Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 96 Are you afraid of the track? (5K)

The two sides met on the track. The race engineer of the ART team, to which Vergne belonged, knew Odette and came over to exchange a few pleasantries.

As for Chen Xiangbei, the other party just nodded very "coldly" and didn't even bother to say a word.

The reason is that the information of the participating drivers is public, and Chen Xiangbei's blank karting resume is almost the same as that of the early Japanese driver Sato Takuma, as if they were carved from the same mold.

The only difference is that Sato Takuma was 20 years old when he entered the single-seater formula, while Chen Xiangbei is now 19 years old.

The emergence of a Sato Takuma in Asia can be called a miracle. How could there be so many mass-produced "copies"?

In the eyes of the ART team's race engineers, Chen Xiangbei is the cannon fodder of the Super Aguri team. In order to maintain its existence in the Formula One field, it is very likely that this person will disappear after finishing this Renault European Cup.

There are probably thousands of drivers of this level in the Formula One field every year. If the two sides have no intersection in the future, what's the need to be so enthusiastic about them?

After Odeto exchanged a few words with him, they both waved goodbye. The ART team continued on the track, while Chen Xiangbei and the others planned to return to Mewtwo Base.

Sitting back in the car, Odetto blew his beard and complained with an unhappy look on his face: "FUCK, what's so arrogant about the ART team? They just trained a few F1 drivers. They can show off when they enter the F1 paddock one day."

It wasn't just Chen Xiangbei who felt the other party's "coldness". Odette, a European, could also intuitively feel the other party's contempt.

In the low-level formula field of this era, the ART team's status is equivalent to the combination of Red Bull and Ferrari in later generations. It has both results and fame.

F1 drivers such as Grosjean, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg all joined the ART team in lower-level competitions, and their outstanding results gave them the confidence to be arrogant.

The ART race engineer obviously did not take Chen Xiangbei seriously, and probably thought that the Super Dream Team was going on the track to try the "hard work can make up for lack of talent" strategy.

But in the field of equations, hard work cannot make up for lack of talent!
After finishing his complaints, Odetto asked, "Bei, have you memorized the information and styles of the ART team's drivers?"

Earlier, Odeto only tested Chen Xiangbei's track information and did not ask any relevant questions to the participating drivers.

"Ah."

Chen Xiangbei nodded. Even without reading the information given by Odette, he still knew Vergne.

"Tell me."

"Virgne isn't even 18 yet, but he's been training in karting since he was four, so he has a wealth of racing experience."

"His single-lap ability is relatively weak, and his running style tends to be more long-distance and steady. However, his solid fundamentals have enabled Vergne to achieve remarkable results in karting, and he is currently the main driver trained by the ART team."

After hearing Chen Xiangbei's story, Odeto nodded and praised: "Very good, it seems that you really remembered everything."

To be honest, Odeto was very surprised that Chen Xiangbei could remember the track information.

As it turns out, he even memorized the opponent's information.

"Do you think you can beat him?"

Odetto asked another question immediately.

"hehe."

Chen Xiangbei did not answer, the smile on his face said it all.

I live my life again to enter the F1 paddock and defeat my opponents, not to be afraid of them.

Even if Vergne is a future F1 driver, as Chen Xiangbei's competition progresses, he will encounter more and stronger future F1 drivers on the European circuit.

If you want to stand on the championship podium, you have to defeat all your opponents!
Not to mention meeting a mid-to-lower-level F1 driver like Vergne, even if he met opponents of the level of Vettel, Hamilton, and Schumacher today, Chen Xiangbei still had the courage and confidence to defeat them.

Hesitation leads to defeat, fear equals loss!
Seeing Chen Xiangbei's expression, Odeto realized that he had asked the wrong question.

Although he thought he did not look down on Chen Xiangbei, he still subconsciously looked down on Chinese drivers.

Or if he were a young genius in Europe, Odette would never ask such a question.

When two brave men meet in a narrow road, the braver one wins. As a team leader, you actually ask if you can defeat your opponent?

