Speed ​​God

Chapter 35 Absolute Car Feel
Flowing clouds and flowing water, all in one go.

Sometimes it resembles an elegant ballet, sometimes it's comparable to Riverdance; the surging torrents and gentle turns unleash incredible energy from that red streak of light, like a flowing painting.

It's not about speed, it's about stability.

This "stability" doesn't refer to slowness, but rather a precise feeling akin to a ballet dancer gracefully twirling on a tightrope. The contradictory yet harmonious interweaving of softness and fluidity, lightness and surging power, ensures precise braking point control for perfect cornering entry, and allows for timely and effortless counter-steering to correct the car's angle and smoothly exit the corner at the moment downforce is lost.

It's not slippery and doesn't wobble.

A series of challenging turns, requiring skill in both braking and throttle, were navigated flawlessly in one go, without any stumbles, hesitations, or abrupt changes.

It makes you forget to blink.

Moreover, this was in the drizzling rain, and the scene was like Van Gogh's "Starry Night," where everything was flowing and vibrant.

Monfati held his breath. He could tell at a glance that Lu Zhizhou was feeling the constantly changing grip of the track in the rain, trying to figure out the limits of himself and the car.

In the world of racing, people often talk about "car feel," but when it comes to a specific explanation, it's like a thousand Hamlets for a thousand people, each with their own opinion, making it difficult to accurately describe that vague feeling. So it all comes down to inspiration, to talent, an innate quality.

Of course, a feel for a car is indeed a talent, although it can be improved through training and experience, but it is a rare and precious talent.

However, it is not some vague metaphysics, but a real and tangible feeling—

Real-time perception and precise control of vehicle dynamics.

In daily life, when driving a vehicle, you can feel the weight transfer of the vehicle body caused by inertia, traction, braking and other actions. This is a normal physical phenomenon. You can feel this behind every operation, such as emergency braking, full speed acceleration, sharp turns, and sudden steering wheel turns. If you are not careful, you may have an accident. At best, you will deviate from the track and drive into a ditch. At worst, you will overturn the vehicle.

All of this weight transfer must be borne by the tires. Once it exceeds the tires' friction and grip limits, the vehicle's balance is disrupted, leading to an accident.

The so-called "vehicle feel" is to accurately sense the dynamic transfer of the vehicle's weight and, through one's own operation and control, regain the vehicle's balance in a flash, ensuring that the pressure of the four tires remains balanced, and preventing the tires from losing traction and slipping or locking up at high speeds.

You could think of it this way: in the dead of night, with your eyes covered, wearing thick socks, standing on the wet, slippery tile floor of your home.

Complete darkness, with all vision cut off, made it impossible to determine the location of the furniture or predict how slippery the tiles would be.

At this moment, if the body tilts slightly and the feet slip, you will instantly realize something is wrong, tighten your muscles, and adjust your steps. Even without the help of sight and hearing, you can still regain your balance. This ability to perceive, react, and adjust is called "car feel".

For the driver, the difference is that what's under their feet isn't the floor, but the tires; what they perceive isn't furniture and tiles, but the subtle, millisecond-level changes in grip of the four tires.

So, someone with a top-notch sense of cars might only wear one pair of socks, yet possess keen sensitivity; someone without such a sense of cars might wear five pairs of socks plus boots, learning the location of furniture in their home through daily training and experience, and gradually removing the boots and socks.

Those with top-tier car sense can not only perceive accurately, but also make judgments a step ahead based on their spatial awareness of the slightest movement of the wind and grass. They can detect something is wrong before the car slips, ease off the accelerator a step in advance, and gently correct the direction to bring the runaway car back from the brink of loss of control.

In rainy conditions, the dynamic weight transfer of the vehicle body becomes more unpredictable and the tire grip becomes more unstable, making the test even more severe.

On rainy days, some people rush off before even entering a turn, while others navigate with the precision of walking a tightrope.

For example, Lu Zhizhou just now.

Lightweight and agile, silky smooth.

For most drivers, every response from the vehicle requires brain processing, judgment, and feedback, and these processes take time.

But for Lu Zhizhou, everything felt like an extension of his body. The weight, direction, and grip changes of the car, even the feedback from the suspension, were all clearly transmitted to his nerves, causing him to adjust and react naturally. Everything was like an innate intuition.

It was evident from Lu Zhizhou's performance on the simulator during his initial trial that he possessed a feel for cars, a driver's instinct, and a killer's intuition.

But a simulator is ultimately just a simulator, and the so-called "car feel" cannot be fully realized.

Until today.

The Fiorano in the drizzle finally allowed Lu Zhizhou to fully express himself. Although Lu Zhizhou's facial expression could not be seen, Montfati could feel Lu Zhizhou's excitement from the speeding race car.

It wasn't excitement or impulsiveness, but rather a sense of freedom and unrestrained ease, like a fish in water.

Unconsciously, Montfati also began to feel a sense of anticipation, leaning forward slightly and staring intently at the screen.

Lu Zhizhou's voice came through the radio, calm and composed: "At turn three, we're exiting right and entering left. The crosswind is having a greater impact at the end, causing a slight slippage in the left rear wheel. Traction control needs to be upgraded."

Montfati raised an eyebrow slightly.

This message is clear, accurate, and professional, with not a single superfluous word.

Without using phrases like "it seems" or "I think," but rather offering clear judgments and solutions, his concise and clear communication conveys his confidence.

Instead of directly replying with "yes" or "no," Monfatini read the real-time tire data and immediately spotted the point Lu Zhizhou had mentioned—

This is precisely the point where the temperature of the left rear tire starts to fluctuate.

Monfatini looked up again, but didn't even have time to be amazed, because Turn 5 and Turn 6 were already within reach.

Especially the high-speed right-angle turn at Turn 6, with the exit connecting a short straight and a heavy braking maneuver, and Turn 7 not far ahead, where water tends to accumulate at the edge of the track. If the regular line isn't adjusted, it's easy to lose control and go off the track. That's an accident-prone corner.

however!
Lu Zhizhou did not choose to brake hard, nor did he modify the route, but instead—

Loosen the oil beforehand.

However, Lu Zhizhou lightly applied the brakes about half a second in advance. The car speed did not drop suddenly, but instead made the car more stable when entering the apex of the curve.

At the exit of the curve, he gently counter-steered, and the rear of the car slid almost imperceptibly for a moment. Although it didn't skid, a loss of speed was inevitable.

Before his eyes, it seemed that he had already sensed and predicted the dynamic transfer of the car's weight. With just the right correction, the rear of the car was pulled back, turning into a red silk ribbon, following the track, elegantly and calmly challenging the limits of the track in the rain and mist, maintaining speed and powerfully exiting the corner, with the rear tires kicking up a cloud of water mist.

His posture and movements were so natural, as if he wasn't driving a race car, but rather running barefoot on the track. Man and car had become one, and he used his feet to feel the movement of the water film, the slipperiness of the ground, and the influence of the crosswind. He danced gracefully in the storm, unrestrained and free.

His talent, his ability, and his courage were on full display at this moment.

So this was his real stage.

Incredibly, it wasn't until today that Lu Zhizhou finally "brought forth" his full brilliance.

Not only Montfatini, but all the other technicians sitting in front of the monitors at this moment temporarily forgot about the data they were observing. They just stared at the screen quietly, held their breath, and enjoyed the performance. All the chaotic thoughts in their minds disappeared into nothingness in the pattering rain.

　A huge thank you to reader monzer001 for the 27 monthly tickets! This fledgling racing game desperately needs your support. Even if you're taking your time reading, please check out the latest chapters! It's really, really important! I thank you all again for your support. Thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)