Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 85 I Want to Form a Racing Team (5K)

"Surprise? Accident?"

Looking at Chen Xiangbei standing there, Qin Lianjie asked with a smile.

"Why are you here?"

Chen Xiangbei was indeed quite surprised. He had only told Liang Chi the time of his Renault Winter Tour, and did not ask him to come to Japan to watch the game.

The reason was simple: Chen Xiangbei wasn't one for pretentiousness, and whenever he ran a race, he had to bring his entire family and friends along. Furthermore, he felt it was too much of a hassle to travel abroad specifically for a small, selective competition like this.

"Just kidding, this is a European ticket match, of course we have to witness it."

Qin Lianjie replied that Chen Xiangbei was used to being calm and composed, and they didn't think this was just a small competition.

You should know that there are only a handful of Chinese drivers who can compete in Japanese events. Huasai has been cooperating with Honda for three or four years, but apart from Chen Xiangbei, it has not been able to send a single driver to the Honda Racing Academy.

As for the European Formula, there is no need to mention it. After more than ten years, there are only Cheng Congfu and Ma Qingye, and there is no third person who can run in Renault-level events.

As the "first person" overseas in the past two years, only Chen Xiangbei can remain so calm!

"Originally, Lao Zhang and Xiaoman were planning to come over, but their contract with Huasai expires at the end of the year, and Lao Zhang needs to coordinate and handle many things. Xiaoman's father is one of the investors, so he also has to stay at Huasai to assist, so he can't come over."

Liang Chi took the opportunity to inform them that it was not that Zhang Zhicong and Lu Xiaoman did not want to come, but they were simply too busy.

"I see."

Chen Xiangbei nodded.

After a few brief words at the door, the three of them returned to the house and chatted about recent events.

Chen Xiangbei then said, "Uncle Liang, after Huasai disbands, where will the team members go?"

When Liang Chi suddenly heard this question, his expression became a little gloomy.

"Lao Zhang plans to withdraw completely. He will return to Hong Kong Island to resume his old job as a manager. Miyamoto and his Japanese technical staff will also withdraw. It all depends on how Honda Racing Company arranges it."

"As for Feng Yong and Zhao Lei, let's see if they want to continue being race car maintenance technicians or switch to something else. As for Xiaoman's family background, there's no need to worry too much."

The completion of the last batch of personnel arrangements for Huasai Sports means that this company, which carries China's original Formula One dream, will disappear in the long river of history.

"Uncle Liang, what about you?"

"I?"

"Guangshen Auto Repair Shop is my hometown. How can I not have somewhere else to go?"

Liang Chi replied nonchalantly, but he actually felt very unhappy inside.

After all, Huasai Sports was his dream and hard work, but now he can only watch it go bankrupt and the team members go their separate ways.

"Uncle Liang, I've always had an idea, but it's very difficult to realize."

"What do you want to do?"

“I want to start a private racing team.”

From the first day Chen Xiangbei came into contact with racing, he had the same dream as Liang Chi and Zhang Zhicong.

I hope to have a Chinese Formula One team and racing team.

But in the last life, after the American Liberty Media Group took over F1, the technical content and value of the team exploded. Not to mention China, a weak country with no racing foundation, even traditional private giants in Europe and the United States had some trouble coping.

Just like the former champion team Williams, which can only hover at the bottom most of the time. If it were not for the R&D budget cap and the sharp increase in points and post-race dividends, it might have collapsed.

The entry fee for new teams is ridiculously high, and many powerful investors are discouraged after inquiring about the price. Only old factory teams like Audi and Cadillac dare to invest in it for fun.

In this case, it is nothing but a pipe dream to want to build China's own racing team or racing team with a fringe driver who has not even entered F1.

But the situation is different in this era. The financial crisis in 08 caused operational difficulties for F1 teams. Several teams such as BMW, Honda, Toyota, and Super Aguri left the market, and the cost of taking over was surprisingly low.

Of course, the takeover cost is not equal to the operating cost, and the transfer contract often includes part of the team's debt and investment commitments.

However, even so, the threshold for investment entry has been greatly lowered. Even a country like India can form an F1 team. The only difference is the member structure and performance.

