Car Racing without Money-Chapter 284 - 133: Home Field Advantage
In order to prove himself and regain the support of sponsors, Fang Junyu resolutely returned to Australia to participate in the Grand Prix event, which will be his only chance for a major comeback.
What Fang Junyu didn’t expect was that the home heat he originally enjoyed alone was unexpectedly shared when Chen Xiangbei burst onto the scene.
Not only did Chen Xiangbei grab the title of the next Sato Takuma, but he also rose above the ranks to secure a contract as an F1 team test driver. The team also informed many business moguls and sponsors in Hong Kong that they had already shifted their focus to the mainlander.
If Fang Junyu fails to defeat Chen Xiangbei this time, he will become completely abandoned!
Of course, Chen Xiangbei is completely unaware of these behind-the-scenes stories.
He just feels somewhat annoyed that this guy popped up to steal his thunder.
No matter what, it’s the first time in his life he’s had a home advantage, and he didn’t get to enjoy it for long before it turned into an "away game."
Since that’s the case, Chen Xiangbei casually pulled down his visor, focusing all his attention on the practice run.
Drivers ultimately have to speak with their results. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
At the level of Schumacher, the world is his home track!
"Xiangbei-kun, air temperature is 29℃, ground temperature is 25℃, gradually rising, one warm-up lap is enough to reach working temperature."
Sawano Hiroyuki’s voice came through the earpiece. Now the time has entered April, and coupled with the different latitude of Australia and the United Kingdom, the temperature on the East Bay Circuit is considerably higher.
"COPY."
With a simple response, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the gas and overtook Fang Junyu, proceeding with his warm-up lap.
Although it’s a warm-up, considering the favorable temperature conditions, Chen Xiangbei inadvertently increased speed to validate the perfect lap simulated by the computer and his insights gained from "walking" the circuit.
However, as he accelerated through the bends, Chen Xiangbei noticed something was off; he overlooked a very important issue.
That is, the F3 race cars of this era—although similar in specifications, power, and layout to those of the future—offer a completely different driving experience!
The reason is that the F3 race cars over a decade later, benefiting from technological advances, employ electro-hydraulic hybrid control systems for throttle, steering, gear shifting, and other mechanisms.
Yet the F3 race cars of this era still primarily use mechanical control systems!
Single out the throttle, and the difference between mechanical and electronic control can offer two completely different experiences.
The reason Chen Xiangbei didn’t notice these differences mainly lies in his sudden decision to leapfrog, completely disrupting the original upgrade plan, leaving him without the opportunity to encounter the F3 cars of this era.
An additional point is that the control system of the Renault Formula hasn’t changed, and under the influence of inertia thinking, Chen Xiangbei focused more on the power performance of the F3 and the impact of changes in aerodynamics.
After all, he is a driver, not a technical director of racing car development. How can he cover everything?
Faced with the issues emerging suddenly, this implies that Chen Xiangbei, within a short time frame, not only has to familiarize himself with the East Bay Circuit as per the original plan but also quickly adapt to the control of this car!
But then again, even if Chen Xiangbei knew ahead of time, it wouldn’t serve any real purpose.
Time and competition systems are here, there was simply no opportunity for him to drive an F3 car beforehand, at best he could have psychological preparation.
Chen Xiangbei did not report to the team through TR.
The reason is simple: quickly adapting to different cars is also a quality that a top driver should possess.
Just like Kimi Raikkonen jumping to F1—can the differences between electronic control systems and mechanical control outweigh the leap from Renault Formula to Formula 1?
The answer is obvious.
The warm-up lap quickly passed, and Chen Xiangbei started his flying lap.
In the P-room, Odetto and Sawano Hiroyuki’s eyes were fixed on the onboard camera and various sensor data on the screen.
Compared to the Renault Formula, the F3 race car provides more detailed data, enabling the team’s engineers to intuitively feel the driver’s control.
They soon noticed that Chen Xiangbei’s control was problematic. Compared to past practice runs, what could be called smooth cornering now showed obvious errors and roughness.
And it wasn’t just one corner; several consecutive corners showed similar situations.
"Sawano, hasn’t he been recording circuit data these days?"
Odetto asked a question.
Chen Xiangbei’s circuit data analysis is done together with Sawano Hiroyuki and Mizutani Sho, while Odetto habitually takes a hands-off approach.
Though Odetto acknowledges Chen Xiangbei’s effort, he believes that even without his "supervision," this kid wouldn’t slack off, yet something seems off this time.
"Xiangbei-kun is very diligent, increasing the training intensity to twelve hours."
"I guess it might be unfamiliarity with street circuits."
Sawano Hiroyuki offered an explanation.
"No, this isn’t unfamiliarity."
Odetto shook his head; now Chen Xiangbei’s cornering isn’t the only issue.
He also noticed excessive corrections to the steering wheel, mismatches between throttle and gear, and even slight lock-ups in the braking zones.
It’s as if Chen Xiangbei suddenly regressed into a novice!
Sawano Hiroyuki also saw these issues in the transmitted data, indeed exceeding the scope of circuit unfamiliarity, leaving him momentarily unsure how to respond.
Seeing this situation, Mizutani Sho hesitated for a moment and leaned forward to say, "Maybe Xiangbei-kun really isn’t adapting to the F3 race car."
