Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 60: It can be said that there is no shortcoming

Chen Xiangbei took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes and walked out. He just happened to see the two burly Huasai technicians pushing the CFR2 back to the garage for inspection.

During his previous driving experience, he had many dissatisfactions with the mechanical performance of the CFR2000 racing car, and thought he might as well take this opportunity to adjust it together with the technicians.

"Hello, what's your name?"

Chen Xiangbei went over to say hello. Liang Chi hadn't introduced his name before, only saying that he was his apprentice, so he didn't even know his full name.

Hearing Chen Xiangbei's voice, the two Huasai technicians stopped what they were doing. The round-faced technician on the left introduced himself with a simple smile, "My name is Feng Yong, you can just call me Ayong."

"His name is Zhao Lei. He's older than us, and the team usually calls him Brother Lei."

"Okay, you can also call me Xiangbei."

Chen Xiangbei smiled and nodded, then turned and asked, "Ayong, Brother Lei, can you adjust the car?"

Adjusting a car and repairing a car are two different concepts, especially for Formula One racing, which also involves aerodynamics. If Chen Xiangbei doesn't ask clearly, he really can't guarantee that the other party will know how to do it.

"Yes. We were assisting the Ford technicians before, but after their contracts expired and they left in the middle of the year, we worked with the Honda engineers to tune the base car."

"That's good."

Chen Xiangbei responded and squatted down in front of the CFR2000. He pointed at the suspension and said, "The spring damping is a bit stiff. While stiff springs increase cornering support, they also reduce the car's traction, making it more prone to slipping in high-speed corners."

For ordinary people or most "low" level drivers, they tend to prefer the feeling of hard springs, which can suppress roll when cornering at high speed and give people more confidence in cornering.

But Chen Xiangbei's confidence comes not from false physical sensations, but from the real car feel from actual track feedback, which helps him judge the limit of cornering speed. Too hard spring damping may backfire.

"Also, the brake balance is not adjusted correctly. A 50:50 front and rear brake ratio is not suitable for dry conditions. The rear wheel will lock more easily. It is best to adjust it to 55:45."

"Also, there's a problem with the suspension camber angle, which results in insufficient contact area between the outside tires in the corners."

Just as Chen Xiangbei was "chattering" on the feedback about the car tuning, Ito Masaharu came back after packing up the console equipment and happened to see this scene. He was stunned on the spot.

It’s not enough for the new Chinese guy to start driving a Formula One car directly, he can even tune the car?

You should know that many F1-level drivers are not necessarily good at adjusting cars, and often need the team or teammates to share adjustment data.

Where did Chen Xiangbei learn these professional knowledge?

"Xiangbei-kun, you really have never raced karting or Formula One before?"

Ito Masaharu walked over and asked with full of doubts.

If learning the formula can be explained by simulators or talent, the operation of feedback on car tuning is really beyond Masaharu Ito's thinking and cognition.

"No."

Chen Xiangbei denied it calmly.

"How can you shun a car if you've never driven one?"

"Do you know how to tune a car if you've driven go-karts or Formula One?"

Chen Xiangbei did not directly answer Ito Masaharu's question, but asked a question in return.

Ito Masaharu was instantly bewildered, completely unable to answer. The reason was simple: karting drivers or entry-level Formula One drivers were still not strong enough to handle the car shunting challenge.

But then came an even more "horrifying" reality. As a complete newcomer, Chen Xiangbei actually reached the threshold of shunting!
Seeing that Ito Masaharu's CPU was about to burn out, Chen Xiangbei smiled and took the initiative to give a relatively reasonable explanation.

"Ito, I used to work part-time at Uncle Liang's auto repair shop. He taught me a lot of professional knowledge about tuning cars."

It is true that Chen Xiangbei works part-time in the auto repair shop, but Liang Chi has never taught anyone how to shunt cars. However, the two of them probably won't verify each other's opinions, as the main point is the information gap.

After hearing Chen Xiangbei's explanation, Ito Masaharu showed a look of sudden enlightenment on his face.

Liang Chi, half racing engineer and half chief technician at Huasai Sports, was indeed very proficient in tuning. It seemed that Chen Xiangbei, like the two Huasai technicians, was also his apprentice.

"Xiangbei-kun, being able to maneuver a car is a huge advantage in Formula One racing. If you keep it up, I believe you will create miracles like Sato-kun."

As he got to know Chen Xiangbei better, Ito Masaharu became more and more convinced that this new driver had no shortcomings other than his age!
After saying this, Masaharu Ito directly joined the team to adjust the car, which reflected the old Chinese saying of "like-minded people". Racing teams often need to appreciate and recognize each other to be more united.

Not long after, technical director Shio Miyamoto also walked in. When he saw this shunting scene, a complicated expression appeared on his face.

As the technical director, he participated in the development of CFR2000 and was well aware that this racing car had many design flaws that could not be corrected through tuning and test driving.

This is why Miyamoto Shio recommended Chen Xiangbei to run the higher-level Renault Formula, because it is not worth wasting more time on a failed product.

However, Shio Miyamoto did not stop Chen Xiangbei and others from their "useless efforts". In a sense, adjusting the car is a process of adjustment between the driver and the team, regardless of whether Masaharu Ito or himself will still be a member of Chen Xiangbei's crew after the contract expires.

At least so far, we are still a team!

Time passed as they got to know each other. In the afternoon, Chen Xiangbei was taken to the base gym alone by Lu Xiaoman. She would perform the duties of a trainer and help develop a physical training plan.

Formula One drivers, including F1 drivers, actually do a lot of daily physical training almost every day, and the intensity is definitely not inferior to many common sports.

Because Formula One racing is not only a technical job, it is also a physical job.

There is no need to say much about G-force pressure. Just in terms of the force required, ordinary people may not be able to imagine that an F1 driver needs up to 30 kilograms of force to turn the steering wheel at high speed.

If you still can't understand, household bottled water weighs 18.9 kilograms. If you can lift two buckets of water horizontally and move them up and down for an hour or two, you can probably experience the feeling of an F1 driver driving an entire race.

Moreover, the car shakes while driving, and when it hits the curb, it is like going over a speed bump, and the whole car will "jump".

F1 drivers must ensure that the steering wheel remains motionless under any circumstances, otherwise, at a speed of two or three hundred kilometers per hour, one instability will immediately cause the driver to fall to the wall.

Basically, it can be said that every F1 driver has extremely stable core strength and a pair of strong arms!

In addition, Formula One drivers also need a pair of "wind god legs" because the force of pressing the brake pedal with full force can reach an astonishing maximum of 200 kilograms.

Without enough leg strength, you can't even brake hard, and you'll be waiting for various rear-end collisions on the track.

So professional racing is far from being as easy as it seems, and it is certainly not as relaxing and enjoyable as taking a normal drive.

If you want to successfully enter the highest hall of Formula One, talent is just a ticket to meet the gods. Among the world's top 1 drivers in the paddock, who is not a genius among thousands?
Let alone F1, even if a country can reach F2, it is often difficult for it to produce one.

You have to work ten times or a hundred times harder to have the chance to compete with them in terms of talent!

PS: Brothers, the cycle PK has reached Sanjiang, please keep reading for the last few days!
(End of this chapter)