Chapter 103: Chapter 85: The First Professional Race (5K)_3
But so what?
Chinese athletes are often seen as introverted and low-key by outsiders, which gives off an impression of being easily bullied.
Chen Xiangbei doesn’t mind having a flashy and arrogant image; on the contrary, it saves him a lot of trouble. When someone tries to pick on an easy target, they’ll have to think twice about hitting a brick wall!
Besides, in the world of sports, arrogance isn’t about what you say, but about the achievements you have.
As long as you’re strong enough, what you say is the truth.
On the contrary, if you’re a rookie, even breathing is wrong.
Just as Segawa Hiroaki was about to ask something else, the Japanauto workers on the track blew their whistles, signaling that the qualifying race was about to start, and non-essential personnel, including team members, must leave the pit lane area.
Segawa Hiroaki showed a regretful expression at this. Following the style of China’s rookies, continuing the interview would surely create endless buzz!
At this moment, Sawano Hiroyuki approached, having watched the interview process just now.
To be honest, he didn’t quite agree with Chen Xiangbei’s remarks, even though they were true, as they could easily draw oneself into a whirlpool of public opinion.
But in a certain sense, this is also part of the growth process for a driver; only those who withstand denigration can bear praise.
"Xiangbei, good luck!"
Without saying much, Sawano Hiroyuki simply cheered for Chen Xiangbei.
"Xiangbei-kun, good luck!"
At the same time, members of the Honda Team also shouted words of encouragement to Chen Xiangbei.
In response to this scene, Chen Xiangbei smiled, lowered his helmet visor, and raised his thumbs high in reply.
The Fuji TV photographer on duty happened to broadcast this moment on the big screen.
Instantly, Liang Chi and Qin Lianjie began to understand why Chen Xiangbei wanted to form his own racing team.
In a certain sense, this is the power of teamwork!
"Ha, this guy has become much more flamboyant in Japan."
Liang Chi laughed and said, he took a different view from Sawano about the Japanese perspective, strongly agreeing with Chen Xiangbei’s transformation.
It’s known that this guy used to have an unsettlingly steady temperament, almost reaching the point where joy or anger wouldn’t show, making Liang Chi suspect he might be a "robot."
Now he knows how to be "arrogant", that’s nice!
"It’s alright, maybe he’s just that fast?"
Qin Lianjie replied, not feeling Chen Xiangbei was flamboyant, as speaking the truth is often mistaken for arrogance by outsiders.
"Brother, is Chen Xiangbei really that formidable?"
Qin Qiuyu curiously asked, as her brother rarely admired anyone, but he truly respected Chen Xiangbei.
"Very impressive, almost not human!"
When saying this, Qin Lianjie couldn’t help but recall that night when he saw the Wind-Fire Wheel on East Sea’s outer ring.
If he hadn’t witnessed it, he would never have imagined a car could drive like a Wind-Fire Wheel in his lifetime!
While they were chatting, the red digital screen above the pit lane showed exactly 15:00:00.
Three o’clock marks the beginning of the qualifying round, and the roar of engines in the pit lane abruptly exploded.
The default high RPM of racing engines paired with over twenty cars simultaneously revving up made the roar echo to the skies, immediately immersing nearly ten thousand spectators at the Suzuka Circuit into the racing atmosphere.
The Renault car at the front of the line drove out of the pit lane, followed closely by the ones behind.
Just as Chen Xiangbei initially predicted, even if you fight to line up at the front, you can’t directly start your flying lap without warming up your tires.
The standard warm-up techniques for Formula racing tires primarily fall into two categories: one involves crazy serpentine maneuvering on the track, using lane changes to evenly heat the inner and outer parts of the tires.
The other method is more aggressive, suitable for low track and tire temperatures.
It involves flooring the accelerator to induce brief tire slippage, "burning the tires" to quickly warm the rears, and alternatively accelerating then heavy braking to quickly warm the fronts through tire locking.
Both tire warm-up methods drastically increase tire temperatures more than normal serpentine moves.
But the corresponding risk is very high.
Burning tires means if you don’t control the throttle well, excessive tire wear could easily cause bursting while driving.
Tire locking is similar; it relies on hard friction with the ground to raise temperatures.
Leaving the P-room late, Chen Xiangbei settled in the mid-to-rear section of the pit lane. Watching the dense traffic of Renault cars ahead felt like rush hour, giving him a headache.
To avoid getting caught in traffic during his flying lap, Chen Xiangbei decided to adopt an aggressive approach for tire warming, meaning continuous heavy accelerating and braking to swiftly heat his front and rear tires simultaneously.
Amidst a swarm of serpentine-moving race cars, an "outlier" using brakes to warm tires naturally drew more attention, even the track broadcast cameras fixed on Chen Xiangbei’s No. 13 car.
Inside Fuji TV’s directs room, the hosts Nakajima Hideyuki and Tanaka Nobuaki were narrating this Renault Winter Tour race.
Seeing the frame the director cut to, they immediately chatted: "Nakajima, during Segawa’s track interview earlier, China’s rookie Chen Xiangbei displayed his confidence; it indeed appears so now."
"He’s using the highly challenging method of friction warming on the track, seems he’s ready to seize the lead and break away from the main group, advancing his flying lap."
Having been a Formula racing commentator for years, Tanaka Nobuaki instantly saw through Chen Xiangbei’s intention; the Chinese rookie doesn’t want to be blocked by the car in front during his flying lap.
"That’s right, friction warming indeed heats quicker, but also carries great risk, improper operation could easily result in hitting the wall."
Heavy acceleration not only easily causes tire wear but can also cause tail whip, leading to a tire warm-up lap wall impact.
Such occurrences are quite common; among F1 drivers, plenty are tire warm-up lap wall-hitting pros, Five Star Sports’ "Li Bing" once revealed that he crashed into a wall during tire warming in his Renault days.
Perhaps due to Nakajima Hideyuki’s jinx, upon seeing Chen Xiangbei’s maneuver on the track, other drivers were immediately inspired to imitate, attempting the friction warming method to seize the lead.
End result: one driver lost control after a few twists and the car crash into a nearby unlucky vehicle, resulting in red flags and retirement for both cars.
Witnessing this scene, Chen Xiangbei felt as if he’d hit a dog; all his work seemed wasted!
At the same time, he realized another issue, this level of competition, not everyone possesses the skill of a Hoshino Yoshi or Yamamoto Naoki.
Not only does he need to seize the championship, but he must guard against these "demons and monsters"!