Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 98: Breakthrough of Chinese Newcomers (5K)

Just when Chen Xiangbei was surprised at Kobayashi Takatoshi's strength, he ran off the track in the third timed lap and failed to achieve the goal of steadily improving his lap time.

However, thanks to the wide buffer zone of Silverstone, the risk of running off the track is very low. Apart from the loss of a set of tires, even the chassis often does not suffer serious damage.

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei suddenly understood why Odeto used the insulting word "peeing in your pants".

That is, on a safe track like Silverstone, if you, as a driver, don’t dare to challenge your limits, you really would be like a coward!
While Chen Xiangbei was "reflecting on himself", Kobayashi Takatoshi on the track was in "self-doubt".

He has always believed that he is a super genius in Japan, surpassing the likes of Takuma Sato and Kamui Kobayashi.

As early as the karting stage, Takatoshi Kobayashi did show his overwhelming talent and won the Japan Karting Junior Championship with a perfect record!

Because of this, the Honda Group allowed him to skip the academy training stage and send him directly to Europe to participate in competition training.

Takatomo Kobayashi lived up to expectations and won the German F4 Championship again last year.

If this scenario continues, Takatoshi Kobayashi's talent and strength will be unmatched in Japan or even in the whole of Asia.

But today he found out that he couldn't outrun this newcomer from China!

You have to know that from the beginning to the end, Kobayashi Takatoshi never regarded Chen Xiangbei as a teammate, thinking that he was just a "passerby" he met in his career.

After this Renault European Cup, Chen Xiangbei will most likely be eliminated, and the two will never have any intersection again.

In fact, Chen Xiangbei also had similar ideas...

It wasn't until Chen Xiangbei's practice lap time came out that Kobayashi Takatoshi was grateful for his somewhat subverted cognition. He had driven the Silverstone circuit in an F4 car and knew approximately how fast a car of the same level could run.

Is this really a speed a newcomer can run at?
With doubts and dissatisfaction, Kobayashi Takatoshi pushed forward frantically on the track, and indeed ran a good lap time. Just when he thought he could gradually catch up and overtake Chen Xiangbei, the car lost control and rushed off the track.

At this point, Kobayashi Takatoshi's self-confidence collapsed. Could it be that even after exceeding his limits and losing control, he still couldn't catch up with Chen Xiangbei's lap time?

No one knows the answer, every driver has his or her own areas where he or she needs to make breakthroughs.

As time went on, other teams participating in the Renault Formula also arrived at the P room one after another to carry out equipment debugging and preliminary preparations, and the road conditions on the racetrack gradually became congested.

Seeing this, Chen Xiangbei didn't immediately begin the second round of track practice. Instead, he returned to the racing room under the guidance of Odette. Mizutani Xiang had just finished adapting the Renault car to the new setup by reviewing the practice data with Liang Chi and the others.

So he came over with a notebook and asked, "Captain Odette, here are the car tuning data. Can you tell me where we need to improve?"

Although theoretically, Odetto belongs to the team management, Mizutani Sho should ask Hiroki Sawano about things like car tuning, as he is Chen Xiangbei's race engineer.

But everyone knows that Odetto is experienced and knows the Silverstone Circuit in Europe better than Hiroki Sawano.

For fleet managers and engineers, the criteria for judging their ability is no longer based on driving skills, but more on technology and experience.

Odetto took the notebook and took a look at it. He frowned and objected on the spot: "Who told you to use low pressure training?"

Hearing this question, Mizutani Sho's face was filled with confusion, just like Chen Xiangbei's before.

Silverstone is a famous high-speed circuit. If you want to make the car's tail speed faster, of course you have to adopt a low-downforce tuning style. What's the problem with that?
Seeing Sho Mizutani's expression, Odette knew that he had completely failed to understand the essence of the Silverstone Circuit, so he could only control his temper and explain.

"Mizutani, not every high-speed circuit is suitable for low downforce settings. Silverstone's straights are not very long, and its high average speed is mainly due to the many medium- and high-speed corners."

