Car Racing without Money-Chapter 130 - 94: Virtually a Human Machine

But Odetto really hasn’t seen someone in so many years who can memorize the Silverstone Circuit in less than two days!

"Sawano!"

Odetto shouted loudly towards the door.

Upon hearing the call, Sawano Hiroyuki quickly walked into Odetto’s office and asked, "Team leader, is there something you need?"

"Go to Silverstone now and do a track walk in advance!"

The paper data can’t fully reflect reality, so Odetto decided to take Chen Xiangbei to the Silverstone Circuit for an on-site survey ahead of time.

Facing Odetto’s sudden decision, Sawano Hiroyuki was somewhat surprised and stood there stunned.

There are still ten days left before the main race, and during this era, Renault only has one practice session, theoretically there’s still time to walk the track on Friday.

However, due to the Japanese professional characteristic of obedience, Sawano Hiroyuki did not raise his inner doubts, nodded in agreement, and went to get the keys to the car.

"Uncle Liang, where is Xiangbei going?"

Ayong, who was learning the mechanical principles of Formula racing cars from Mizutani Sho, quietly asked Liang Chi beside him.

Today, Liang Chi had a dramatic change in appearance, uncommonly wearing a pair of reading glasses, holding a notebook and listening attentively.

The older generation of Chinese maintenance masters basically did not go through professional formal training, most learned related vehicle repair knowledge through a "master-apprentice" model in practice.

Liang Chi was somewhat better, having studied automotive engineering-related majors, but compared to a top Japanese factory team’s data engineer like Mizutani Sho, there was a huge theoretical knowledge gap.

Mechanical principles were relatively okay, but when it came to aerodynamics, it completely broke through Liang Chi’s scope of understanding.

For initial formula regulation racing cars like Renault, since the team isn’t involved in design production, and the application level of aerodynamics is low, knowing how to tune the chassis, suspension, and gearbox mechanical principles is sufficient.

But once reaching the GP2 or F1 level, aerodynamic kits are used on a large scale.

If you’re the team’s chief engineer and don’t know how to adjust the downforce setting, you simply have no "survival" space in the paddock!

Liang Chi knows Chen Xiangbei increases difficulty in negotiations to cultivate a top Chinese racing team in the Formula domain.

This was once Liang Chi’s own dream too!

Now that Chen Xiangbei, this young man, has worked hard to open this door, Liang Chi can’t be the one holding him back; otherwise, he’d be ashamed to stay on.

Chen Xiangbei is growing, and he must improve too, even if it means putting aside pride and learning alongside apprentices!

"Focus on listening to Mizutani’s lecture, why ask so many questions?"

"Tonight, I’ll quiz you on vocabulary, see how I deal with you if you don’t remember!"

Liang Chi warned Ayong not to be absent-minded; entering a professional team means adhering to specialized division of labor, unlike the previous Huashai grassroots setup.

Upon hearing the master’s words, Ayong immediately looked miserable and deeply regretted his outspoken question.

One must know Liang Chi’s English is very unique, completely opposite to normal people.

Normal people learn English with an inclination towards daily use, with a lower familiarity of automotive engineering or motorsport domain professional vocabulary.

Liang Chi, on the other hand, is stuttered in everyday English, with an accent comparable to Japanese people, yet in motorsport professional English, thanks to years of professional involvement, he remembers it very well.

Ayong currently doesn’t even have normal English level, how could he pass Liang Chi’s vocabulary quiz.

On the other side, Chen Xiangbei and his group quickly reached the famous Silverstone Circuit.

Silverstone in the United Kingdom could be said to be the birthplace of F1, hosting the first F1 race as early as 1950, having passed over half a century since then.

Silverstone was not originally born for the track, in contrast, it was merely a military airport during World War II, until post-war the Royal Automobile Club of the United Kingdom took over this airport, transforming it into a racing track.

Due to Silverstone Circuit’s long history, coupled with the early flourishing of the British automotive industry, this also became the gathering place for F1 teams’ headquarters.

Within a radius of 100 kilometers, there are headquarters of six teams including McLaren, Williams, Renault, Red Bull, with the nearest being Indian Force Team, just needing to cross the street to reach Silverstone’s entrance.

In addition to this, it’s also the gathering place for lower-level Formula teams such as ART, Carlin, Manor, etc., their training bases are also placed near the Silverstone Circuit.

It’s fair to say, the Formula domain can’t be without Silverstone, just like the West can’t be without Jerusalem!

Although today is not a track open day or race day, Silverstone Circuit still had numerous tourists, with many F1 fans and driver enthusiasts at the gate, gathering and taking group photos.

Entering the paddock through the team’s exclusive channel, besides a few track staff, it seemed much quieter.

At this time, Odetto took out paper and pen from his backpack, and began, "Bei, in F1 driver’s race week schedule, there is a half-hour planned for Thursday to walk the track."

"They will observe the actual situation to confirm if there are any changes in the track compared to the annual race schedule. For instance, which corners can be taken wider, changes in curb height where contact is not possible."

"Or if the organizers in track maintenance and renovation have laid new asphalt in certain positions and sections, often this segment’s grip will be relatively poorer, have to consider if the braking points require corresponding changes."