Directional arrowhead tread patterns may be going out of fashion among tyre makers, but they remain a favourite when the heavens open, taking the top five places in this test.

Top of the tree was wet-weather specialist Vredestein, with its Sportrac3 design finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of nearest rival Goodyear on a 60-second lap. Behind the wheel it was equally impressive with the front of our car following the line, despite applying the power way earlier than with its rivals. When it comes to producing consistently good wet tyres, few match the Dutch maker.

The Goodyear felt similarly secure with great front-wheel grip and
balance.