AWWW, NUTS!!! I would have loved to have participated in this soggy adventure but the late scheduling announcement caught me unawares. Next time!
I downloaded the replay and had a peek. LOL! Quite the challenge, eh, fellas?
Grats to Ra on a fine win...and pole...and to all who finished.
Uhhh... But don't get to comfy with those lap times. Racing in the rain at Mosport in real-life would have been 10 times worse than what I saw you guys go through in the replay cap. You guys had it easy!
It's been my observation of 51 racing seasons at Mosport...and personally, two events in a Formula Vee and one in a Formula Ford...that the 'rule of thumb' when it comes to racing in the rain at Mosport is this:
Take your best dry-weather lap time and add 30 seconds. Yes, you read that right. ADD FULLY 1/2 MINUTE. And this doesn't just hold for local
wankers in clapped-out machinery. No sir. This is for the pros, the best of the best with the very best at their disposal in terms of knowledge and equipment. Don't believe me? Check out the following...
1966 Mosport CanAm
The first 10 slots on the grid would be locked in from times set during the first qualifying session. A really dumb idea as it turned out. This session was run in the rain. Dan Gurney topped the time sheets with a 1:50.7 in his Lola-Ford. Here's the top 10 on the grid:
1 Dan Gurney / USA Lola T70 Ford 1:50,700
2 Chris Amon / NZ M1B Chevrolet 1:53,000
3 Bruce McLaren / NZ McLaren M1B Chevrolet 1:53,500
4 Denny Hulme / NZ Lola T70 Chevrolet 1:53,600
5 Sam Posey / USA McLaren M1B Ford 1:54,000
6 Mark Donohue / USA Lola T70 Chevrolet 1:55,700
7 Follmer / USA Lola T70 Chevrolet 1:56,100
8 John Cannon / CDN McLaren M1B Chevrolet 1:56,300
9 Lothar Motschenbacher / USA Genie Vinegaroon Oldsmobile 1:58,300
10 Jim Hall / USA Chaparral 2E Chevrolet 1:22,900
11 John Surtees / GB Lola T70 Mk.2 Chevr SL71/43 1:24,500
Follmer was a non-starter so Jim Hall was promoted to P10 from his qualifying effort in a subsequent dry-weather qualifying session. Surtees was 2nd in that session to start P11. Note that Hall's laptime is almost 28 seconds faster than pole man Gurney's effort in the wet. In fact, Big Dan's performance put the other stars in the shade, didn't it? Fastest lap in the race went to Gurney with a 1:23.1 timing. The reserved grid dumb? Well, we all know what happened in T1 of L1, don't we? And I was right there to see it!
source:
http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/canam/canam1966.html1971 Canadian Grand Prix
Qualifying was in the dry but the race was a soggy, foggy nightmare. Races were considerably delayed thanks to blanket fog that descended upon
Mosport overnight. Too, a dreadful fatal crash in a support race put the GP hours behind schedule. Here's the front row:
François Cevert Jo Siffert Jackie Stewart
Tyrrell 002-Ford #12 B.R.M. P160 #14 Tyrrell 003-Ford #11
1:15.7 1:15.5 1:15.3
Very competitive and fast. As noted, though, the race was run entirely in the rain. Fastest lap? To Denny Hulme on a 1:43.5 timing. Again, some
28 seconds off a good dry-weather pace.
source:
http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/archive/f1/1971/71cdn.htmlI've seen other races in the rain but have no documentation. However, even to this day, it seems that the '30-second rule' applies. I did crew for a superkarter in the mid-80's and he could cut 1:35's in the dry. For one practice session in the wet, he managed a 2:02 lap. Not bad.