Speed ​​God

Chapter 67 Focus on Yourself
Rustling sounds... that ART newbie... seemed intimidated by the GP3's presence as soon as he appeared.

Sure enough, the racetrack doesn't lie; once it's out there for a spin, its true colors are revealed.

However, inside car number two, Lu Zhizhou was completely focused on himself.

On the second lap, Lu Zhizhou began to lightly apply the brakes to test the engagement point of the front axle. When exiting Turn 9, the rear end swayed slightly.

Immediately, feedback was relayed via radio: "Slight slippage at the tail of the high-speed corner exit; it is recommended to shift the brake balance forward by 0.5%."

Borrepeller instinctively replied, "Roger. Moving forward. Continue monitoring tire temperature."

After speaking, Borrepell pursed his lips, his expression clearly relaxing. Obviously, Lu Zhizhou knew what he was doing.

As Lu Zhizhou was about to enter the third lap, Borrepell pressed the radio button, preparing to remind Lu Zhizhou to start pushing forward, but he paused slightly before changing his tone, "Excellent work, please keep it up."

Borrepeller stared intently at the screen—

Sure enough, without his reminder, Lu Zhizhou had already entered the advance mode; but in detail, it was slightly different from Borrepeller's idea.

Lu Zhizhou did not switch to full-speed mode, but instead focused on testing his cornering rhythm and finding the right fit between his driving line and tires.

Turn 3 is a long, high-speed right turn, shaped like a crescent moon, with almost no difficulty, and even faster than Turn 9.

However, beginners often encounter problems at this seemingly ordinary turn 3 because the line is long and the curve is sharp. Drivers tend to floor the accelerator, but the left front tire is very prone to overheating during long turns, and the line is also prone to grazing the curb, which is also a form of damage to the tire.

If the driver floores the accelerator every time they go through Turn 3, the accumulated wear and tear as the race progresses will increase the difference in tire quality, and the car's balance will deteriorate.

Therefore, what Lu Zhizhou was looking for at this moment was not the speed limit, but the rhythm balance, how to find a balance between speed and wear and tear.

Lu Zhizhou entered the corner half a body length early, cutting in from the outside. He turned the steering wheel slightly and opened the accelerator halfway, but his control was still not quite there. The tread friction of the left front tire increased significantly, but Lu Zhizhou didn't rush to adjust. Instead, he focused on his driving line, cutting even closer to the curve of the corner, moving as if dancing on a knife's edge, doing his best to avoid leaving the curb.

Increase speed by controlling the track rather than squeezing the tires.

Next, the same applies to high-speed curves such as Turn 4, Turn 6, and Turn 9. By controlling these sections, we can create space for the tires to be squeezed out in the three combination curves before the final sprint.

However, this was the first time we explored this area, and the deviation was still quite obvious. Even though the track temperature has now dropped, we can still feel the tire wear.

Then, on the fourth lap, the driving on the high-speed curves became noticeably smoother, and he pressed the radio button on the steering wheel.

"Stable entry into the corner, slight swaying upon exiting. The temperature of the left front tire is trending upward, but it is within a controllable range."

Just as Borrepeller was about to speak, he saw that after Turn 9, Lu Zhizhou changed his previous style of braking early and understeering. He braked at an extreme corner, cut into Turn 10, cut into the hairpin at the apex of the hairpin, oversteered, and swung the rear of the car, but stopped in the blink of an eye.

It appears to be teetering on the brink of collapse, but in reality, it moves with the grace and elegance of a startled swan and the fluidity of a swimming dragon.

The flow was smooth and seamless, with the transition between Turn 9 and Turn 10 executed with effortless grace. Even without full speed, the car still displayed its sharpness, transforming into a streak of light as it plunged into the corner ahead. The fluid handling was a true visual treat.

Clearly, Lu Zhizhou knew what he was doing. It wasn't just about remaining calm; his ability to interpret the track in his own style within a short time was truly impressive. His innate, absolute car sense was already beginning to reveal itself, and Borrepeller was experiencing it firsthand in the front row.

Is this kid really going to the racetrack for the first time?
Immediately afterwards, Lu Zhizhou's calm and collected voice came through the radio, "The next quantitative measure is to push the brake balance forward one level to test the condition under oversteer."

Amidst the roar of engines, Trident team's Alesi finished the first quantitative session of practice and returned to the pits to have a brief discussion with his race engineer. After completing the communication and adjustments, he would return to the track for the second quantitative session.

Alessi knew he should be paying attention to him, but he couldn't control himself and impulsively broke free from reason, asking first, "What are the current stats for driver number two?"

In GP3 racing, drivers are not allowed to choose their own numbers; all numbers are fixed.

Last season's team champion will occupy numbers one through four this season; last season's team runner-up will occupy numbers five through eight this season.

And so on.

As the defending champions, the ART team is in the lead, with Han Shilong in number one, Russell in number three, Hubert in number four, and number two, which originally belonged to Fukuzumi Jinling, now belonging to Lu Zhizhou.

The race engineer gave Alessi a speechless glance.

Alessi ignored this, patted the competition engineer on the shoulder, and continued to question him with his eyes.

The race engineer finally stopped pressing the issue, glancing at the screen. "I don't know why you're curious, he didn't even make the top ten. All three other ART drivers are in the top five, with Hubert performing exceptionally well; number two is like a baby, still learning to walk."

Alessi choked on his words, “Don’t underestimate him. If you’re not careful, a punch will come flying at you.”

Before the race engineer could ask any further questions, Alesi changed the subject, "I didn't feel well at Turn 10..."

He needs to focus.

Only the results of official matches count; he not only needs to defeat Lu Zhizhou, but also Han Shilong—

They were all veterans of GP3. While others were upgrading to F2, they remained stuck here, facing a do-or-die situation. Han Shilong had taken a seat from ART, which meant that Alesi's situation was even more precarious.

This year, he needs to fight for his career.

Not only Alessi, but everyone else in the paddock also turned their attention to him. It was a very, very small circle, and every newcomer was under the spotlight and studied under a microscope by all the teams. Lu Zhizhou, an outsider, stumbled in and was even more of an anomaly.

It's no exaggeration to say that the majority of people are now waiting to see Lu Zhizhou make a fool of himself.

After all, street racing isn't really racing.

As expected, everything went according to plan. Once in the world of Formula One racing, even the wildest and most flamboyant troublemakers instantly became docile.

That well-behaved appearance is actually quite cute.

Lu Zhizhou's first free practice session was like a baby learning to walk. He was covered in labels like "newbie," "rookie," "cautious," and "completely confused," like Alice in Wonderland, as if he wanted everyone to know that ART had signed a complete rookie.

It was just a free practice session, and his true colors were revealed. That guy probably hadn't even finished familiarizing himself with the track, let alone worked with the team to fine-tune the car. Who knows if he's hiding in the pit lane right now, secretly wiping away tears, his knees so weak he can barely stand.

Before taking the stage, he was the focus of the entire paddock; after taking the stage, he became the laughing stock of the entire paddock.

This can be considered a unique and dazzling debut.

However, it is unknown what kind of deal Nicolas Todt made with Ferrari. Hopefully, the stakes are high enough, otherwise Nicolas will be screwed over by Ferrari this time.

　This is the fourth update today. The new book period is almost over, so please join me in this final sprint! Please take a moment to scroll to the latest chapter, thank you everyone!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)