Car Racing without Money-Chapter 291 - 135: Breakthrough Like "Enlightenment at Longchang" (Double Length)
On Monday night, Chen Xiangbei "walked" the track. Limited by the nighttime lighting conditions, his judgment of the corners relied more on the feel of the car.
During today’s practice session, the reason Chen Xiangbei was so slow at first was that he was using his eyes to observe the track details and reference points, then reinforcing his memory by repeating laps again and again!
F1 drivers have two ways to memorize a track. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
The first is through a simulator or real-world trial runs, relying on hundreds or thousands of practices until the entire track is imprinted in their minds, reaching a sensational level of familiarity where they could run the whole course even with eyes closed.
The Red Bull driver, Perez, once showcased during a promotional event, running the track blindfolded with his back to the screen.
That really achieved passing every corner without a millimeter’s deviation, turning the boast "I can drive F1 with my eyes closed" into reality!
If there is no way to get hundreds of thousands of practices, requiring a Formula driver to memorize a track in an extremely short time, just like Chen Xiangbei with only forty-five minutes of the practice session, then the second method must be adopted.
That is to look for reference points!
Yes, F1 drivers, many times, like learner drivers in driving schools, will look for obviously distinguished "objects" to use as reference points for braking or steering.
The famous three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet, was once invited by BMW to drive the Nurburgring North Loop, also known locally as the "Nurburgring" track.
Piquet is a Brazilian driver who had never been to Germany, let alone run the Nurburgring track, which was completely unknown to him.
Moreover, compared to the standard F1 tracks averaging about five kilometers, the Nurburgring track is 24 kilometers long, with various complex and changing curves and terrains, giving it the nickname "Green Hell."
As an invited guest, Piquet had no problem running for fun, but winning the race was almost impossible.
But as a three-time F1 world champion, Piquet naturally had his own honor and pride. It took him three days and the cost of a crashed BMW M1 supercar to forcibly memorize the 24-kilometer-long Nurburgring track and defeat a group of seasoned local professional drivers to win the championship.
The way Piquet achieved this was by memorizing every detail and reference point on the track.
For instance, roadside signs, guardrails, lamp posts, gaps in the wire mesh, etc.
However, this level may be enough for touring car races, but it is far from sufficient for precision-famous Formula street races.
Chen Xiangbei doesn’t dare claim he pursues millimeter-level precision, but at least the margin of error cannot exceed three centimeters, which requires more refined reference points on the track.
For instance, small pits on the road surface, cracks in the asphalt, or even stains on the curb white line!
Where exactly to brake and cut the line a meter in front of a small pit, or where to run the line and press against the asphalt cracks, how much speed to maintain at the curb white line stain to achieve extreme curb running without going off track.
Only by using these minute track reference points, continuously making micro-adjustments and challenging the brink of control, can Chen Xiangbei reach his extreme control standard.
Of course, achieving this is not easy. Not to mention memorizing so many detailed features.
Even simply seeing these reference points whiz past at speeds of over a hundred kilometers per hour is not easy, greatly testing the driver’s focus and concentration!
This is why Chen Xiangbei quickly returned to the hotel after the practice session.
He needed a quiet environment to recall dozens of track reference points, then compare them with Nakajima Ikki’s video to see if there were any mistakes.
As the old saying goes, street races have no margin for error, and Chen Xiangbei must get it all right!
For Chen Xiangbei’s state of "enlightenment," Odetto is very experienced. Back in the day, Schumacher was someone who quietly replayed scenarios in his mind. He specifically instructed the team members returning to the hotel not to disturb and give space.
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After a night passed, Chen Xiangbei spiritedly walked out of the room; his state was entirely different compared to before.
During the practice session phase, even if Chen Xiangbei didn’t show it, he was still under immense psychological pressure.
The unfamiliarity with the track, the adaptation to car control, the prospects of his career, and even the expectations of on-site supporters, all exerted pressure on Chen Xiangbei in an invisible way, telling him that losing this race was not an option.
But now, he felt he had already gained control over the East Ocean Circuit, with confidence and assurance brought by his skills!
The East Ocean Circuit on Saturday would be even more bustling, with official predictions stating that today’s audience number would exceed thirty thousand.
Chen Xiangbei’s explosive performance during the last lap of the practice session became a media hype gimmick. Hong Kong and Macau reporters, with the mindset of creating big news, used bold headlines to promote that a Chinese pole position driver would appear in the Grand Prix!
It wasn’t important whether Chen Xiangbei could actually get the pole position; anyway, the news had already gained its heat and exposure.
Unlike Friday, the team members didn’t leave early for the P-room, as the final car tuning was completed, and qualifying and the race had rules that prohibited changing settings, so going early had no meaning.
When Chen Xiangbei and his entourage arrived at the East Ocean Circuit, the scene could be described as "buzzing with excitement," with the entire area bursting with a dense crowd of spectators.
