Chapter 107: Chapter 87: Asia’s True Genius
"Is this... pole position?"
Nakajima Hideyuki said this with an unsure tone.
He never thought that Kobayashi Kamui’s track record would be broken by a newcomer from China.
"No doubt, it’s pole position!"
Even though the qualifying session hadn’t ended yet, Tanaka Nobuaki had already drawn this conclusion.
Kobayashi Kamui’s talent is undisputed, not just anyone can easily break his track record.
Moreover, Yamamoto Naoki and Ooshima Kazuya have run the Suzuka Circuit countless times; if they had the ability to break the record, they would have done it already.
Unless there’s an extraordinary performance with a lap of a god!
Clearly, this chance is extremely slim.
Indeed, as Chen Xiangbei pulls away and with the final lap times communicated by the team, Ooshima Kazuya and Yamamoto Naoki are more shocked than motivated to chase.
"Yamamoto, PUSH!"
The command from the team engineer sounded in the helmet headphones; the qualifying session wasn’t over yet, while viewers and commentators could draw conclusions early, the drivers couldn’t give up in advance!
After the team issued the command, no reply came from Yamamoto Naoki, and the data monitoring on the screen showed the car wasn’t speeding up.
"What about Kobayashi Kamui’s lap record? The meaning of a record is to be broken! If the Chinese driver Chen Xiangbei can do it, so can you, Yamamoto!"
The race engineer encouraged loudly, having witnessed too many races and records being broken over the years.
Any top-tier driver makes a name by breaking numerous track records and crushing peers of the same age!
Kobayashi Kamui indeed deserves the title of Japan’s genius youth, ranking among the top even in Asia. But in Europe, full of strong competitors, he doesn’t count for much.
If Yamamoto Naoki’s confidence shatters even here, even if he eventually secures a ticket to race in Europe, he will be overwhelmingly defeated sooner or later.
After all, the real champions are all in Europe; Japanese or Asian star drivers are merely the minimum threshold to compete alongside them!
"Roger that."
Finally, Yamamoto Naoki’s response came through the radio, and the Guoguang Team’s race engineer was relieved.
As long as Yamamoto Naoki can stabilize his mindset and surpass himself, he can become stronger!
Time was ticking away; as the qualifying session countdown ended, the pole position undoubtedly fell to Chen Xiangbei.
Despite Yamamoto Naoki giving his all and achieving his best time, he was still 0.2 seconds behind Chen Xiangbei.
Moreover, while the Guoguang Team’s support driver couldn’t block Chen Xiangbei, they successfully obstructed Ooshima Kazuya, leaving him only in fourth place for qualifying.
By then, Chen Xiangbei had already driven the car back to the pits, replenishing with a sports drink and praised, "Yamamoto Naoki ran well, he almost broke Kobayashi Kamui’s track record by a millisecond."
"You still have the mood to praise your opponent?"
Mizutani Sho replied with a laugh and cry, having seen bold newcomers but never one with emotional stability like Chen Xiangbei.
Just now, for a moment, Mizutani Sho’s heart was in his throat, fearing that Yamamoto Naoki might snatch the pole position.
After all, a 0.2-second gap is almost indiscernible to the naked eye. Yet Chen Xiangbei showed no change in expression and even had the leisure to compliment his opponent’s lap time. Was he that confident?
Chen Xiangbei smiled in response, "Good run merits a compliment."
Rather than worrying about a strong opponent, Chen Xiangbei is more concerned about a weak one, as a competition without challenges is uninteresting.
Facing strong opponents, that’s what makes oneself grow stronger!
"Don’t celebrate too soon, the real test is the race day."
Sawano Hiroyuki remarked, sensing Chen Xiangbei was somewhat ’complacent.’
The qualifying didn’t have strong pursuits or blocking, and Chen Xiangbei’s surprising timing for overtaking allowed him to easily jump to the front, completing an unobstructed flying lap.
Race day differs entirely from qualifying; it’s not about the fastest lap but the final ranking.
Tire wear, fuel consumption, team strategies, and driver cooperation, all introduce variables in the race results.
More importantly, the Honda Racing Academy only has one car in this race, while other teams have two to three cars, enabling them to team up in blocking Chen Xiangbei.
"Yes, I’m aware."
Chen Xiangbei nodded without saying more.
Underestimate the opponent strategically, respect them tactically; that’s the mindset he should maintain.
In the Guoguang Team’s pits, during the half-hour rest between qualifying and the race, the race engineer was laying out tactics.
Yamamoto Naoki ranked second in qualifying, Mukai Takuma ranked third.
The pole position start at Suzuka is on the left side of the track, but the first turn is a right-hander, meaning you can directly take the outer cutting line at the start, gaining a significant entrance advantage.
Chen Xiangbei has demonstrated his absolute speed in qualifying, without the advantage of an undercut strategy in the race. If the Chinese kid leads easily at the front, it’s challenging to overtake him.
Since that’s the case, the only choice is a daring strategy!
"Yamamoto, after the start, do not try to take the bend line; go for the inner extreme late braking and block Chen Xiangbei’s cutting line at Turn 1."
Hearing the tactical arrangement from the race engineer, Yamamoto Naoki frowned, "But the entry speed will be too fast; I will certainly understeer and go off."