, just dont push it till you know places like Bergwerk, Hochiechen and Hohe Acht are dry.
Gary
When its hammering down the whole way round you know where you are. I did a lap in June where it was bone dry till I can to the fast right at the entrance to Adenaur Forst. It was like someone had drawn a line across the track, one side was dry one side wet ....... You spin me right round baby right round. Ended up on the infield wondering what the hell had just happened. Later that day I was speaking to a friend who had been walking his dog at AF at the time. He said it was like a freak hail storm which came and went in 2 minutes.
As said the line drys pretty quickly, just dont push it till you know places like Bergwerk, Hochiechen and Hohe Acht are dry.
Gary
I think this is what scares me most. On my previous two vists it's either been bone dry all the way round or absolutely soaking all the way round with no semblance of dry line.
I guess as mentioned if you know the weather has been variable and it's dry at the entrance you still have to be super vigilant.
Vigilance, caution etc are the words to use if it even looks like it might rain (this usually means it is, somewhere. Case in point, a few weeks ago I was lapping in the Mondeo and came up behind a 911 Turbo of some sort at Flugplatz, he obviously didn't know the track so let me through and then stuck on my tail. This wasn't a problem until we rounded the first right hander at Schwalbenschwanz, I spotted the wet track and braked, he went up the inside and overtook me, I made it to the next bend ie. Kleine Karussell, he didn't.
fergus said:
combemarshal said:
I would say it was a tad quicker than most tracks due to the narrowness of the track
?!
Surely the line is the line, even if the track is the width of a runway (e.g. hangar st)?!
Hangar straight is no where near as wide as a runway!!
The thing is 90% of track day users have no idea on racing lines so the wider the track the less likely they are to create a drying line.
atomicrex said:
combemarshal said:
Ah ya wimps, whats wrong with a little moisture!!!!
I would say it was a tad quicker than most tracks due to the narrowness of the track, depends on how many people are brave enough to go out and what sort of car they are driving
I would say it was a tad quicker than most tracks due to the narrowness of the track, depends on how many people are brave enough to go out and what sort of car they are driving
Well Im happy to follow you then! And I even promise to bring a tow rope to pull you out of one of the armco's! There arent many people that are brave enough to go out there on normal rubber!!! It isnt that narrow either. The problem with the place is that it is in so many different eco systems that one part can be dry will another can be soaking wet!
So many places are undercover, that they take an awful long time to dry!
You wouldn't be following me out of choice!!!!
Even though the sun does about the best job of drying a track getting some cars over it with a breeze is great for clearing water.
fergus said:
combemarshal said:
I would say it was a tad quicker than most tracks due to the narrowness of the track
?! Surely the line is the line, even if the track is the width of a runway (e.g. hangar st)?!
Except that more than most circuits - the Ring has a quite different "wet line".
In answer to the original question - I actually think the track dries very quickly in most places, especially if there is a decent wind --- however, as someone has pointed out - there are certain places, typically under the trees and in more sheltered areas, where it does take longer. Do NOT assume that because it is dry in most places it is fully dry.
On my first lap of last year I was moving it along quite happliy in completely dry conditions and sunny at Adenauer Forst then suddenly at Metzgesfeld it was pouring with rain and a (well known) Golf had just gone off in front of me! Be careful in the wet!
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