"The faster the corner, the more downforce is required of the car. Otherwise, under the influence of lateral G-force, the car simply cannot hold on to the ground!"

"Remember, the Silverstone track's tuning style is more towards medium to high downforce!"

After listening to Odeto's explanation, Sho Mizutani showed a look of sudden enlightenment on his face.

He was just a trainee engineer before and had never been to a race track outside of Japan. This was also Sho Mizutani's first time at the Silverstone Circuit.

In a sense, Mizutani Sho is not as familiar with the Silverstone Circuit as Chen Xiangbei!

The young racing team needs a process of running-in and growth. Mizutani Sho realized that he still had to learn a lot before he could take on the responsibilities of a data analyst.

"Captain Odeto, I've learned my lesson."

Mizutani Sho bowed respectfully, and then changed the car tuning settings with Liang Chi and others.

On the other side, Kobayashi Takatoshi's car was pushed back to the P room for inspection. When he took off his helmet, his face looked very ugly. His final lap time before rushing off the track was 0.4 seconds slower than Chen Xiangbei.

In the field of formula racing, this is definitely a huge gap, and Kobayashi Takatoshi cannot accept it at all.

He planned to wait until the Renault car was completely overhauled, then put on new tires and give it a full lap with light oil!
The two cars of the Super Dream Team stayed in the racing room, while the drivers of other teams began to practice timed laps on the track.

Chen Xiangbei stood on the inside of the guardrail in the maintenance lane, his eyes fixed on a car from the Carlin team on the track, and he was very interested in the driver in the cockpit.

The driver's name is Kevin Magnussen, who is the "Ma Hualong" of the F1 Haas team with the legendary title of "King of Penalty Endurance"!
Compared to Vergne, the two-time FE world champion, Magnussen has truly established himself in the F1 paddock, and his absolute speed is quite amazing. He reached the podium in his debut.

You read that right, it wasn’t about scoring points in the debut, but directly stepping onto the podium!
At that time, Magnussen directly replaced Perez of the McLaren team. Many teams in the paddock believed that he had top potential.

You should know that the last driver to make his debut was named Hamilton.

But no one expected that Magnussen's career would start strong but end badly.

This guy has excellent absolute speed, but his driving style is quite reckless. He is good at changing lanes multiple times to defend, and is good at serpentine movements on the track to block the cars behind him, so he got the nickname "Ma Hualong".

At the same time, Magnussen had very bad luck. The failure rates of several teams he had been in were very high. Most of the races gave people the feeling that he was going through a tribulation, and he was thankful to be able to finish the race smoothly.

In the end, Magnussen stayed in the paddock for ten years and was replaced by newcomer Bellman in 24 years.

However, Magnussen's "green" and recklessness are only compared to the top F1 drivers in the paddock. Being able to stay in the paddock for ten years means that he has extraordinary strength.

In particular, his ability to "start high and run wild" means that his talent ceiling and strength in low-level competitions are very strong. Historically, he was the champion of this Renault European Cup.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei was very curious about what kind of lap time this F1 driver who would be able to gain a foothold in the paddock in the future could set at Silverstone while driving the Renault Formula.

Just as Chen Xiangbei was looking at him, Lu Xiaoman quietly came to his side.

"Xiangbei, are you still thinking about what Odeto said?"

Lu Xiaoman has been with Chen Xiangbei for quite some time. This guy is always confident and calm most of the time.

Now he is standing outside the fence, looking distracted and dazed.

She subconsciously thought that it might be Odette's words that dealt a blow to Chen Xiangbei's self-confidence.

After all, when Chen Xiangbei was in China and Japan, he had gradually been dubbed a talented driver. However, when he arrived in Europe, he was considered to be afraid of corners. This psychological gap may be a bit difficult to accept.

But professional racing is so cruel. The geniuses in Asia are just ordinary passers-by in Europe.

"No."

Chen Xiangbei shook his head in denial. His self-confidence was not that fragile.

Not to mention just a few words from Odeto, even if the attack was increased tenfold, what would it matter?

If you want to enter the F1 world and covet the crown, but you don't even have this psychological endurance, it only proves that you are not suitable for racing.

