Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 86 First Professional Race (5K)

Chen Xiangbei was not talking nonsense. When he had nothing to do, he would watch Schumacher's race videos to learn how to run.

The reason is simple. Schumacher in his prime was a god, with perfect lines without any flaws and the most balanced single lap and long distance.

He has no weaknesses in rain racing or street racing, and is equally strong on both offense and defense. At least three or four of his seven championships were won by driving the second or third fastest car in the paddock, beating his opponents to stand on the highest podium.

This is why some people always think that Hamilton is worse than Schumacher even though they are both seven-time champions. This is because Mercedes' cars are basically "rovers", so winning the championship is a matter of course.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Hamilton is not good enough. He also had no rivals in his prime.

What's more, the video that Yamamoto Naotaka saw was of a race on a rainy track just after he arrived at the racing academy. The data was of little reference value, and he had already corrected many of the flaws and shortcomings at the Suzuka Circuit.

To take a step back, even if the leaked content was the latest racing videos and data, Chen Xiangbei would not have any psychological fluctuations.

If you can't even deal with a driver who is targeting you, how can you win the championship?
However, while changing into his racing suit, Chen Xiangbei remembered who Yamamoto Naoki was. No wonder the name sounded familiar.

As the double champion of the Japanese Super Formula and Super GT, it can be said that his achievements have surpassed those of a mid-range F2 driver like himself. He is the first driver Chen Xiangbei has ever met who is "stronger" than himself.

Facing such a strong enemy as Yamamoto Naoki, Chen Xiangbei felt more excited at this moment. Masters are often lonely, and only when an opponent who can match them appears will it be more interesting and motivating!

After changing into racing suits, everyone in the P room looked at Chen Xiangbei and fell into another weird atmosphere.

Hiroki Sawano had originally prepared some words of encouragement, but now he couldn't say a single word.

The Chinese guy is not nervous at all, why are you still giving him so much warnings?
After hesitating for a long time, Hiroki Sawano just glanced at the time on the wall and said something.

"Get in the car and get ready."

Since this is only a circuit qualifying race, and mainly to ensure paid ratings, the FIA ​​has adopted special rules, with qualifying and the race held on the same day, so that the audience can get a better viewing experience.

At the same time, the rules of the Renault Formula 1 during this era were also very simple, with only one qualifying round lasting half an hour.

That is to say, within half an hour, the driver who runs the fastest lap time will win the pole position and will start first in the front row of the race, and the order will be based on lap time and so on.

As for the race rules, compared to F1's 60 laps or so, Renault's race is also shortened to 20 laps.

The reason is that the Renault car is slow, and it takes about fifty to sixty minutes to complete twenty laps. This long and high-intensity driving puts a lot of physical pressure on some entry-level Formula One drivers.

Once you can no longer bear the pressure and your condition declines, the accident rate will increase greatly.

Although the Renault racing car is not as fast as the F1, its top speed can reach 260km/h, and its body structure and strength are much worse.

If a serious car crash really happens, the chance of survival may be lower than in F1.

During the oil warm-up phase, many drivers couldn't hold back and drove their Renault cars directly into the maintenance lane to queue up.

The reason is that there are more than a dozen participating teams and drivers in this Renault Winter Tour. Often a team will send two drivers to participate, and some large teams will send more.

Originally, according to the specifications and level of the Honda Racing Academy, sending two drivers to participate was not excessive. However, the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) took the balance of the competition into consideration and Honda had the advantage of the home track, so the number of participating places was limited.

In addition, for some reason, Yoshi Hoshino didn't seem to be very interested in professional racing and didn't apply for it himself, so it was difficult for the Honda Racing Academy to force him to join. As a result, only Chen Xiangbei participated in the competition.

The final list of participants includes 29 drivers, which means there will be 29 cars on the track.

Think about the F1 qualifying races of later generations where twenty cars still go out in batches, which often causes serious traffic jams. Some drivers do not have good opportunities for flying laps and thus cannot run good lap times.

Now with twenty-nine cars running at the same time, I can’t imagine the congestion on the track.

But this is not the most exaggerated. The F3 event has also had a qualifying scene with more than cars, and there can be an exaggerated three cars side by side on the track.

This forced the FIA ​​to make regulations to divide qualifying into two rounds, and at the same time introduce the qualifying elimination mechanism that was cancelled by F1 to prevent "traffic jams" on the track in the main race that affect safety.

