Speed ​​God

Chapter 80 Baby's First Steps
"First."

"Zhizhou, number one."

Borrepeller calmly stated, "To be honest, after the second lap, the race was essentially over; nobody could get close to Lu Zhizhou."

There was no sense of tension.

Everything was perfectly natural. But Borrepeller still felt his blood boiling and surging, an excitement that defied description was continuously erupting.

Precisely because it was "boring," without any waves or surprises, Lu Zhizhou's ability was highlighted all the more, completely controlling the game and eliminating all suspense.

Before the start of this match weekend, Borrepeller was filled with anxiety and had imagined all sorts of scenarios, but now all of that has vanished.

This sense of security came from Lu Zhizhou.

For the team, they enjoy this kind of race, a chance to clock out.

A calm reply came through the radio from Lu Zhizhou: "Received."

Borrepeller: ? ? ?
"Received"—what kind of reply is that?
Borrepeller paused for a moment, then spoke again, trying to remind him that this was only his first official race, "An excellent race. Zhizhou, you controlled the situation from the first lap, and your rhythm control and tire control were top-notch. It was a dominant race. Congratulations, Zhizhou, your first GP3 ​​victory."

Then, a low chuckle came through the earphones, "Baby, baby, baby, oh..."

Borrepeller was speechless.

Lu Zhizhou: "Please, Pierre, I'm still waiting."

Borrepeller: ... "Zhizhou, I'm logging off. Ending the call."

Lu Zhizhou: "Hahahaha."

In the Sky Sports studio, all of these radio conversations were broadcast live, and Croft and Brendel exchanged a puzzled look.

Croft hesitated slightly, then smiled. "It seems this is an inside joke, some behind-the-scenes tidbit you don't understand. But you can sense that Lu Zhizhou and Pierre Borrepeller's collaboration has had a good start. The season has only just begun, and they already have an inside joke."

Clearly, this is somewhat different from the rumors.

Croft glanced at his partner. "Martin, are you ready to give it a try? 'Baby, baby, baby, oh…'"

Brendel stared at Croft, who was humming softly, with a look of utter disbelief, and choked on his words, "Let's see the rankings later..."

Croft, having successfully pulled off his prank, burst into laughter, "Hahaha!"

If we only focus on Lu Zhizhou, this year's GP3 Barcelona race is indeed boring.

In the 22-lap race, Lu Zhizhou crossed the finish line first, leading the second-place finisher by a full 11.807 seconds.

Not only did he establish a significant lead in the first lap, but his advantage continued to widen over the next twenty laps, even with Lu Zhizhou consciously maintaining control.

If the race goes on for a few more laps, Lu Zhizhou will start lapping, which is extremely rare in GP3 racing.

Without a doubt, dominance!

However, if we look away from Lu Zhizhou, the race presents a completely different picture. The chaotic battle in the first lap and Lu Zhizhou's strong performance inspired the drivers' fighting spirit. One by one, they brought out their best skills and engaged in a real collision. The usually uneventful and uninteresting Barcelona brought surprises and was a pleasant surprise.

Second place: Leonardo Pulcioni, Alden team.

Third place: Alessio Lolandi, Janzer team.

The two drivers crossed the finish line one after the other, with a difference of less than 0.4 seconds. The fierce battle of offense and defense continued until the very last second.

Fourth place: Russell, ART team.

Fifth place: Huber, ART team. Sixth place: Bokolać, Trident team.

The three drivers were slightly separated by a large margin, but the difference between them was only about one second. In other words, the outcome was still uncertain until the last lap. The back-and-forth battle continued throughout, and no one could relax. A slight lapse in concentration could result in a change of position in the final rankings.

Additionally, Trident's Alesi qualified seventh, but was penalized with a three-position grid drop due to dangerous maneuvers at Turns 9 and 10.

As a result, starting in tenth place, he encountered a nightmare race, and his aggressive and reckless racing style once again paid a heavy price, finishing in seventeenth place.

Furthermore, Han Shilong of the ART team, after a nightmarish first lap, showed his strength and began to chase back. Even though overtaking was difficult at the Barcelona circuit, he still climbed up the rankings little by little. However, he never expected that he would overdo it. His tires were severely worn out, and he lost grip in the second half of the race. On the sixteenth lap, he lost control at Turn 10. Although he did not crash into the wall, his front wing was damaged, and he had no choice but to drive back to the pits and retire from the race.

At this point, looking at the rankings again, only Lu Zhizhou and Russell held their positions. The top eight had been completely reshuffled, and the entire ranking order had been disrupted.

Such a situation is indeed rare on the "boring" Barcelona circuit.

After the cooling-off period, Lu Zhizhou slowly drove the race car towards the podium, removed his helmet and HANS protective gear, and climbed out of the car.

At this moment, the joy and happiness that had been building up surged up instantly. My focused thoughts finally snapped out of the racing and I felt reality. Gravity pulled my body back to the ground, and I found my center of gravity. The moment I saw the team members led by Borrepeller, my adrenaline and dopamine surged.

"victory!"

Lu Zhizhou stood on the race car, raised his hands high and shouted, his smile was unrestrained, and his heart swelled up like a balloon, soaring into the sky to embrace the sunshine.

The feeling is different, truly different, because of the victory, because of the speed, and even more so because of the experience of being completely integrated with the machine and pushing the limits.

That kind of happiness is beyond words.

In the crowd, Borrepeller cheered along with the team staff, watching the figure bathed in sunlight, like Apollo making his entrance. The sunlight shining from behind him shone on him, the dazzling gold was mesmerizing, and his heart couldn't help but beat uncontrollably.

After a brief awards ceremony, Lu Zhizhou, Pulcini, and Lolandi each received their trophies, hugged and greeted each other, and then turned and left.

The celebration, of course, should be done with your own racing team.

The ART team was overjoyed, having been full of confidence in qualifying with the goal of sweeping the podium; however, the situation took an unexpected turn, with the podium being shared by three different teams.

Before the season started, everyone believed that the ART team was still the favorite to win the championship, but unexpectedly, before the first race weekend was even over, this prediction hit a wall.

Against this backdrop, Lu Zhizhou's dominant performance and victory are all the more valuable, and the team needs that kind of confidence.

Who would have thought that the season opener would be turned around by this rookie who seemed to have sprung from the ashes?

Amidst the bustling crowd, one after another, people warmly welcomed Lu Zhizhou's triumphant return with enthusiastic hugs. Yu Beier even gave Lu Zhizhou a bear hug with great enthusiasm.

Lu Zhizhou: "Congratulations!"

Hubert, "Congratulations!"

The two spoke in unison, exchanged a glance, and their eyes shone with such similar elation that they burst into laughter.

Lu Zhizhou was serious.

Hubert started from ninth on the grid and fought his way up to fifth, making this race especially valuable for him. After all, he had no sponsorship and relied entirely on his own hard work to earn the opportunity to compete in GP3, which may be the most important turning point in Hubert's career.

In retrospect, Huber has accomplished a crucial and invaluable victory.

However, the harmonious atmosphere didn't last long, as a discordant voice rushed over, "Damn it, what are you doing in Turn Two?"

That was none other than Russell.

　This is the third update today. Only two days left in the new book's run; the end is in sight! Keep reading, keep reading, and keep reading! Thank you all so much!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)