Chen Xiangbei had already considered potential investors and sponsors while he was still in China. Now that Huasai Sports had collapsed and his racing team had been forced to disband, it was time to take concrete steps.

"Northward, that's unlikely."

Qin Lianjie shook his head on the spot. He didn't want to undermine Chen Xiangbei's self-confidence. It was true that there was little hope for this matter.

Having studied in Japan for many years and liking racing, Qin Lianjie knows very well how much Japanese auto giants such as Honda, Toyota, and Nissan have invested in building a systematic racing foundation.

Racing technology and team talent do not come out of thin air, they require huge financial investment. It is a bit of an exaggeration for Chen Xiangbei to say that they are penniless, but compared with the giants of automobile manufacturers, there is a world of difference between the two.

If you really want to set up a racing team, cross-country racing is a bit possible, but formula racing requires too much skill and quality.

"I know, let's start with the most basic maintenance technician team."

Of course, Chen Xiangbei would not be so unrealistic as to think that he could recruit a few people from Huasai Sports to carry out the research and development and operations of the Formula One team.

His goal is only to be the most basic maintenance technician!
Not to mention an entry-level Formula One event like Renault, even in a top-tier event like F1, it is impossible for all team members to be top engineers. There are different divisions of labor and collaboration, and they are independent of each other to some extent!
Take the most famous Red Bull F1 team as an example. The team composition can be roughly divided into three major sections: R&D, operations and maintenance.

The R&D sector is the core of motorsport. After all, the quality of a car depends entirely on its R&D. No matter how strong the driver is, he cannot win the championship by driving a tractor.

This department has two branches, and the soul figure is the technical director who leads the design and development of the racing car. He usually has an excellent technical and scientific background. The former head of this department is the famous aerodynamics master Newey.

Another technical branch is responsible for racing, led by race engineers. They are responsible for collecting data from the car and providing feedback to the factory, including various car settings and communication with the maintenance team.

In a sense, the race engineer is the person who works most closely with the driver.

The head of the operations department is called the team manager. With the authorization of the team owner or the board of directors, he can coordinate all matters related to the team. The person in charge of the Red Bull team is also quite famous. He is the former professional driver Horner.

The maintenance part is relatively simple to understand. To put it simply, it is a group of car repairmen, and the leader is called the chief technician.

Chen Xiangbei's current idea does not involve R&D and operations, but only starts from the maintenance department, which has the lowest requirements and difficulty.

Liang Chi and his team have many years of experience in developing and maintaining CFR2000. In theory, it should not be difficult for them to adapt to Renault racing cars, or even higher-level Formula One racing cars.

After hearing Chen Xiangbei's explanation, Liang Chi and Qin Lianjie did not say anything. They were both thinking about the feasibility in their minds.

After a moment, Liang Chi said, "If we just set up a maintenance team, we won't have any problems."

"The problem is, how could a professional racing team allow you to place someone in there?"

There has never been any such thing as an independent maintenance team; it must be attached to a professional racing team.

Professional racing teams aren't philanthropists, and auto giants like Honda are even less so. They participate in motorsports to expand their brand influence, cultivate their own racing talent, and develop and verify cutting-edge technologies.

How can Chen Xiangbei, a small-time character who doesn't flow in, reap the benefits?

"I have a way. I'll tell you when I succeed."

Chen Xiangbei had been thinking about Liang Chi's concerns for two lifetimes, and had come up with various ways to deal with many difficulties.

Of course, no one can guarantee 100% success in this kind of thing. If Chen Xiangbei had not heard the news that Huasai Sports had gone bankrupt and the team members were going their separate ways, he would not have chosen to say it in advance at this time.

The most important thing for him right now is to achieve good results in the competition and enhance his fame, so that he will have the capital for future negotiations!

That night, Liang Chi and Qin Lianjie did not choose to book a room in the hotel to rest, but slept on the floor in the apartment so that they could go to the Suzuka Circuit with Chen Xiangbei the next day.

Qin Lianjie's apartment was originally designed in the Japanese tatami style, and sleeping on the floor was honestly not much different from sleeping on a bed. The next morning, the three of them washed up, ate a quick bite, and prepared to leave.

Chen Xiangbei opened the door and saw Qin Qiuyu standing in the corridor with an expression as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Chen Xiangbei took the initiative to ask: "Are you looking for your brother?"

