Car Racing without Money-Chapter 158 - 103: The News That Ignited Public Opinion (Double-Length)
Ma Qingye drove the HRT Team’s F112 car, and clocked the fastest lap at 1 minute 37.829 seconds, immediately becoming the bottom-ranked among the test drivers at the same time.
There’s no doubt about Bottas’ strong early lap ability, often able to go toe-to-toe with regular world champions, just slightly inferior to a historical level seven-time champion like Hamilton.
But the astonishing gap of 6.393 seconds was enough for F1 team engineers, observing the test data, to directly sentence Ma Qingye’s talent and potential to "death."
This is why, after the HRT Team went bankrupt without enough sponsorship, no other F1 teams extended an olive branch to Ma Qingye.
As a junior in the racing world, Chen Xiangbei naturally couldn’t be as blunt as Odetto and could only respond with silence.
Perhaps sensing Chen Xiangbei’s "awkwardness," Odetto added in a more gentle tone, "But I’ve also watched Ma’s exhibition race, and he’s very talented in touring cars — maybe he chose the wrong direction."
Odetto’s words weren’t just "social niceties," Ma Qingye’s achievements and talent in the touring car realm far exceeded his development in the formula racing field.
The WTCC championship title was, for a long time, the highest honor that Chinese drivers achieved in global events.
But Chen Xiangbei understood this reasoning, and he too couldn’t say much.
After all, formula racing is the pinnacle of circuit racing, and who would admit to their failure before actually failing?
At this point, advising Ma Qingye to give up formula racing and transition to touring cars would be a thankless task.
Even if you know the course of history, many things can only follow their natural course.
Back at the Super Dream Base, although Lu Xiaoman was complaining, she still performed post-race therapy for Chen Xiangbei.
Despite only seeming to run a few laps in the qualifying, in reality, both flying laps pushed the limits of his endurance, especially the two heavy braking in turn T6, causing the seatbelt to leave blue-purple marks on Chen Xiangbei’s body!
To be honest, if Chen Xiangbei’s braking was even a little heavier or lighter, his qualifying might have ended prematurely.
This is the charm of professional racing, always on the edge of losing control!
After the therapy session, Chen Xiangbei didn’t do any physical training, only some aerobic exercise in the evening to maintain his physical condition.
As he was about to return to his room to rest early, Ayong ran excitedly into the gym and shouted, "Brother Bei, you’re on TV, come quickly and see!"
[On TV?]
Hearing Ayong’s call, Chen Xiangbei felt a bit intrigued.
Could it be that the first race of the Renault European Cup, thanks to the local Silverstone Circuit in the UK, actually made it onto Sky Sports?
It’s worth noting that Sky Sports is a world-class channel, with an influence and reach in the sports world comparable to that of famous broadcasters like BBC and CNN.
Back in China, Chen Xiangbei hadn’t even been on CCTV, let alone local stations that constantly air commercials for products like Jincola and Brain Platinum, yet here in the UK, he’d made it onto the world-class Sky Sports.
Truly a case of "when the east is not bright, the west is!"
With a hint of excitement, Chen Xiangbei followed Ayong to the workshop, where screens originally used for data monitoring were now broadcasting reporter Hank’s post-race interview with Chen Xiangbei.
Originally, Chen Xiangbei had a hint of a smile on his face, thinking that being on TV might make him a celebrity, making it easier to attract sponsors and endorsements in the future.
However, when he saw the striking news headline, his smile froze the next second.
"Chinese newcomer boasts of talent and effort crushing the opposition!"
Did I say something like that?
In an instant, Chen Xiangbei wondered if his memory was failing him, because if he remembered correctly, his original words were more like "more talented, worked harder."
Although the wording was slightly similar, the tone and meaning were vastly different.
And the exaggeration wasn’t just limited to the headline; the program content was completely made-up, only using footage of Chen Xiangbei’s interview, while the voiceover was dubbed in later.
"Chinese driver Bei, after taking pole position, mocks opponents, saying their talent is insufficient to handle the car; the Silverstone Circuit champion is already decided."
Accompanied by this voiceover was footage of Chen Xiangbei turning back and exchanging a smile with Odetto.
Then it immediately played Chen Xiangbei’s original audio.
"Champion, without a doubt!"
To be honest, just looking at the camera footage and Chen Xiangbei’s response, it did seem like he was mocking the opponents with team leader Odetto.
But in reality, the smiles between Chen Xiangbei and Odetto were nothing more than a tacit understanding between them, a small gesture to reflect the boast made before the interview and to demonstrate the team atmosphere and stance.
The "charm" of news editing was fully displayed at that moment.
Now the team members in the workshop exchanged glances. It was supposed to be a moment to share the joy of Chen Xiangbei being on TV, but instead, it turned into something that could hurt his morale.
"Damn it, is there really such slander?"
Liang Chi cursed. Even though he’s knowledgeable and experienced, he had never seen such blatant manipulative tactics.
If he hadn’t been in the P-room at the time checking the car, listening to the interview between Chen Xiangbei and Hank, he might have actually believed it!
"Brother Bei, my English isn’t great, you didn’t say that, right?"
Ayong asked in confusion, beginning to doubt if he had misheard at the scene.
"Well, I did say it, just not in that sense..."
Chen Xiangbei awkwardly responded, acknowledging that even though the audio was his own, the intended meaning was completely off.