There is only one answer to this question.

If you answer the other question, then don't race cars. It would be more promising to wash cars.

"North, I apologize, this is a stupid question."

Odette is a man of ability to let go and take things as they come. He has to admit his mistakes even if they are made by a young person.

"Leader, I'm not that stingy."

Chen Xiangbei replied with a smile, he knew that Odeto meant no harm.

On the contrary, his complaints about the ART race engineer after getting in the car proved that he subconsciously regarded himself as a TEAM.

……

During the next few days waiting for the game, Chen Xiangbei basically spent his time in physical training and watching game videos.

I can only say that Super Aguri's move to sell the team simulator in order to recover the money is really too bold. Now it is impossible to do simulation training.

Fortunately, this era is limited by technological development. Except for the four-axis simulators of the top F1 teams, the simulators of other low-level formula teams are basically the same as toys in later generations.

It’s okay to be familiar with the track, but it’s a bit difficult to improve your driving skills by doing this.

And so it is Friday, February 2th, when the Silverstone circuit will be open to participating teams for practice.

It was on this day that Chen Xiangbei finally met his legendary teammate, the former Honda youth rider named Takatoshi Kobayashi.

Chen Xiangbei had read Kobayashi Takatoshi's information. He started practicing karting at the age of ten, and then swept the karting competitions of his peers all the way until he came into the sight of Honda Racing Company.

After the test, Honda recognized Kobayashi's talent and sent him directly to Europe for single-seater formula training and competition.

Having won the German F4 Championship last year, he was originally going to directly participate in the F3 event this year, but Honda withdrew from the European Formula One event, and for a time he lost the team's resources and technical support.

Now that Honda's Superdream Team has returned to the European Formula One circuit, Takatoshi Kobayashi has taken advantage of the situation and is racing a few Renault Formula One races with Chen Xiangbei to maintain his form and feel.

In this era, participation in low-level formula events is relatively free, and drivers are not forced to participate in every event.

In other words, if you don’t want to win the championship based on points, or if you don’t have enough money to complete the race, you can choose to withdraw from a few races.

Chinese Formula One driver Ma Qingye often drives in Europe and then returns to China to make money. This is how he operates.

If the impression Chen Xiangbei had of Hoshino Yoshi when they first met was just "cold", then this Kobayashi Takatoshi could be considered quite "arrogant", as he didn't even say hello.

As for the former Super Aguri crew members, they all revolved around him to provide technical services, and it seemed as if there were two teams in one team.

Chen Xiangbei doesn't care about this. The original goal of Super Aguri was to build an all-Japanese team.

Just because boss Aguri Suzuki faced reality after failing didn't mean his crew members could change their minds like him. Moreover, they were not familiar with Chen Xiangbei at all and had never witnessed the strength of the Chinese newcomer.

It is natural and reasonable for me to be closer to Japanese driver Takatomo Kobayashi.

If the two sides were switched, and there was a Japanese newcomer in the Chinese team, the crew members would also be close to Chen Xiangbei, but would not do it so obviously out of courtesy.

At nine o'clock in the morning, everyone arrived at the Silverstone Circuit.

The crew members entered the P room to debug the equipment, while Chen Xiangbei and Lu Xiaoman went to the garage to rent a racing car.

As the name suggests, Formula Renault is a brand promotion event of the French car manufacturer Renault Group.

During the race, each team will be provided with a unified standard racing car by the Renault Group, and the car will also be subject to vehicle weight testing to prevent any cheating.

Under normal circumstances, the Renault racing car rental is completed by the team, but the contract signed by Chen Xiangbei and Chaomeng is at his own expense, so naturally he has to pay the fee himself to rent the Renault racing car to complete the race.

The rental cost of a Renault racing car is not expensive, only a few hundred pounds per hour.

However, this does not include tire wear and tear, oil, various insurances, additional technical maintenance services, or the amount of vehicle damage.