It was only then that Chen Xiangbei noticed that there was a label with the number 13 on the front of his Renault racing car.

"Director Zeye, is this the competition number?"

Before Sawano Hiroki could answer, Mizutani Sho replied with an embarrassed look on his face: "Well, I drew it for you, I was unlucky..."

Japan also has taboos on numbers, such as 4, 9, and 13.

4 and 9 are homophonic, corresponding to "death" and "suffering" in Japanese respectively.

As for the number 13, it is influenced by the West and is considered unlucky.

After Mizutani Sho drew this number, he had no intention of telling Chen Xiangbei, also for fear that it would affect his mentality during the game, but it was still noticed.

"I'm lucky. I like this number very much."

Chen Xiangbei responded with a smile, which gave him a good opportunity to act smart.

At this moment, Sawano Hiroki glanced at the computer screen, which showed that Chen Xiangbei's racing oil had reached the operating temperature, so he said, "The temperature is about right. Let's go to the maintenance lane and line up."

"Yes, Director Sawano."

The team members responded one after another, then entered the competition state and pushed Chen Xiangbei's Renault car to the maintenance lane to line up.

At this time, a long queue has formed in the maintenance lane, and each car hopes to be in a front position so as not to be blocked during qualifying.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei doesn't understand this mentality.

The track conditions are dry now, and it is the coldest period of the first month of the year, so the track temperature is very low and it takes a long time to warm up the tires before they can reach the working conditions of the flying lap.

Even if you are in the front now, you will still be squeezed into a group during the warm-up lap. What is there to rush?

However, while the drivers were queuing in the maintenance lane, Fuji TV's race reporters ran over, wanting to seize this opportunity to conduct close-up interviews with the participating drivers before the race.

Formula One is available in two ways in Japan. Fuji TV broadcasts it on TV, similar to CCTV Sports and Five Star in China. Dazn, a streaming service for mobile and desktop platforms, is the Chinese equivalent of Penguin.

Fuji TV has a long history and a deep mass base in commenting on Formula One. In particular, the hosts and guest lineups are all unique and are very good at guiding topics and interacting with the audience.

Today's event reporter is named Hiroaki Saekawa. It was he who received the tip-off from Matsumoto Brown and planned to dig deeper to create a big news.

As a result, he was turned away by members of the Honda racing team and was unable to interview the person involved, Chen Xiangbei.

Since I can't get into the P room, I can only wait for Chen Xiangbei to come out. The best time is to queue in the maintenance passage.

When Hiroaki Saekawa saw the No. 13 Renault car with the Honda logo, he immediately took the photographer and ran to Chen Xiangbei to start an interview.

Hiroki Sawano originally wanted to stop him, but seeing that the camera was already pointed at him, any action at this time would make the cover-up even more obvious, so he could only let Chen Xiangbei deal with it calmly.

This kid's psychological quality should be able to get through this, right?

"Hello, Chen Xiangbei. I'm Fuji TV reporter Yuaki Sekawa. I'd like to conduct a brief interview with you before the game."

"Excuse me, are you a new driver from China?"

"Yes, I'm a new driver from China Huasai Sports."

When Chen Xiangbei answered, he specifically mentioned the four words "Huasai Sports".

Although Huasai Sports has gone bankrupt, it represents China's exploration into the field of Formula One, and the pioneers should be remembered by the world.

Liang Chi, who was in the main stand, felt a lump in his throat when he saw Chen Xiangbei's face appear on the big screen and heard the words "Huasai Sports".

At this moment, he really hopes that Zhang Zhicong can also sit here and hear that there is a trained driver who can announce the identity of Huasai Sports to the outside world!

But the questions from the reporter next were completely beyond his expectations.

"Xiang Bei-jun, we received a tip before the competition, saying that you relied on your financial advantage and unfair competition methods to obtain Honda's trainee status and competition quota. Is this true?"

As soon as this statement was made, there was an uproar at the Suzuka Circuit. After all, only a few people could know the news in advance, and now that it was broadcast through the media, it became known to everyone in an instant.

"Of course it's not true."

"But Honda students confirmed your place in the competition and did not conduct an internal selection."

