Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Anyone think we should be using wets?

[antonye]

Bearing in mind we have an exclusive contract with Dunlop to supply the tyres for the series, do they actually have a suitable wet tyre for the series?

There's a lot of questions that would need debating and serious research into the effects on the series, such as: if we can get wets in the right size, whether they will heat up enough to be of any use (I seem to recall this discussion about issues with the newer Pirellis last year? ), the true cost of adding spare wheels and disks into the series, how often they would actually get used (not just cost over the whole series - it's how often you use them that counts), and the overall safety aspects of letting the riders out on them in what is effectively a novice series, and whether or not we enforce the races as "wets only" (based upon a wet-race declaration) and if we should exclude those who don't pay for wets from being able to race...

It's not just a case of "let's switch to using wets" I'm afraid, and it's certainly too late for this year anyway.

I'm more than happy to open up the debate now to allow us all to come to a sensible conclusion at the end of the year to ensure that the rules for 2012 can be fixed as early as possible.

[PDL]

I've used wets this season on my 600ss racing with both W100 and PDMCC and they work fine. The rear wheel cost me £50 off here, spare disk about £20 of ebay, and I already had a spare front & disks from my S4R. I don't use warmers as i am not going as fast, as long as they have sharp edges they work just fine.

[Bionicle]

Anglesy race was declared a wet race, but it was not wet, it was not even damp if a wet rule was enforced for that race the outcome would have been different and a pair of wets would have been wasted.

[bradders]

Originally Posted by Bionicle

Anglesy race was declared a wet race, but it was not wet, it was not even damp if a wet rule was enforced for that race the outcome would have been different and a pair of wets would have been wasted.

agree and it would add an extra 'choice' for us novices to make. But IMHO they should have stopped it at the red flag; if not long enough to decare the result then a couple of laps or whatever it took to complete or just call it.

but then others seemed to be going ok, Phil loved it! and the boys at the front seemed to manage....

having never used wets I'd like to try them, see what they are like.

[ChrisBushell]

I cant for a minute remember over the seasons how many races we have actually had where wets would have been a serious option - but I would speculate that there have probably been less than 10 in all.

As has been already stated earlier in this thread, it is potentially more dangerous to have a situation where one might have people with insufficient experience ending up on inappropriate tyres out there, by giving them a choice of tyre. At some point after west were introduced, someone will then put forward the idea of intermeadiate tyres as well and that again raises the cost of cometition. If all riders are on the same control tyre then it is the same for everyone and as has been shown it forces lap times to slow, which is safer.

Ultimately if you get caught out in a deluge on the road, do you park the bike and wait for it to dry out completely before heading home? Of course not - you slow down and get on with it!

[Monty]

My 2p's worth-when Johnny B was racing my TZ we had 3 sets of wheels, wets, inters, and full slicks-caused amazing problems when the weather was variable. The track is drying out so I think we should be on slicks-no no, leave it on inters. Hells teeth, it's starting to drizzle again-lets put the wets on. So you go out on wets, most of the rest are still on slicks, the track is drying-and you come last-and trash a perfectly good pair of wets...........
Sometimes having too many options is a bad thing.

John

[steve41]

Originally Posted by Monty

My 2p's worth-when Johnny B was racing my TZ we had 3 sets of wheels, wets, inters, and full slicks-caused amazing problems when the weather was variable. The track is drying out so I think we should be on slicks-no no, leave it on inters. Hells teeth, it's starting to drizzle again-lets put the wets on. So you go out on wets, most of the rest are still on slicks, the track is drying-and you come last-and trash a perfectly good pair of wets...........
Sometimes having too many options is a bad thing.

John

John,

This is my experiance also. It worked for us when we did endurance racing, and worked for me at Knockhill when I rode the 400, but then I usually left the house with them on for the weekend!!!
But for most it causes stress at the last minute due to having to make the choice, and then effects you during the race if you feel you are on the wrong tyre, this is worse for the more novice rider/racer.

Steve

[chris.p]

And my 2p's.
The main Ethos of DD was to get people from doing trackdays to get into racing as cheaply as possible with rules that did not allow the person with deeper pockets to buy go faster tuned engines etc.

To add full wets, spare wheels will etc, cost is a minimum of £300-400 plus, how many times would you use them?? once, twice, maybe three times.

Some riders would put wets on when they are not needed, some would go all out in the wet and still end up in the kitty litter.

Some riders say that it is a safety issue??? sorry I for one do not buy that, I have raced with wets & with out wets, and belive me it is down to how you ride, I have beaten riders on bigger bikes who went out on wets while I went out on my standard race tyres (207gp's) at the time, a lot of it is all in the mind. The reason some one ends up falling is one of three things, too hard on the brakes, to ham fisted on the throttle, and leaning the bike to far over rather than hanging off the bike.


You are all on the same tyres, the smoother you ride the faster you go, the faster you go the hotter the tyres get, the hotter the tyres get, the faster you can go.

One fact regarding road tyres, they are made to be ridden in the wet, if they were not capable they would be illegal.

My own toughts would be that class "B" would dwindle if you allowed wets to be added, my self and others spoke to three people wanting to join DD next season, or later this season if they can be ready, and the reason they wanted to join, "Because it is a cheap, friendly race series".


Like I said, just my 2p's worth.


Chris

[Chaz]

Originally Posted by ChrisBushell

I cant for a minute remember over the seasons how many races we have actually had where wets would have been a serious option!

That's because you've only been to about Three

[paynep]

Originally Posted by Chaz

That's because you've only been to about Three

PMSL

We miss you Chaz