Car Racing without Money-Chapter 261 - 127: Evolutionary Strength (Double-Length)
At that time, Tao followed Qin Lianjie to the middle of the road, closely observing whether Chen Xiangbei’s start had left any rubber burn marks.
The fact was, there were none at all!
It was from that moment on that he realized the extraordinary nature of the high school prodigy.
The long starting straight quickly passed, and soon Chen Xiangbei, driving the Civic Type-R, approached the first C-shaped corner.
In the past, Chen Xiangbei always chose to take the racing line through corners, partly due to the habits of a formula car driver, and partly because drifting through corners was generally slower than taking the line.
But this time, being purely a "performance," he adopted the drift technique favored by street racers.
Chen Xiangbei decelerated into the corner, simultaneously pressing the brake and gas pedal with his right foot, while his right hand swiftly downshifted, executing an extremely standard and fast heel-toe maneuver.
Qin Lianjie was not at all surprised that Chen Xiangbei could perform the street "heel-toe technique."
After all, for someone at the level of an F1 test driver, it’s not about whether they can perform an operation but whether they like to use it or not.
What truly shocked Qin Lianjie was that from the corner of his eye, he noticed the tachometer needle returning to five thousand RPM, remaining stable as if unshaken.
Immediately, Chen Xiangbei made a sharp turn of the steering wheel, pulled the handbrake, and drifted through the corner, the car’s front end brushing past the inside guardrail by no more than five centimeters the entire time!
His Civic Type-R, as if its wheels had been greased, drifted through with an extremely smooth posture.
The engine’s RPM maintained through the corner exit played its role, with the optimal torque and gear combining perfectly. After straightening out, Chen Xiangbei only needed a light touch on the gas pedal to send the car speeding forward again, with power delivery incredibly smooth!
One must know that Qin Lianjie’s Civic Type-R is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive model.
This means that during the entire process of drifting through corners, Chen Xiangbei fully relied on entering the corner with precision to drift, unable to correct like rear-wheel-drive cars by adding throttle mid-corner.
Even the slightest error in control, or a minor misjudgment of entry and exit speeds, would prevent such a perfect and seamless drift.
But this was his first time driving his own Civic Type-R!
Qin Lianjie asked himself honestly, there was no way he could execute a drift operation and cornering speed like that.
Has Chen Xiangbei’s current level of skill reached such a truly terrifying degree?
To be honest, this feeling is completely different from the impact of watching Chen Xiangbei race from the stands.
No one knows better than Qin Lianjie the characteristics and limits of his own car.
At this moment, he deeply felt the absolute gap between himself and professional drivers!
Moreover, the spotlight drivers on the mountain’s summit platform were equally stunned, watching the whole display.
"Damn, even Jie himself couldn’t drift a line like that just now, right?"
"I’ve never seen a front-wheel-drive car drift on such an arc."
"The issue is Chen Xiangbei is also a Formula driver; drifting isn’t supposed to be his strength, so how fast and skilled must he be on the race line?"
"No kidding, or how else would he become the South Cloud Mountain Car God?"
Amidst all the exclamations, Chen Xiangbei quickly approached the second V-shaped corner.
This time, his drift was even more precise, as if the car’s front was fixed like a compass on the spot, and the rear carved a perfect arc.
Witnessing this, Qin Lianjie was at a loss for words.
Once, he thought of racing against Chen Xiangbei, but now it seems that would be sheer humiliation!
For the subsequent S-bend, Chen Xiangbei didn’t continue drifting, opting instead to pass using the racing line.
The people atop the summit platform now witnessed what it means to turn a corner into a straight path. Chen Xiangbei seemed as if he wasn’t turning the wheel at all, brushing past every apex of the bends swiftly and directly, at speeds beyond belief!
However, Chen Xiangbei’s performance ended abruptly here, as he drove normally down the mountain.
"Xiangbei, did your career improvement have such a large impact?"
Qin Lianjie quietly asked, aware of the chasm between professional and amateur.
He just hadn’t anticipated that Chen Xiangbei would improve so astonishingly after going professional, feeling that he was even more impressive than during his time at the Japan Suzuka Driver Academy.
"Of course, otherwise, why would they say not to challenge a professional with a hobby?"
"But I feel that compared to usual professionals, you are a qualitative evolution!"
Qin Lianjie has encountered many professional drivers over the years in underground racing.
None could provide the unattainable sensation that Chen Xiangbei did today.
"It’s not that exaggerated,"
Chen Xiangbei smiled, guessing Qin Lianjie’s impression of him remained at his Renault academy phase.
In truth, as his professional intensity and physical training enhanced, Chen Xiangbei was gradually nearing the peak skill level of his past life.
Equivalent to Qin Lianjie experiencing the driving of an F2-level driver, which naturally far exceeds that of the professional drivers he had previously encountered.
"It’s very exaggerated!"
Qin Lianjie confirmed again, convinced that those capable of Formula racing are indeed exceptional.
Chen Xiangbei’s home was not far from Nanyun Mountain, taking just over ten minutes to reach the neighborhood gates.
Back at home, his mother Zhao Yumei had already prepared a table full of sumptuous dishes, having taken a few days off to spend more time with her son.
However, Chen Xiangbei didn’t have much time to stay, as his unfamiliarity with the East Bay Circuit remained a concern in his heart, making him feel unsettled until it was resolved.