Hiroaki Saekawa had already expected Chen Xiangbei to deny it, but the cancellation of the qualifying competition was a fact and could not be refuted.

"Indeed not, because the other people's lap time is at least two seconds slower than mine. Is it necessary to conduct an internal selection?" Strength is the basis for speaking. Chen Xiangbei does not care about questioning at all. He will make these people shut up in the end.

Two seconds?

Hearing this answer, Sekawa Hiroaki showed an expression of disbelief on his face.

He is a sports reporter for Formula One events, so he is naturally very familiar with the concept of lap time.

How is it possible to be two seconds slower per lap? Even Mr. Kobayashi, the Renault record holder at the Suzuka Circuit, probably can't make his peers two seconds slower.

What's more, Honda Suzuka Racing Academy is ranked high in Japan, so it is impossible for the quality of its drivers to be so poor.

"Chen Xiangbei, I don't believe other students would be so slow."

"Is there a possibility that I am going too fast?"

Chen Xiangbei smiled and asked back, indeed, besides Hoshino Yoshi, there are one or two other dry lap times that are not slow, only a little over a second away from the track record once held by Kobayashi Kamui.

But Chen Xiangbei broke the track record by 0.5 seconds, which means he was two seconds slower per lap, right?

Faced with Chen Xiangbei's "arrogant" remarks, Hiroaki Saekawa did not feel unhappy about being refuted. On the contrary, a look of joy appeared on his face.

As a media reporter, he is not afraid of the interviewee saying something shocking, but he is afraid that the other party will remain silent and keep his words secret, so that there will be no topic or heat.

It is obvious that a newcomer like Chen Xiangbei lacks experience in dealing with the media, and his remarks will definitely cause an uproar.

Chen Xiangbei naturally noticed the change in Saekawa Hiroaki's expression, and also understood what the other party was thinking. It was nothing more than that he felt that he was a newcomer and wanted to take advantage of his "inappropriate words" to make a big news.

so what?

In the eyes of the outside world, Chinese athletes are often introverted and low-key, giving people the impression that they are easy to bully.

Chen Xiangbei didn't mind having an arrogant image; on the contrary, it would save him a lot of trouble. When someone tries to pick on the weak, they have to consider how hard they'll hit the wall!
Moreover, in the sports world, whether someone is arrogant or not is never determined by what he says, but by what kind of achievements he has.

As long as you are strong enough, what you say is the truth.

On the contrary, if you are a newbie, even your breathing will be wrong.

Just when Hiroaki Sasakawa wanted to ask something, the staff of the Japan Automobile Federation on the track blew the whistle, indicating that the qualifying session was about to begin and all irrelevant personnel, including team members, should leave the maintenance area immediately.

A look of regret flashed across Hiroaki Saekawa's face at this. According to the style of Chinese newcomers, as long as the interview continues, there will definitely be more explosive news!

At this time, Hiroki Sawano came over. He had witnessed the interview process.

To be honest, he didn't quite agree with Chen Xiangbei's remarks, even though they were all facts, as this would easily drag him into the whirlpool of public opinion.

But in a sense, this is also the process of a driver's growth. Only by withstanding slander can one bear praise.

"Go north, come on!"

Without saying much, Hiroki Sawano just expressed his encouragement to Chen Xiangbei.

"Xiangbei-kun, come on!"

At the same time, members of the Honda team also shouted to Chen Xiangbei.

In response to this situation, Chen Xiangbei smiled, pushed down his helmet visor, and raised his thumb high in response.

The Fuji TV photographer who was leaving happened to broadcast this scene onto the big screen.

In an instant, Liang Chi and Qin Lianjie began to understand why Chen Xiangbei wanted to form a racing team of his own.

In a sense, this is the power of teamwork!

"Heh, this kid has become much more flamboyant in Japan."

Liang Chi said with a smile that he and Zeye had different ideas about Japanese people and agreed with Chen Xiangbei's change.

You have to know that this kid used to be so emotionally stable that he basically didn't show his emotions at all, which made Liang Chi wonder if he was a "robot".

Now you know how to be “arrogant”, that’s good!
"It's okay, maybe it will be that fast?"

Qin Lianjie replied that he didn't think Chen Xiangbei was ostentatious. Many times, telling the truth would be mistakenly seen as ostentatious in the eyes of outsiders.

"Brother, is Chen Xiangbei really that powerful?"