If Chen Xiangbei successfully completes this race, he will probably have to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

But if there is a car accident, it will cost hundreds of thousands!
After finishing the lease contract, Lu Xiaoman looked at the zeros after the car damage amount and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Xiangbei, you must not crash the car, otherwise you will have to lose all the sponsorship fees you worked so hard to earn."

"Try your best..."

"What do you mean, you don't believe in your own skills?" Lu Xiaoman muttered. Although she was joking, she had great confidence in Chen Xiangbei's driving skills.

"I can guarantee that I won't bump into anything, but I can't prevent others from bumping into me."

The completion rate of Formula One cars is actually not very high. Take F1 as an example, it once fell below % in the early years.

This means that in a race, more than half of the drivers can retire due to various factors!
With the passage of time and the development of technology, the completion rate has gradually increased. Now, the overall completion rate is about 70 to 80 percent.

But there are still about 20% of drivers who cannot finish the race.

Excluding the failures of the cars themselves, track accidents account for the majority of them, even though the overall driver strength of the European Formula Renault is more than two or three levels higher than that of the Asian Tour.

You still can't resist the appearance of monsters and demons, which will clear the table for you with one stroke!
"Then there's nothing I can do. If you really don't have money to repair the car, I can lend you some."

"Do you want interest?"

Chen Xiangbei asked back.

"It's best not to borrow it, it's usury!"

After saying this, Lu Xiaoman strode away.

Not long after the lease contract was completed, Renault staff delivered the car to the P room.

Liang Chi led Ayong and Lei Ge to immediately make preliminary adjustments to the new racing car according to the characteristics of the Silverstone circuit.

Even though it was the first time for Ayong and Lei Ge to experience a Renault racing car, they actually showed very skilled movements.

In the ten days or so since arriving at the Mewtwo base, they have lost count of how many times they have practiced disassembly and assembly on the model car. It can be said that they even dream of repairing and tuning the racing car.

Diligence may not necessarily make up for clumsiness, but lack of diligence will definitely make you clumsy!
While the crew members were making initial adjustments, Chen Xiangbei went to the lounge and changed into his racing suit.

At this moment, he suddenly discovered a problem, that is, in the entire row of P rooms, only the Mewtwo team was practicing and preparing, and the other teams had not even come.

"Team leader, isn't today a practice session? Why is our team the only one there?"

With this doubt, Chen Xiangbei asked Odeto.

"What practice match? Today is just a practice day."

After hearing this answer, Chen Xiangbei realized that he had been confused.

During this era, low-level Formula One races were extremely chaotic. Even F3 and F2 had not yet been unified, let alone the formal practice sessions that were found in F1.

The so-called "practice session" of Formula Renault is actually a day when the track is open and participating teams can choose to enter the track for training.

Although the FIA ​​has very strict restrictions on private testing in Europe, there are still many loopholes in low-level competitions. European local teams and drivers are almost as familiar with the Silverstone Circuit as they are at home, and are in no hurry to come so early.

Only Japanese teams like Mewtwo, where the two drivers have less practice time at the Silverstone Circuit, would rush here early for training and testing.

Even on the surface, it was not a problem of Chen Xiangbei's lack of practice, he had never run on the Silverstone Circuit at all!
Odeto ignored Chen Xiangbei's distraction and turned to ask Sawano Hiroki, "Is the car's initial tuning done?"

"It's ready now, it's tuned for high speed."

Hiroki Sawano nodded in response.

Silverstone is a high-speed circuit and is tuned for low to medium downforce in the F1 style.

Although the Renault car does not have such a complex aerodynamic layout, it can still be fine-tuned from the rear wing and suspension to achieve low downforce and hard suspension support.

"Get ready to get in the car and take it for a test run."

Odetto turned to Chen Xiangbei and gave an order.

"Ah."

After responding, Chen Xiangbei put on his helmet and got into the racing cockpit.

"Brother Bei, come on!"

A Yong gave Chen Xiangbei some encouragement. One could clearly feel the excitement in his tone and his face was a little flushed.

Not only Ayong was like this, but also Brother Lei next to him, and even Liang Chi's expression changed slightly.

