F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 25 Unstoppable
Although it is known as the Spring City, not everyone can withstand the cold wind in December while wearing short sleeves.

There weren't many people on the track, but Teng Weifeng, wearing a down jacket and cheekily munching on an ice pop, was waiting outside early, next to She Haitao and Chen Tingya, who seemed a little uneasy.

"Why don't you go in? My dad should be inside, right?"

"Hey, we wouldn't dare move without the racing god showing up! Remember to pick out a fast car for me!"

“My dad can always get the cars moving quickly.”

When he said this, Shu Long's tone carried a hint of pride. Max said that Lao Pan was the best pilot in the world, but Shu Long felt that his own father was no less so.

Shu Long isn't the only one working hard for the future. Not to mention that Shu Xiong is already interested in this kind of thing, he naturally wants to do his part as much as he can within his capabilities.

Now, with the same specifications of Rotax engine, after being tuned by Shuxiong, it may not become the fastest in the entire field, but at least it will not leave Shulong with a visible gap compared to those Mars power units on the straightaway.

Others might rely on calculations and data, but for Shu Xiong, who only started to seriously learn a few English phrases in his thirties, that's called experience and feel.

It's precisely because the vehicles are so well-tuned that there's now a significant increase in the amount of protective gear provided for tourists here.

"You absolutely must wear a helmet and rib pads. Whether you wear gloves or not is up to you if you're resistant to the cold."

After changing into a racing suit, Shu Long gave a few final instructions, deliberately avoiding the gazes of She Haitao and Chen Tingya, and walked toward his private car.

With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, paired with a racing suit that flatters his figure, Shulong is practically the image most boys dream of having.

Chen Tingya didn't dare to look too closely, but carefully observed the conflicted expression on She Haitao's face beside her. The question he had asked her this morning had made her feel uneasy.

Sometimes it's really hard to explain to people that having a good impression and liking someone are two completely different concepts. Just like glamorous celebrities on the screen, everyone admires them, but everyone knows that they and the other person are ultimately from two different worlds.

Shu Long wasn't being so serious because he was deliberately trying to show off or intimidate others; it's just that he wouldn't dare touch the car he was about to get into if he wasn't fully armed.

This is a KZ six-speed go-kart with front and rear brakes and a manual clutch. The front and rear brake ratio can be adjusted, and the top speed can even reach 180 km/h. It is known as the F5 mini-formula and is the model that Shulong has been focusing on recently.

If next year's Rotax Max European Series is merely a means to prove Shulong's potential to Georg, then the results in the KZ2 class are perhaps what the management of each Formula team values ​​more.

The specifications of the cars in these two categories of races are relatively uniform, which means that the driver's skill in controlling the car has the greatest impact on the outcome of the race. These are the race categories that Shulong, with its limited budget, wants to focus on.

Although both engines are 125cc, the thing under Shulong's rear end has extremely strong explosive power and a higher potential. At the same time, the difficulty and complexity of operation are completely different from ordinary go-karts.

Although the Haigeng track has undergone some expansion, it is still a small track with many curves and few straights. Driving a torque monster like this on it and maintaining a lap time is a nightmare.

To achieve a perfect match between gear, engine speed, and traction, Shulong's right hand needs to be on the gear lever almost the entire time to adjust the gear in real time. The steering wheel, which has no power steering, is controlled entirely by his left arm, while also maintaining stable force, keen perception, and precise control.

When Shu Xiong was buying the car, he test-drove it at the Sanshui Circuit and almost slammed it against the guardrail. After getting off, he exclaimed that this thing was incredibly difficult to drive.

Thankfully, while Shulong was developing rapidly, he also received training in strength and endurance. Now his [bone and muscle strength] is 57% and his [endurance] has reached 79%. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to control him.

She Haitao and Chen Tingya stayed on the track for a while, but they couldn't stand the psychological pressure of having a cannonball whizzing past them from time to time. Before they had even run ten laps, they drove into the pit lane and got out of the car.

The previously unfinished lobby has now been transformed into an entertainment venue that combines a casual coffee shop and a card room, offering free tea and hot water. Even if you don't place an order, you won't be stopped from coming in to rest.

This was Zhang Xin's idea. This way, even if young couples on a date or parents taking their children for a walk weren't originally that interested in racing, they would always be tempted to take out their tickets and experience it for themselves after sitting down and watching the race cars speeding by outside the window.

