Let’s be honest: nobody wants to race in the rain.
When you wake up in the camper at Shannonville and hear the drops hitting the roof, the collective groan of the paddock is audible. It means scrambling to swap wheels to grooved rain tires. It means the paddock turns into a muddy mess. It means spending the evening drying leathers with a fan.
But a wet track is the absolute best teacher a young motorcycle racer can have.
Horsepower means nothing in the rain. Grabbing a handful of throttle on a wet Ohvale 190 will put you on your head instantly. Rain racing forces a rider to be incredibly smooth. They have to roll onto the throttle gently, squeeze the brakes progressively, and feel for traction at the very edge of the tire.
It teaches them to ride the wet line—staying off the rubbered-in, slippery race line and hunting for grip on the outside of the corners.
Watching my son navigate a wet race is nerve-wracking, but it’s where you see the real talent emerge. The kids who figure out how to ride smoothly in the wet are almost always the ones standing on the podium when the track dries out, because their inputs have become so refined.
Rain days are miserable for the mechanics, but they build champions. Embrace the mud.