Because today's scene has fulfilled one of their dreams, which is to compete in international competitions as a competition team.

Although there are only three people, this is the first time for the Chinese maintenance team to set foot on foreign soil, the first time to stand in the P room of Silverstone Circuit, and the first time to push their own driver onto the track!
The same scene may seem ordinary to Europeans or Japanese, but for Liang Chi and others, it has a commemorative significance.

"no problem."

Chen Xiangbei raised his thumb and replied with a smile on his face. He could understand the excitement in the hearts of Liang Chi and others.

In a sense, the same is true for me.

"Xiangbei, the track monitoring equipment is not turned on. We can only obtain your racing information. Please be safe."

At this time, data analyst Sho Mizutani reminded that the Silverstone Circuit is different from Suzuka, and the Renault European Cup is a purely commercial event, so it is natural to consider operating costs and benefits.

For low-level competitions that are simply track practice, the organizers will not turn on the track monitoring equipment, which means that Chen Xiangbei has to rely on himself to respond at critical moments.

"Yeah, I'll pay attention."

Everything was ready, and accompanied by the roar of the Renault racing car, Chen Xiangbei drove from the maintenance channel to the official track.

"When the air temperature is 18°C ​​and the ground temperature is 15°C, it will take longer for the tire temperature to reach the operating temperature."

Soon, Mizutani Sho’s data report came from the helmet earphones.

London, England is a famous foggy city. The weather is cloudy all year round. In addition, it is early spring, so the air and ground temperatures are relatively low.

However, for drivers, a temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius is the most comfortable, and Chen Xiangbei is in very good shape.

Since there was no competitive factor, Chen Xiangbei took his time warming up for two laps. He did not start the sprinting practice until the tires of the car reached the optimal operating temperature.

After passing the starting line, Chen Xiangbei began to speed up. He passed the Abbey Turn No. 1 and the Farm Turn No. 2 at full throttle in sixth gear.

Thanks to its rich history, each of the Silverstone Circuit's corners has a dedicated name. As a high-speed circuit with a full throttle rate of 1%, Silverstone F350 can reach a top speed of 240km/h and an average speed of km/h.

At this time, Odetto was already sitting in the maintenance station stands, holding a telescope in his hand to observe Chen Xiangbei's running laps.

Without the broadcast of the track footage, he could only use this most primitive method.

Turn 3 of the Silverstone Circuit is a V-shaped right turn. Chen Xiangbei braked hard at the regular braking point and then turned normally, with a minimum speed of 80km/h.

At this time, Odetto looked down at the racing data on the notebook. He frowned subconsciously, but did not say anything through the team voice.

The following Turn 4 is the slowest corner on the Silverstone Circuit. Chen Xiangbei's car speed has been reduced to 60km/h, and the cornering line is still relatively smooth.

But at this moment, Odeto's voice came from the headset and asked: "Bei, are you afraid of driving a racing car?"

"Or will you piss your pants in a bend?"

Chen Xiangbei was a little confused when he suddenly heard this voice coming from the helmet headset. Could he be afraid of his speed and route?

Not only Chen Xiangbei was surprised, but even Hiroki Sawano and Sho Mizutani in the P room looked at each other in surprise after hearing it.

They still had smiles on their faces. Judging from the speed display alone, Chen Xiangbei performed very well in the first lap of the Silverstone Circuit.

Compared with Renault's historical lap times, it is not an exaggeration to call it excellent. Under normal circumstances, it can enter the top ten in qualifying!
You have to know that this is a track that Chen Xiangbei has never driven on before. After only two laps of warm-up, Hiroki Sawano and Sho Mizutani didn't feel there was any problem at all.

If this is considered fear, then does it mean that only by recklessly rushing off the track can you be considered fearless?

"Captain, I'd like to ask if there's a problem?"

Chen Xiangbei pressed the call button on the steering wheel and tried to ask Odeto the reason.

"Keep running and wait until the lap time comes out."

Odeto did not answer directly, but gave the order to keep running!
(End of this chapter)