When She Haitao and Chen Tingya came in, Teng Weifeng was already sitting inside, legs crossed, sipping his milk tea with an air of nonchalance.

Shu Long specially picked out a fast car for him, but the guy got off after driving it for two laps, saying he felt cold.

"Why did you guys stop playing? Did you think it wasn't romantic enough? I remember there are two-seater go-karts here, aren't there?"

She Haitao did not answer, but just sat by the French window with his face down, looking down silently.

He didn't really know what he was thinking. In fact, anyone who knew Shu Long's personality would think that most of these things were just baseless rumors.

But before, he just felt that it was really hard for him not to care about the things Zhang Jinhua said. Men are always particularly competitive in this regard. What exactly is wrong with him?
I originally thought that no matter how amazing go-karting was, it was just something that evolved from amusement park attractions. Even though I knew that Shu Long had won championships in international competitions, I still felt that the only difference between us was money and a little bit of practice time.

She Haitao isn't the type to make trouble unnecessarily. He only realized the gap after actually trying it himself. This gap made his original idea of ​​casually proposing a challenge seem like a joke, and even he felt embarrassed.

The lap times that Shulong set for each race car were posted on the lap time leaderboard downstairs, so everyone could see them.

I personally experienced the heart-pounding feeling of a race car going out of control when trying to push the limits. And then I saw that instead of my fighting spirit and passion diminishing, my lap times were getting worse and worse due to my unstable emotions.
The speed of just a recreational car often caught him off guard on the track, and the fact that Shulong could maintain such precise operation with such explosive machinery seemed like a monster to him.

"What am I even doing? I went through so much trouble and spent so many days building up these emotions."

"Hey buddy! I'm sitting here too, you don't have to say what's on your mind directly."

Teng Weifeng's flirtatious remarks went unanswered. Chen Tingya wanted to ease the awkwardness, but she didn't know how to start the conversation without hurting She Haitao's potentially fragile ego.

She had known Shu Long for a longer time. Although she would often joke with everyone about the nickname "God of Cars," she always felt that no matter what Shu Long achieved in the future, at least for them, such a title was absolutely well-deserved.

The three people on the second floor remained silent for a moment, their eyes following the tireless race cars below, repeatedly pushing the limits of the track and teetering on the edge of tire loss.

Compared to four or five years ago, perhaps the car model has changed, or perhaps people's height has changed, but what has remained unchanged is that absolute dedication and focus.

This is not just about the extent to which one dedicates oneself to a hobby; it is a profession, a dream, and a person with ambition and awareness.

The December wind swept away the evergreen leaves from the branches, smoothed the boy's chaotic thoughts, and carried him all the way to spring in a foreign land.

On April 2, 2014, the Rotax Max European Challenge kicked off at the Genk Circuit in Belgium.

As one of the most prestigious motorsport events in Europe, the number of participants far exceeded Shulong's expectations, forming a stark contrast to the relatively quiet CKC in China. There were so many drivers in the same category that they needed to be divided into A, B, C, and D groups; at peak times, you could even see as many as sixty cars starting on the same grid in the same race.

Each group must go through two rounds of preliminary elimination before the number of participants in the preliminary finals is determined based on the preliminary points. The final list is then determined based on the rankings of the two groups in the preliminary finals.

In other words, the thirty or so people who make it to the finals can be considered the best among all drivers of their age, regardless of the final result.

The preferential terms that Georg offered to Shulong back then sounded very simple, right?
Only by personally experiencing such a scene can one truly realize just how difficult and cruel this situation is.

First, you have to fight your way through hundreds of contestants to get into the top 60, and then you have to fight your way from the top 60 to the top 30. If you make even the slightest mistake in any step, you could lose everything.

Large crowds mean chaos, and staying at the back of the pack means you're always at risk of getting caught up in all sorts of bad luck. To avoid all that, the only thing a driver can do on the track is to be fast enough.

Faster than anyone else!

Sixth in the group stage, third in the group preliminary round, first in the second round of the group preliminary round, and first in the final round of the preliminary round!

The chaos behind him seemed to be in a completely different parallel world from Shu Long. The lack of a year of competition experience did not cause him to fall behind his peers. What he gained was not only his skills, but also his mentality.

You think it's just the calm and collected demeanor of a master? Wrong!
This mentality is called—"I'm invincible, do whatever you want!"

