Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 87 Track Record Pole Position (5K)

There are many flag signals in Formula One racing, the most common of which are yellow, red and green.

Yellow means there is an obstacle on the lane and drivers need to slow down. Overtaking is prohibited during this process.

The red flag means that the race or test has ended early for some reason, and the drivers must return to the maintenance station to wait for the next order from the event organizer.

The green flag means the track is clear and drivers can race normally.

Now that a red flag has appeared on the track, it means that all cars on the field have to return to the maintenance lane.

The organizers took advantage of this opportunity to send out engineering vehicles to remove the two damaged cars, and quickly cleaned up the crash debris on the track to prevent the tires from being scratched during the subsequent race.

Due to the slow speed of the cars during tire warm-up, the damage caused by the collision between the two cars was not serious and was quickly dealt with. The organizer notified that the race could continue.

The remaining 27 cars took to the track again. With the "example" of the crash during the warm-up lap, the drivers on the track became much more honest after recovery, and no one continued to make any weird moves.

Even Chen Xiangbei chose the conventional snake-skin movement to warm up the tires, and did not use the friction method as before.

It’s not that he is afraid of making mistakes, but he cannot resist the imitation of “experts”. If something happens and the fire happens in the city gate, everyone in the pond will be affected, and that would be a huge loss!

"It seems that the track incident is the best tranquilizer. It is obvious that the drivers on the field are much more conservative in warming up their tires."

Hideyuki Nakajima continued to comment on the game. He didn't expect that his jinx was so effective. He had said that improper operation could easily lead to hitting the wall, and it came true the next second.

"Nakajima, not everyone is conservative. Driver No. 13 Chen Xiangbei chose to speed up and overtake on the formation lap!"

Shinji Tanaka saw the No. 13 car moving swiftly through the traffic, and in a short time it had overtaken two or three cars in front.

"Interesting. Is this the Chinese newcomer planning to use this method to fulfill his pre-race boast of being faster?"

Hideyuki Nakajima made a joke, which immediately caused laughter in the audience.

Judging from the current situation alone, Chen Xiangbei is indeed faster, but it's a pity that this is the warm-up lap.

Driving too fast will cause the tires to not heat up enough, and you may then have to run two more laps to warm up the tires, wasting time.

You have to know that the temperature in Suzuka today was close to zero degrees. Even after two or three laps, it was not certain that the slick tires could reach the optimal operating temperature, let alone Chen Xiangbei's style of play.

Thirty minutes of qualifying, one red flag lap, and the re-starting process meant three or four minutes had already passed. Did he intend to spend a third of that time just warming up the tires?

Chen Xiangbei naturally didn't know what the track commentary said. His speeding up had nothing to do with arrogance or not, he simply didn't want to get stuck in the traffic.

Even during the warm-up lap, some drivers' speeds were still shockingly slow in Chen Xiangbei's eyes, and he really couldn't stand it.

Or to put it another way, Chen Xiangbei is too fast, making the normal speed seem slower.

As Chen Xiangbei continued to overtake others, he soon arrived at the first echelon of the front row, where there were only three or four cars.

Among them is Naotaka Yamamoto of the Guoguang Racing Team, whose car number is 6.

Chen Xiangbei also noticed that the car at the front was number 1!
Chen Xiangbei didn't know whether the Renault car number was randomly drawn or whether it followed the rules of the F1 event and the number 1 driver was by default the defending champion.

However, judging from the speed and smoothness of this guy's operation, it is obvious that he is not a rookie.

With a hint of curiosity, Chen Xiangbei pressed the talk button on the steering wheel and asked via the team radio, "Director Zeye, what is the identity of driver No. 1?"

"Kazuya Oshima of Toyota, champion of the last Renault Winter Tour."

"Then why is he still running?"

Chen Xiangbei asked in return, the Renault Formula is not F1, which has no limit to its level. Who would run such a low-level race for two years?
"After Kazuya Oshima won the championship, the European Renault race conflicted with the Super Taikyu (Japanese Super Endurance Championship), so he eventually chose to withdraw."

Among the three major super events in Japan, the endurance race is the least famous, and Chen Xiangbei is not familiar with the participating drivers.

But seriously speaking, the driving style of an endurance racing prototype is closer to a formula car than a touring car.