"Conservative" is actually not Chen Xiangbei's nature. He is wanton and arrogant in his bones.

Odeto's words were equivalent to opening Pandora's box. In the future, he would only see a radical and crazy Chen Xiangbei!

Lu Xiaoman didn't quite believe Chen Xiangbei's denial. She simply patted her chest and replied, "Oh, just drive away and don't worry about the damage." "Sister, although I don't have much money, I can still compensate you with a few Renault racing cars. Just don't get killed."

Hearing Lu Xiaoman say this, Chen Xiangbei didn't know whether to be moved or to complain.

What does it mean just don't get killed?

"Sister Xiaoman, I'm really fine."

Chen Xiangbei replied with a helpless smile.

At this moment, cheers came from the P room of the Carlin team behind him. It seemed that Magnussen's practice timed lap speed was very good.

It’s a pity that the track monitoring equipment was not open, so Chen Xiangbei couldn’t know Magnussen’s specific lap time, otherwise he really wanted to go on the track to challenge it.

Look at the future F1 drivers and see if you will become one of them as they crush everyone in low-level competitions.

"Xiangbei-kun, are you planning on practicing a second time?"

At the right time, Sho Mizutani's voice came from behind him. They had completed the downforce adjustment of the car and replaced it with new tires and oil. Chen Xiangbei could push himself to the limit again.

However, the current track environment has become chaotic and complicated. Nearly ten Renault racing cars are practicing, and they are likely to encounter obstacles during the timed laps.

"run!"

Without any hesitation, Chen Xiangbei agreed and turned to walk towards the racing car in the P room.

Seeing Chen Xiangbei's still vigorous response, Lu Xiaoman smiled. It was good that the little guy could withstand the pressure.

After putting on his helmet and entering the cockpit again, Liang Chi also said, "Boy, don't worry, just run."

"Uncle Liang, don't worry."

Chen Xiangbei could feel Liang Chi’s worry, but this was not in China, and he had to follow the rules when entering the professional arena.

Simply comforting and encouraging him will not make Chen Xiangbei stronger. He must adapt to everything.

Chen Xiangbei released the clutch and stepped on the accelerator, entering the warm-up lap of the track. From time to time, a racing car that was setting timed laps whizzed past him.

The other team engineers in the production room didn't pay much attention to the Super Dream team. Especially when they saw the number 13 on the front of the car and knew that it was a Chinese rookie practicing, they lost interest even more.

In the past two years, several Chinese drivers have appeared in the European Formula One paddock, such as Cheng Congfu, who participated in the F3 event at Oulton Park in the UK last year.

However, Cheng Congfu participated in the F3 "National Class" category. At that time, various press releases reported that he won the championship and was hailed as the Chinese driver closest to F1.

In fact, the champion of this group can only be ranked 3th in the entire F14 field. In addition, Cheng Congfu was already 23 years old at that time, so it can be said that he had no hope of entering the F1 paddock.

Precisely because there is a visible gap between Chinese Formula One drivers in European competitions, these participating teams basically do not take Chen Xiangbei seriously, and he is nothing more than a supporting role in the Renault European Cup.

However, after two laps of tire warm-up, some engineers who were observing their team's drivers were surprised to find a Renault racing car on the track, also speeding at a speed "visible to the naked eye"!
"Zawano, report the speed of turns T3 and T4."

Odetto was still sitting in the stands with a telescope in his hand. He didn't actually have much hope for Chen Xiangbei's improvement in this area.

After all, "conservative" does not mean that technical defects can be corrected immediately after being pointed out.

On the contrary, it is a psychological shortcoming. Even if it is pointed out, it still takes time to correct it if you want to change it.

Even if Chen Xiangbei wants to take risks and be radical, he has to change his style through each game, instead of becoming a completely different person in the second practice session on the same day!
So much so that Odetto didn't even take his laptop, and watched Chen Xiangbei's practice timed laps with a purely "leisure" attitude.