Qin Qiuyu asked curiously. Her brother rarely obeyed others, but he was convinced by Chen Xiangbei.

"It's amazing, it's not human at all!"

When saying this, Qin Lianjie couldn't help but recall the Hot Wheels he saw at the East China Sea Ring Road that night.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that a racing car could have Hot Wheels!

While they were chatting, the numbers on the red LCD screen above the maintenance channel stopped at the integer 15:00:00.

Three o'clock is the time when qualifying starts, and the roar of engines in the maintenance lane explodes instantly.

The default speed of the racing engine is already quite high. Now more than 20 cars are accelerating at the same time and the roar is resounding through the sky, immediately bringing nearly 10,000 spectators at the Suzuka Circuit into the atmosphere of the competition.

The Renault car at the front drove out of the maintenance lane, followed closely by the cars at the back.

Just as Chen Xiangbei had originally expected, even if you rush to line up at the front, you can't start the flying lap directly, you still have to warm up the tires honestly.

There are probably two standard ways to warm up the tires in Formula One racing. One is to do all kinds of crazy snake-skin maneuvers on the track, changing lanes to heat the inside and outside of the tires evenly.

The other method is more radical and is suitable for situations where the track and tire temperatures are relatively low.

That is, you can warm up the rear tires quickly by pressing the accelerator hard to cause a brief tire slip, and then use the "burnout" method to quickly warm up the rear tires. Another method is to accelerate and step on the brakes hard to quickly warm up the front tires by locking the tires.

Both of these tire warming methods can increase tire temperature far more than conventional track snake-skin maneuvers.

But the corresponding risk is very high.

If you don't control the throttle properly when burning tires, the tires will be worn out excessively and easily burst while driving.

The operation of locking the tires is similar, both rely on hard friction with the ground to increase temperature.

Chen Xiangbei left the P room late, and the maintenance passage was in the middle and rear. He looked at the densely packed Renault racing cars in front of him, which were like the traffic during rush hour, and felt a headache.

In order to avoid being stuck in traffic during the speeding lap, Chen Xiangbei decided to take a radical approach to warm up the tires, that is, by continuously stepping on the accelerator and braking hard to quickly heat up the front and rear wheels at the same time.

Among a bunch of racing cars moving in a sly manner, the appearance of an "oddball" that relies on braking to warm up its tires naturally attracts more attention. Even the track broadcast camera is aimed at Chen Xiangbei's No. 13 car.

In the Fuji TV studio, hosts Hideyuki Nakajima and Shinji Tanaka are commenting on the Renault Winter Tour.

After they saw the director cut to the screen, they immediately chimed in, "Nakajima, in Shichuan's track interview just now, Chinese rookie Chen Xiangbei showed his confidence, and now it seems that's true."

"He used a very difficult friction method to warm up the tires on the track. It seems that he was preparing to seize the opportunity to leave the main group behind and perform his own flying lap in advance."

After all, he is a Formula One racing host for many years, and Shinji Tanaka saw Chen Xiangbei's intention at a glance. The Chinese newcomer did not want to be blocked by the car in front during the speeding lap.

"Yes, the friction method does warm the tires up faster, but it's also very risky. If you don't do it right, you can easily get into the wall."

Slipping when you step on the accelerator too hard not only causes tire wear, but also easily causes the tire to spin out and hit the wall on the warm-up lap.

This kind of thing is not uncommon. There are many F1 drivers who are experts at climbing the wall during the warm-up lap. Li Bing from Five Star Sports also revealed that he climbed the wall during the warm-up lap while driving a Renault racing car.

I don’t know if it was Hideyuki Nakajima’s bad luck, but after other drivers on the track saw Chen Xiangbei’s operation, the inspiration to imitate suddenly came to their heads, and they also used the friction warming method to seize the initiative on the spot.

As a result, after a few twists, the accelerator was stepped on too hard, and the Renault car spun out of control and hit the unlucky guy next to it. A red flag was immediately displayed and both cars retired.

When Chen Xiangbei saw this scene, he felt like he was screwed. All his efforts were in vain!
At the same time, he also realized a problem. Not everyone in this level of competition has the strength of Yoshi Hoshino or Naoki Yamamoto.

In addition to winning the championship, you also have to be wary of these "monsters"!
(End of this chapter)