As the champion of the last Renault Tour, and also qualified to participate in the Japan Super Endurance Championship, I am afraid that in terms of hard power alone, Kazuya Oshima will not be weaker than the current Naotaka Yamamoto.

Chen Xiangbei really didn't expect that a small regional entry-level Formula One race in Japan could produce so many talented drivers. This is the benefit of having a complete race system.

Including Chen Xiangbei, there are five cars in the first echelon that are moving in a serpentine manner. I don’t know if it is because they feel the pressure of being "pursued", but the drivers in the front row all increased their speed at the same time.

The warm-up lap is over very quickly, and the tires haven't reached their optimal operating temperature yet. Pushing them too early will wear out the tires and prevent you from achieving your fastest lap time.

The vast majority of drivers remain restrained, waiting for the tire temperature to continue rising.

However, some young people did not care about so much and started speeding up to overtake in the second lap, preparing to grab the front row and start their own flying laps to set new lap times.

When someone takes the lead, it naturally triggers a chain reaction. The track is so congested that no one wants to wait until they are speeding around to find a bunch of moving roadblocks blocking the way.

Chen Xiangbei watched in his rearview mirror as the cars in the second and even further back closed in. He pressed the accelerator hard, shifted the paddles frantically, and pulled away, using his faster turn-in speed to overtake the fourth-placed driver on his left.

【Is it activated now?】

The second-placed driver was none other than Naoki Yamamoto of the Guoguang Racing Team. Ever since Chen Xiangbei overtook and caught up with the first group, he had been looking in the rearview mirror from time to time to observe his opponent's movements.

Naotaka Yamamoto had personally witnessed Chen Xiangbei's performance on the track and knew that this new driver was very strong.

But what really made him feel a sense of crisis was the track video and data sent by Matsumoto Brown.

He never imagined that a new driver from China could run under 2 minutes and 20 seconds in the Suzuka wetland.

What is even more shocking is that Chen Xiangbei is said to have broken Kamui Kobayashi's track record.

This is Kobayashi, who is known as the Japanese genius boy!

Naoki Yamamoto is not a blindly arrogant driver. After realizing Chen Xiangbei's strength, he immediately analyzed his opponent's habits and running characteristics based on track videos and data, and found targeted methods.

He found that Chen Xiangbei's style was very aggressive. Even if there was an obvious side slip in the corners and constant corrections were needed to save the car, the Chinese newcomer would not choose to slow down, but enjoy the feeling of "losing control".

Being aggressive often means increased risk, just like now the tire temperature is not high enough, so he overtakes in advance to start the flying lap.

"Kimura-kun, speed up and overtake Oshima Kazuya, and let him block the car for us."

Compared with Chen Xiangbei, Yamamoto Naoki is much more familiar with the participating drivers, especially well-known drivers like Oshima Kazuya.

A large group of them have been competing against each other since the karting days, all the way to the Renault Winter Tour.

Naotaka Yamamoto knew that Kazuya Oshima had focused all his energy on the Japanese Super Endurance Race, so he must not be very familiar with this newly emerged Chinese rider.

Let them both restrain each other, and you can reap the benefits!

After receiving the order, teammate Takuma Kimura immediately accelerated and overtook the leading car, followed by Naoki Yamamoto whooshing past.

Oshima Kazuya was not prepared for this sudden situation and felt more confused than ever.

You should know that in low-level formulas, in order to run a better lap time in qualifying, many experienced drivers often do not speed up too early and run in the front even if the tires reach the optimal operating temperature after the warm-up lap.

They are waiting for others to speed at full speed, and then follow behind to absorb the tailwind!
When a car is running at high speed, a vacuum period will be formed behind the car. Once the following car enters this area, the air resistance will be greatly reduced, thereby significantly increasing the speed of the car.

Qualifying is about the fastest lap time, not about surpassing your opponent's ranking.

As long as you can absorb the tailwind of the car in front and speed up at the right time, even if the speed of the two cars is the same at other times, you can still lead your opponent in overall lap time.

There was a famous penalty in the later F3 events. There were 34 cars participating in the qualifying race on the track. Everyone wanted others to run first and then catch the slipstream, which resulted in everyone being stuck.

A strange scene then appeared on the track. The F3 cars were getting slower and slower, competing to see who would fall behind.