Unexpectedly, Qin Qiuyu shook his head and said, "No."

"What's the matter?"

"I want to go to the track with you to watch the game."

Qin Qiuyu had only been involved in street racing before. It was her first time to go to the racetrack some time ago. She wanted to see the strength of professional driver Naotaka Yamamoto.

As a result, Chen Xiangbei accidentally ran a race with Hashimoto Ichiro, which opened the door to a new world for Qin Qiuyu. It turned out that on the home track, the gap between professional drivers and amateurs was so huge!

Now Chen Xiangbei is going to compete with Yamamoto Naoki again, and she is even more curious about what kind of scenes will happen between professional riders.

Before Chen Xiangbei could reply, Qin Lianjie overheard their conversation and walked over. He habitually said, "At your age, you should just focus on studying. Don't dwell on racing, especially with a bunch of shady people. Do you know how dangerous that is and how worried your parents are?"

"Aren't you like that yourself?"

Qin Qiuyu asked back, she got involved in street racing, to some extent, because of the influence of her brother Qin Lianjie.

"I……"

At this moment, Qin Lianjie was speechless.

People are often like this. They don't do things themselves, but they still expect others not to do them.

The more contradictory point is that we cannot just sit there and watch and do nothing.

"Go ahead. Being interested in professional racing is better than living on the streets."

Chen Xiangbei smiled and patted Qin Lianjie's shoulder. It would be better to guide him instead of stopping him forcefully.

……

When Chen Xiangbei and his team of four set off, the Suzuka Circuit was already extremely lively, with at least 10,000 spectators sitting in the main grandstand in the paddock.

This is the foundation provided by a sound racing system. If the same level of competition is held in China, it is generally considered a good thing if the number of on-site spectators can exceed a thousand, most of whom are gift tickets and friends and relatives.

The maintenance passage can be described as "crowded with people". The entire row of P rooms has been opened, and crew members from more than a dozen teams are debugging equipment.

You should know that Japan is the strongest racing country in Asia. They not only have factory teams of car manufacturers, but also many sponsored teams of modified parts, such as Tongmeng and Mugen.

There are also private teams formed after the drivers retire, such as Kunimitsu, Aguri, etc.

Compared with sponsored teams and private teams, factory teams naturally have more resources and the ability to absorb talent.

However, in low-level formulas, since all the cars used are standard-regulation cars, the advantage in terms of technological leadership is not actually very obvious. It depends more on the personal ability of the driver. If you have a good seedling, you have the possibility of winning the championship.

In fact, Japanese domestic car races, such as Super GT, have never been dominated by factory teams. On the contrary, the competition among many teams has been very exciting over the past few decades.

Compared to the bustling scenes in the P rooms of other teams, the P room of Honda Racing Academy was filled with a strange atmosphere, and the team members had very solemn expressions on their faces.

Especially the chief technician Hideo Watanabe, he lowered his head and did not dare to face Hiroki Sawano at all.

The reason is that a big news came out in the media interview before the race. A Fuji TV reporter received information from a former Honda racing student, which revealed that unfair competition had occurred within the academy, and some Chinese newcomers had bought student status and competition quotas by taking advantage of their financial advantages.

In addition to the whistleblower, Fuji TV reporters also contacted other Honda racing students to provide corroborating evidence, confirming that it was indeed true!
When Hiroki Sawano and his team came to the P room to debug the equipment in the morning, almost everyone was confused when faced with the sudden appearance of reporters for interviews. They had never expected that such explosive rumors would spread at the critical moment before the game.

An internal investigation was immediately launched within the academy, and the identity of the whistleblower was basically locked down to Matsumoto Brown.

As for the racing students who testified, they were also close friends of Matsumoto Brown. The reason they committed perjury was simple: Chen Xiangbei's sudden appearance had "grabbed" all the spots, even canceling the originally scheduled internal trials!
From the perspectives of Nakajima Satoru and Sawano Hiroki, their vision is enough to see Chen Xiangbei's potential to take a huge lead, and the track lap time data also proves this.

Of course, we must devote all our resources to focused training. Is there any need to waste time on internal selection?
However, the racing trainees did not think so. They looked down on Chen Xiangbei and were filled with envy, jealousy and hatred.

