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Race tracks and rain generally don't mix, but that was no reason to pass up a recent opportunity to cane some Mazda products at a Vancouver-area road course. Best just to send up silent pleas to the rain gods and hope for the best -- which almost seemed to work as the rain in British Columbia's Fraser Valley at Mission Raceway nearly quit before returning in force.

Traction is traditionally just a fond memory when race track meets rain. But these days, the traction control systems on many cars go far toward resolving this slippery relationship.

Mazda's take on the system is called Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), and conditions at Mission were actually perfect for testing its effectiveness -- with no distractions such as stoplights, pedestrians or other cars.

Well, maybe a few other cars -- Mazda brought eight vehicles to Mission, not just to test DSC systems but with a much more comprehensive goal in mind. That was to offer some seat-of-the-pants comparisons between bone-stock models of the sportiest Mazdas -- MX-5, Mazda3 and RX-8 -- and the enhanced Mazdaspeed versions of those same vehicles.

Mission, site of the comparo, is a smallish road course with a lot of tricky twists and one very wide straightaway.

Mazdaspeed is the factory in-house tuner division of Mazda, and it devotes itself to revealing the full performance potential of these cars using special parts and modifications.

For example, the Mazdaspeed3 GT is an aggressive beast with a 2.3-litre motor that has been massaged via turbocharging to render 263 horsepower at 5,500 r.p.m., up from the stock motor's 160 h.p. With this kind of muscle, the Speed3 likes to leap from corner to corner as torque starts early with a rush and peaks at 280 pound-feet at 3,000 r.p.m.

The Speed3 would be prone to violent torque steer through its front driving wheels if not for the DSC system. It immediately senses wheel spin and backs off on the power as unobtrusively as possible. The real trick is in shutting off the DSC with the dash-located switch and dabbling with that power on the wet curves -- without the electronic safety net.

Clearly, the potential for trouble exists in that decision, but the Mazdaspeed cars stayed remarkably composed, for the most part, with the DSC off. Suspension tuning with top-shelf bits such as Bilstein dampers and stabilizer bars, 18- or 19-inch performance tires, light rims and more get the credit.

It was quite impressive to see how the Mazdaspeed vehicles responded, with or without electronic assistance. This was especially the case with the RX-8 R3, a Mazdaspeed factory rendition that pulls no punches.

It comes equipped with extensively tuned suspension bits, plus cold-air induction and a freer-flowing exhaust system to boost output.

Horsepower was raised by 10 per cent to 15 per cent over the stock version's 232 h.p., and the car was the king of the track. The R3 gave notice of its top-dog ranking with a stirring rotary wail that bounced off the walls of Mission's front straight.

The MX-5 was up next, and it was definitely best at demonstrating the forces of physics. The same things that help give the MX-5 such precise steering in dry conditions work against it in the wet. For instance, the short wheelbase makes quick work of corners when the sun is shining, but it can be an issue in the rain, making the rear end more prone to stepping out of line.

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