After the qualifying session, the race committee penalized a whopping 18 drivers, creating a momentous spectacle...

"Oshima, speed up, eat up the tailstream of the car in front, don't let the Chinese guy catch up!" The urgent instructions from the team came through the headset, making Oshima Kazuya even more confused.

What is going on? This is only the second lap of qualifying. Why should we worry about the Chinese guy catching up?
Faced with this completely illogical scene and instructions, Oshima Kazuya felt that his previous ten years of competition had been in vain, and he was a little confused about the current Renault Formula race.

However, the team's instructions have been issued and they must be followed even if they are not understood. The questioning is something that should be done after returning to the P room after the race.

Oshima Kazuya stepped on the accelerator, and just as the car was accelerating, a car appeared next to it and sped past, trying to catch up with the two Renault cars of the Guoguang team in front.

From the conspicuous number 13 on the front of the car, Kazuya Oshima knew that it was the Chinese driver.

This kid has no competition experience. Did he treat the qualifying round as the main race?

【broken.】

When the Toyota team's race engineer saw this scene, a look of worry appeared on his face.

Just now, Fuji TV broke another bombshell that Chen Xiangbei's fastest lap at the Suzuka Circuit has broken Kamui Kobayashi's lap record.

The source of the information is also a Honda racing trainee, and it also includes a blurry photo of the lap time on the monitoring screen.

But the white lap time numbers are still clearly visible.

2 minutes 05 seconds 135!

This revelation sparked heated debate, even the two commentators in the studio held different opinions.

Hideyuki Nakajima thought it was impossible, either the photo was photoshopped, or the lap time was not created by Chen Xiangbei or Renault racing.

However, Shinji Tanaka believes that all signs indicate that this lap time is very likely to be true.

On the one hand, the Honda Racing Academy’s sign is there. How rich do Chinese drivers have to be to buy student qualifications and competition spots?
On the other hand, none of the students who exposed Chen Xiangbei's unfair competition came out to deny it.

Doesn’t this prove the point?
"Oshima, eat the tail stream of car No. 13 and use the car in front to set the fastest lap time."

The Toyota team then issued another instruction: since they had been overtaken, they might as well just go with the slipstream.

"receive."

This time, Oshima Kazuya responded without hesitation, as he was already prepared to catch the wake.

The faster Chen Xiangbei drives, the faster he drives!
The four cars were like a long snake, connected one after another and speeding on the track. Soon Chen Xiangbei's lap time came out, and he took 2 minutes 07 seconds 987.

This time was about three seconds slower than his fastest lap, but it was a very normal lap speed.

The reason is that in a real race, it's very difficult to find a good track environment for setting a lap record. The first few laps, in particular, are often among the slowest in the race due to the influence of tire temperature and oil weight.

As the car gradually reaches its optimal operating conditions and fuel consumption reaches its lowest stage, it is time to achieve the fastest lap time!
The third lap, the fourth lap, the fifth lap...

The track lap times were constantly being refreshed, and Chen Xiangbei's fastest lap time had reached 2 minutes 06 seconds 573, which was 1 second away from the public track record of Kamui Kobayashi and 1.5 seconds away from his own hidden record.

At this time, the front of Chen Xiangbei's car had caught up with the rear of Yamamoto Naoki's car. The closest distance between the two cars on the curve could be calculated in centimeters. In the broadcast footage, it looked like they were about to collide.

The unit of measurement, centimeters, is not an exaggerated number at all in formula racing, especially in the F1 level.

In street races like Monaco, at speeds of around 200km/h, if the front wing cannot be accurate enough to rub the wall when cornering with centimeters, then you are destined not to become a top driver, and there is no hope of winning the championship.

For a local "extreme driver" like Leclerc, the control accuracy of his god-like lap can reach the millimeter level.

To put it simply, his famous scene was that his front wing scratched the advertising paper on the guardrail without damaging the front wing!

Honestly, for the average person, this level of control is simply unimaginable. Even just watching the in-car footage of an F1 driver lap the Monaco circuit makes your palms sweat, let alone driving it.

"Director Zeye, how long is left until the qualifying round ends?"

Chen Xiangbei asked a question on the microphone at this moment.

"About ten minutes left."