"At the T3 corner, Xiangbeijun braked 0.2 seconds late. Judging from the positioning line, he already fully utilized the kerb, and his cornering speed increased from 70km/h to 79km/h."

"The speed at T4 has increased from 60km/h to 67km/h, which is the same speed Schumacher used to take the corner!"

When Odetto "ridiculed" himself for wetting his pants, it was at the two slowest combination corners on the Silverstone Circuit. Chen Xiangbei was afraid of running off the track and slowing down too much.

Now the cornering speeds at these two corners have been significantly improved.

Don't underestimate this improvement of just a few kilometers per hour. If all 18 bends on the track can achieve this level, then Chen Xiangbei's average speed can be increased by at least 5km/h.

Converted into lap time, this is 0.2 to 0.3 seconds!
Moreover, the increase in cornering speed means faster cornering speed, which means that the speed at the end of the straight will also be faster due to the chain reaction.

If everything is done to the extreme, Chen Xiangbei's lap speed can be improved by 0.5 seconds!
By improving the details bit by bit, the lap time can eventually achieve a qualitative change. This is the origin of many drivers' "God's Lap".

Chen Xiangbei on the track has gradually regained the state of street racing where he would go all out, step on the accelerator at 7200 rpm and beat anyone he could.

Back then, I dared to risk my life. Now, I am on the track and sitting in the cockpit of a professional racing car, with ample buffer zones to ensure safety. Would I still be afraid of death?
Just like what I warned Fatty Wang at the beginning.

The moment you get scared, you've already lost.

This kind of fear not only includes the fear of death and the fear of car accidents and losing money, it is also a kind of fear!
Vergne of the ART team was warming up his tires on the track when he heard the roar of a racing engine behind him. Before he could even glance in the rearview mirror, a Renault with the number 13 marked on it sped past him.

Vergne was deeply impressed by this number that no one chose in Europe. It was the Chinese driver in the information, and he had met him once while walking on the track.

Vergne didn't know how fast Chen Xiangbei was going now, but he was very familiar with the Silverstone Circuit and had run there countless times during his karting career.

Just looking at the speed of turning and following the line in front of you, it is definitely impossible for it to be extremely slow!

"Todd, did you see car number 13 just pass by?"

Vergne knew that the team's race engineer must have his eyes fixed on his car, so he would definitely have seen the Chinese boy who just passed by.

"I saw it."

"Can you estimate his speed?"

“Without data, the only thing we can be sure of is that it will be soon!”

Track monitoring was not open, and ART team engineers could only measure speed visually.

"Todd, we have to pay attention to this Chinese driver."

Vergne and Magnussen are at two extremes. He tends to be a steady long-distance driver, and even his personality is the same.

Chen Xiangbei was not originally on his list of opponents, but the speed just now made him feel a sense of crisis intuitively. Maybe this Chinese newcomer was not the rookie he thought!

As Chen Xiangbei sped along, the members of the Super Dream Team, including Kobayashi Takatoshi's crew, had gathered in front of the racing data monitoring computer.

Judging from the current data, Chen Xiangbei's single lap speed is already 0.3 seconds faster, and it is very likely that he can complete the entire race in more than 0.5 seconds.

要知道他之前最快圈速，就已经跑出了1分58秒889的成绩，而赛道杆位记录则是1分57秒582。

If Chen Xiangbei can improve by 0.5 seconds, it means that the gap between him and Schumacher's pole position record will be less than 1 second!
It's just practice now, and we haven't reached the qualifying stage where we really push our all.

If things continue to develop at this rate, Chen Xiangbei's fastest lap time may not just be able to enter the top ten in qualifying.

He has a high probability of getting the pole position in the first round of the Renault European Cup!
OH MY GOD, a Chinese rookie got the pole position at the Silverstone Circuit of the European Cup. Many people in the paddock dared not even think about it.

Even Odetto himself had not thought that Chen Xiangbei could overcome his psychological shortcomings in such a short period of time and push at full speed, challenging the limits of the track and the car.

As everyone looked on expectantly, the final lap time finally appeared on the computer screen.

1 minutes 58 seconds 482!

(End of this chapter)