Takumi Fujiwara delivered tofu for six years without ever competing with anyone, yet he still became famous on Mount Akina. My years of honing my sense of driving haven't been in vain either.

In the eyes of a true strongman, all that can be seen on the track ahead is solitude.

[It's that awkward, immature age, please understand~]

"The checkered flag has been lowered! The young Chinese driver representing the Austrian 'Recar' team is the first to cross the finish line!"

"A name I've never heard of, a club I've never heard of before, but it shines like a meteor, unstoppable and dazzling!"

"Last year, 'Zoo' has already given us one incredible miracle after another. So today, are we seeing the beginning of a brand new legend?"

"I don't know, but... was that car that just crossed the finish line the second one? After we recited such a long line?"

"Yes, yes, my old friend, you don't need to answer anymore. I think we already have the answer in our hearts, don't we?"

The final champion, with the highest total points in a single match.

Bringing back such victories from the European battlefield not only boosted Shulong's own confidence but also gave his family the confidence to continue investing in the project.

May 26, Castelleto, Italy.

Shulong had a rough start in qualifying, as the engine provided by Georg failed halfway through the race. Shu Xiong, who was behind the scenes, almost ate the Austrian swindler alive. He finally managed to get a guarantee that he could replace the engine for free no matter what position he finished in the race.

But this is not a reason for Shu Long to give up. He came here with only one goal: to win.

No matter how impressive the start of the season is, given the limited opportunities and time available, Shulong must deliver a dominant performance in every match.

In the world of racing, there are no fallen geniuses, only geniuses and everyone else.

The number of participants in the preliminary round was excessively large. It was easy to overtake the newbies at the back, but it was almost impossible to overtake them from the back of the line to the front in the limited distance of the preliminary round.

Even though Shu Long gave it his all and cut through everything in his path, he only managed to barely earn enough points to qualify for the preliminary and final rounds.

But it didn't matter. They fought their way from the end of the preliminaries to the end of the semi-finals, and then from the end of the semi-finals to the middle of the finals.

Just when the commentators thought that Shulong's legendary journey had come to an end, the miracle named Shulong once again broke through the finish line of the track.

"Unbelievable! In the homeland of the red Ferrari, Shulong has dyed the highest point of the podium with the Chinese red that belongs to the East!"

"From P18 to P1! Shu Long once again proved with his impeccable performance that what he did before was not a lucky coincidence, but an inevitable result of absolute strength!"

"Hey buddy, what do you think about us going to ask him for an autograph? Could he be China's first F1 driver?"

"I don't know. There was a 'Qinghua MA' two years ago. If the team hadn't gone bankrupt, there might have been a figure draped in the five-star red flag in the paddock by now, but I still have reservations about it."

However, we must acknowledge that China's rise has brought us more and more outstanding young drivers. Perhaps one day we will even see them competing on the same F1 track. And I have some interesting insider information.”

Upon returning to China, Shu Long had very little time to bask in the joy of victory; he needed to prepare for his exams.

For eighth graders, May and June are a very stressful time.

In addition to having to push their already exhausted bodies to the limit with 1000 and 800-meter runs every day in preparation for next year's physical education entrance exam, they also have to brace themselves and take the "minor three subjects" exams at the end of June seriously.

Don't be fooled by the name "minor three subjects." These subjects are actually part of the high school entrance exam. Although they don't make up a large percentage of the final score, who would want to spend their already stressful junior year thinking about how to make up for the one or two points they missed because they were playing around?
Shu Long naturally didn't want to. His future prospects were still unclear, and he couldn't rely on just one option. Choosing a high school was still crucial.

One day, less than two weeks before the exam, Teng Weifeng suddenly and quietly pushed his phone over from under the table.

"Hey, classmate, do you know that Zhou Guanyu outside?"

　If you have tickets, please show your support; if you don't, please read on. Thank you.

　　Niche themes are not easy to come by; young seedlings need nurturing. Thank you for your support!
　　Thank you fishorange for the monthly pass!

　　This year's newcomers seem pretty good, and speaking of which, Man! Among these newcomers, his looks are probably the most striking. Since F1 became highly commercialized, the drivers they sign have become increasingly handsome. Niu Zi really doesn't discriminate between different types; there are quite a few oddly shaped ones among them.

　　It'll be another two weeks before I can properly collect experience items, I'm so anxious!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)