"I'm going to overtake and push a lap."

Chen Xiangbei followed the car during this period, and by eating the tailwind of the car in front of him, Yamamoto Naoki, although the distance between the cars was constantly chasing, because he did not launch an attack, the tire wear was maintained very well and is currently in the best condition.

At this point in time, there are still four to five laps left before the end of the qualifying session. Theoretically, Chen Xiangbei should follow the car for two more laps to allow the fuel to be further consumed and reduce the weight of the car, so that he can run a faster qualifying lap.

But Chen Xiangbei had already noticed that a group of slow cars had appeared in front, which meant that after just a few laps of qualifying, the cars in the first echelon of the front row would soon lap the rookie driver.

At that time, even if he overtook Yamamoto Naoki and continued to advance at full speed, he would be blocked by the circling car.

"You're currently lap time is pretty good, second among all the drivers. Do you want to take the risk?"

Currently ranked first is Kazuya Oshima, who is happiest in the slipstream, followed by Chen Xiangbei, who is closing the gap, and third is Naoki Yamamoto.

"We have to act now. When the time comes, driver No. 2 Guoguang will block the car, and then Yamamoto Naoki will push forward at full speed!"

Chen Xiangbei was no rookie, and the other driver from the Guoguang team was leading the pack, pulling in the slipstream, clearly acting as a "wingman." He would definitely slow down to allow Yamamoto Naoki to pass, then block himself from Oshima Kazuya behind him.

“PUSH!”

Without any hesitation, Hiroki Sawano gave the team instructions.

After receiving the order, Chen Xiangbei downshifted and accelerated at full throttle, using the slingshot effect of the wake to overtake.

Before the advent of DRS, the slingshot effect brought by wake turbulence has always been the mainstream method of overtaking on straights, and the most powerful one among them is "leader" Alonso.

In a sense, Alonso's adaptability to F1 racing is unparalleled. He has driven cars with various power and technology, and even changed the most basic way of overtaking, but he can still stand firmly among the ranks of top drivers and has stood for years.

If it were Senna or Schumacher, they probably wouldn't have the same adaptability as Alonso.

Fortunately, Chen Xiangbei was a driver who was transitioning from old to new in his previous life. When he came into contact with entry-level Formula One racing, he happened to experience the last years of overtaking using the wake slingshot effect.

Otherwise, a pure new generation driver would probably find it difficult to adapt to the overtaking method without DRS.

Yamamoto Kunimitsu never expected that Chen Xiangbei would take action at this time. When he realized that something was wrong and wanted to change lanes to stop him, Chen Xiangbei had already used his faster speed to pass his front wing over his rear wheel.

"Kimura, block car number 13!"

The racing engineer of the Guoguang team in the P room also saw the overtaking scene and gave instructions to the second driver Takuma Kimura at the fastest speed.

"Roger that!"

Takuma Kimura responded, then changed lanes directly to block Chen Xiangbei's car.

But by this time they had already arrived at the bend, and Kimura Takuma's tires had worn out severely during the leading process, and he could not hold the line at all.

Chen Xiangbei cut through the intersection line in the curve as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, relying on his grip advantage, and overtook two cars in an instant!
The appearance of this scene immediately caused an uproar at the Suzuka Circuit.

The Kunimitsu Racing Team is considered one of the top private racing teams in Japan, and Naoki Yamamoto is also known as one of the strongest drivers of the new generation in Japan. But how come he couldn't even hold his own against the Chinese newcomer in a single round?
Not only did the ordinary audience not understand what was going on, even the two commentators from Fuji TV were stunned. They thought this situation would continue until the end of the qualifying round.

But what shocked them even more was yet to come!
After overtaking, Chen Xiangbei quickly used the curve to disrupt his own tailwind and get rid of Takuma Kimura.

When he passed the starting line again, without the car ahead of him, Chen Xiangbei pushed forward at full speed. The car streaked across the track like a shooting star, becoming the most eye-catching brilliance.

When the lap time of 2 minutes 05 seconds 411 appeared on the big screen, the whole audience fell silent.

The host Hideyuki Nakajima couldn't say a word for a long time.

It turns out that the leaked photos are real. The Chinese newcomer has already broken Kamui Kobayashi's track record!

(End of this chapter)