Car Racing without Money-Chapter 187 - 109: The Standards of an F1 Driver!
Mizutani Sho reported the current track conditions. ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐ท๐๐ซ๐๐ก.๐๐ธ๐ถ
"Roger that."
The chilly breath of early spring in the United Kingdom was something Chen Xiangbei had already gotten used to at Silverstone Circuit.
Chen Xiangbei didnโt proceed with the usual slow warm-up lap; instead, he planned to warm up the tires at normal driving speed.
A track free of any other cars was a rare chance, which would soon be crowded with other teams arriving at Donington Park for practice, just like the congested traffic at Silverstone.
At Silverstone Circuit, Chen Xiangbei had hundreds of simulated practice sessions under his belt, so missing a couple of flying laps wouldnโt matter much.
But Donington Park Circuit was different. Every lap was invaluable to Chen Xiangbei, who needed substantial practice to familiarize himself with the track and find his speed limit.
Donington Park Circuitโs lower-category formula races only used the short track, which was 3.185 kilometers long. It was nearly half as short as Silverstone due to its elevation changes and bumpy surface, which could easily lead to uneven tire wear and blowouts.
Additionally, in lower-category formula races, drivers didnโt opt for pit stops to change tires for the best results, so the organizers had to shorten the race distance to minimize risks.
"Senior Sawano, is Xiangbei not planning to warm up the tires?"
Looking at the car data on the monitor, Mizutani Sho sounded very surprised.
Upon hearing this, Sawano Hiroyuki quickly turned his gaze over.
The indicators showed that Chen Xiangbeiโs throttle was fully pressed, the engine revs exceeding ten thousand, and within less than five seconds, the speed was approaching 200 km/h.
[Is he really going all out?]
Sawano Hiroyuki frowned at this scene.
He knew Chen Xiangbei had a tight deadline to familiarize himself with the track, but putting himself in danger seemed to be missing the point.
"Odetto, should we remind Xiangbei?"
Sawano Hiroyuki pondered for a moment but decided to seek Odettoโs opinion.
"Remind him of what? To slow down and enjoy the track scenery?"
Odetto replied expressionlessly.
"The reason Xiangbei is pushing hard is because his track experience lags behind his opponents. But in professional races, being behind is never an excuse or reason to lose a race; opponents will not hold back because youโre lagging."
"Sawano, as a former professional driver, you should understand more than I do the importance of results."
This time, Odetto showed no courtesy to Sawano Hiroyuki, speaking very bluntly.
He actually knew that many Chinese or Japanese drivers subconsciously blamed poor performance on external factors.
Such as an imperfect race system, outdated professional training, inferior foundation, and sponsorship compared to others.
But so what?
It doesnโt concern me if you canโt access top-notch professional training.
In the realm of formula racing, only results matter, and no one cares about your efforts or your touching backstory.
If you want to win despite being behind, youโve got to push harder than your opponents!
Under his guidance, Chen Xiangbei had already understood this principle, but as a race engineer, Sawano Hiroyuki was still choosing a conservative approach.
"Yes, Team Leader Odetto."
Sawano Hiroyuki was full of shame, realizing he hadnโt fundamentally changed his perspective.
While they conversed, Chen Xiangbei had just passed Donington Park Circuitโs T1 corner, a medium-speed right-hand turn with a notable uphill section before the corner.
The reason he dared to accelerate full throttle without warming up the tires was due to the uphill section significantly reducing speed and lowering braking pressure at the end of the straight.
In simpler terms, it made slowing down for the turn easier.
But after the T1 corner, Donington Parkโs corners from T2 to T4 became a series of continuous left-hand downhill high-speed corners, with the corner radius gradually tightening.
This required extremely good timing on the brakes, or it would be very easy to lose control from excessive speed and understeer!
Chen Xiangbei didnโt make a hard brake to drastically lower speed; he approached the corner at a high speed of 180 km/h. He smoothly navigated T2, maintaining a fluid line through T3 as well.
Many in the pit room, watching his corner trajectory curves, displayed astonished expressions.
This was a track with no maps even on racing simulators, and Chen Xiangbei couldnโt possibly have any experience. To exhibit such a line and speed on his first practice was an exaggeration of his adaptability and learning ability.
Others might think that this kid had raced on Donington Park Circuit before!
At that moment, Chen Xiangbei was focused on maintaining his line, unaware of the looming danger.
The continuous downhill turns caused the car to unknowingly gain speed from inertia, with the same brake force yielding entirely different results.
Upon entering T4, the excessive speed and insufficient tire temperature showed signs of insufficient grip. Chen Xiangbei turned the wheel and found the car not turning as expected, immediately realizing something was wrong.
Quickly, Chen Xiangbei straightened the wheel, then applied greater braking force, attempting to slow down and save the car.
But the turn was just a short ten meters or so, without enough space to "rescue" it. Seeing the car about to run off the track, Chen Xiangbei gritted his teeth and made a sharp turn of the steering wheel, then released the brake with his left foot and applied the throttle with his right foot.
"Spin! (Side skid whirl)"
Seeing this, the crew members in the pit room felt their hearts leap to their throats, while Mizutani Sho, who was observing the data, turned pale with fright.