In addition, the Chinese boy later thought that he was valued by the principal and the director in the college, and he acted like a big shot. He usually kept to himself and didn't bother to talk to anyone, as if he looked down on everyone.

The conflicts accumulated over time and were instigated by Matsumoto Brown. They chose to break out before the game in order to mess with Chen Xiangbei's mentality, make him perform poorly and turn the rumors into "facts"!
In addition to the rumors, the chief investigator during the investigation was Hideo Watanabe, who also took the initiative to admit that he had done something wrong.

That is, he copied Chen Xiangbei's practice video and data to Matsumoto Brown, and it eventually came into the hands of Yamamoto Naoki!

"Watanabe, why are you doing this!"

Hiroki Sawano suppressed his anger and asked, "Watanabe Hideo has been working at the Racing Academy for almost ten years. He is usually a down-to-earth and reliable person. How could he do such a thing as leaking the team's data?"
To be honest, Hiroki Sawano doesn't understand at all!
"Matsumoto said he realized his former arrogance and wanted to learn from his opponents' strengths so he could win on the track and return to the racing academy one day."

"I believed Matsumoto's statement, so I gave him the USB drive that Mizutani had copied the data from."

Watanabe Hideo replied with a guilty look on his face. Matsumoto Brown was the student with whom he had the best relationship. He couldn't bear to see him being persuaded to withdraw from the Honda Racing Academy just because of a small mistake made by a young man's arrogance.

It just so happened that Nakajima Satoru requested a copy of the video that day, and after watching it, he sent it back to the P room and Watanabe Hideo gave it to Matsumoto Brown.

Unexpectedly, Matsumoto took advantage of his kindness and gave Chen Xiangbei's racing data to his competitor!
"Watanabe, you will be temporarily suspended and await internal processing within the academy!"

Regardless of whether you are being taken advantage of out of kindness or not, you will have to bear the consequences if you do something wrong. The specific punishment will be determined by the principal, Nakajima Satoru.

Just when Hiroki Sawano said this, Chen Xiangbei happened to walk into the P room and heard it. He was immediately confused. What kind of a move was it to suspend the chief technician before the game?

"Director Sawano, what happened?"

Feeling the solemn atmosphere among the team members, Chen Xiangbei asked a question.

Facing Chen Xiangbei's question, Sawano Hiroki's expression was a little complicated. He didn't know whether he should tell him.

After all, racing is a sport that requires a good state of mind, which naturally includes the pre-race mentality. Matsumoto Brown's timing of the revelation was very accurate.

But the problem is that if we don't say it, no one can guarantee whether there will be interviews with reporters. When Chen Xiangbei suddenly finds out and is not prepared at all, his mentality may be even worse. It is better to find out in advance and be prepared.

Without much hesitation, Hiroki Sawano recounted the entire incident in detail.

After listening to this, Chen Xiangbei's expression was very interesting. It wasn't that he felt any pressure, but he thought, is this a big deal?

He had experienced the rumor that his "money power" was the key to success no less than ten times. The reason was that he had a poor foundation in his previous life, which led to mediocre results in Formula One events.

It's the kind of situation where advancement is not a big problem and elimination is actually okay.

So much so that every time they defeat their competitors, many media outlets speculate whether it is because of their performance or the sponsorship funds that bought them the seat.

After hearing this so many times, Chen Xiangbei became numb. If he had this much money, would it still be based on this kind of foundation?

He has already entered F1!
"Director Zeye, it's okay. There's an old Chinese saying that rumors stop at the wise."

"If there are really too many idiots, then just use your strength to silence the doubters."

Chen Xiangbei answered very easily, and then prepared to go to the driver's lounge to change into his racing suit.

Seeing him like this, Hiroki Sawano didn't know what to say. It was fine that he didn't have any pre-race pressure, but in the face of such rumors, he was still able to maintain his composure. Was he really a newcomer running a race for the first time?

"Xiangbei, but Yamamoto Naoki has obtained the game video. He will analyze your running style and target it."

"Director Zeye, I often watch Schumacher's videos. Can I target him?"

After saying this, Chen Xiangbei walked straight towards the lounge, leaving behind a dashing back view for everyone present...

(End of this chapter)