I made me look stupid in the situation I described. The car saved my a$$. I'm not sure there's much to be gained once traction is lost. From a start, I think spinning tires just shortens the life of the tire and doesn't get the car moving.

On corners, I do like a controlled slide so there I think there can be a case for turning ESP off. But this car is still new to me so I have been leaving it on to keep myself honest.

If I had been running with it off during this little episode, I would have gone sideways across the sandy spot, caught again on clean pavement (in the wrong lane), probably kept on sliding, right down into a deep ditch, probably rolling in the process. That's assuming I didn't hit someone head-on coming at me in the lane I would have slid through.

I deserved the spanking that the ESP gave me.

Does that make me a masochist?