CHAPTER 83: CHAPTER 76: SHOWCASING ABSOLUTE RAW STRENGTH

"Watanabe-kun, is there any issue with the track monitoring equipment?"

When Matsuboto Brown asked this question, his voice had a slight tremble.

To be honest, the calm tone and confident demeanor of Chen Xiangbei agreeing to allow five seconds made him feel an inexplicable sense of crisis for a moment.

But reason and logic told Matsuboto Brown that there was no possibility of losing.

After all, in the entire Asian region over the past decade, only one Sato Takuma has emerged, and Kobayashi Kamui is currently only considered a third driver.

Casually allowing five seconds, does the Chinese guy think he has F1-level potential?

But now the lap time is right in front of him, and no matter how much Matsuboto Brown doesn’t want to believe it, he cannot deny this fact.

The only hope is to pin on the track equipment malfunction.

Facing Matsuboto Brown’s inquiry, Watanabe Hideyuki’s face appeared quite complicated, not knowing how to answer.

Emotionally, he naturally leaned towards Matsuboto Brown, having interacted for almost a month; this mixed-race driver, apart from being a bit arrogant, didn’t have major issues in other aspects.

After all, being sixteen and defeating a group of opponents to become a standout among peers, some youthful arrogance is quite normal.

However, the recent test indicated that the monitoring equipment was normal, which meant Chen Xiangbei indeed clocked a lap time of 2:22.417.

"Matsuboto, the track equipment has no issues."

Mizutani Sho knew Watanabe Hideyuki had a good relationship with Matsuboto Brown, and since he couldn’t say it, it was better for him to respond.

Yet, this answer set the P-room into a commotion.

"How could the Chinese guy be faster than Matsuboto’s fastest lap on the first try?"

"Having lost the bet, would Matsuboto Brown really quit the racing academy?"

"Even if he doesn’t quit, it would not make sense to stay, or perhaps there’s no need to stay anymore."

Hearing this from a fellow student, other trainees showed disheartened expressions.

The reason these new trainees came for training was primarily to compete for a spot in the Renault Winter Tour and the chance to participate in higher-level competitions in Europe.

Even if Matsuboto Brown was slightly stronger, it was still within their comprehension; it’s not unusual in karting or entry-level formula for a highly talented individual to shine later on.

However, Chen Xiangbei’s lap time of 2:22 overturned ordinary trainees’ understanding, reaching an unbeatable level!

"Have you ever considered that Chen Xiangbei’s fastest lap might possibly break Kobayashi-kun’s Renault track record?"

At this point, another trainee voiced this suspicion.

To motivate this batch of trainees, Sawano Hiroyuki set the goal to break Kobayashi Kamui’s track record, engraving the number 2:05.641 in their minds.

Chen Xiangbei ran 2:22 on the first lap, and with a normal lap time improvement, the next two laps could very likely enter the 2:20 range, already comparable to Kobayashi Kamui’s track record.

Faced with this issue, everyone at the track exchanged glances, none willing to admit the thought that popped into their minds.

On the track, Chen Xiangbei continued to speed along, narrowly maneuvering the notorious turn 12, making this lap slightly conservative on some waterlogged downhill sections.

Mizutani Sho’s guess was correct, Chen Xiangbei was indeed familiar with the Suzuka Circuit’s elevations, knowing which uphill sections were dry and which downhill sections were slippery.

He dared to take corners at a speed of 100km/h, knowing that this turn followed the middle line with buffer space on both sides of the shoulder.

However, the slipperiness of the track exceeded Chen Xiangbei’s expectations, explaining why Matsuboto Brown was so cautious and conservative on his first lap. Ultimately, narrowly making it through turn 12 had a lucky element in a sense.

Nonetheless, in formula racing, luck is also a form of skill.

Without Chen Xiangbei’s calm and correct handling, the car would have been unable to skim to the relatively dry uphill section, thus restoring crucial traction at the last moment.

Now the Honda P-room fell into complete silence, with everyone harboring only one thought—how fast would Chen Xiangbei run the second lap?

Sawano Hiroyuki kept his eyes fixed on the wall-mounted screen, showing Chen Xiangbei’s line through every turn.

It was evident that in this lap, Chen Xiangbei’s lines were more precise and smooth, always finding the best point for cutting the turn.

However, in some high-speed turns, the data showed a slight decrease in maximum rear speed for the Renault Formula Racing Car.

This indicated that Chen Xiangbei was using technique to gain speed, rather than charging in aggressively like the first lap to pursue extremes!

"Amazing, this lap the Chinese newcomer showcased his hard skills."

Mizutani Sho, acting as a race engineer, also noticed Chen Xiangbei’s control essence. He finally put aside his stereotypes and couldn’t help but praise.

If in the previous lap, many of Chen Xiangbei’s turns involved uncertain "gambling" factors,

then in this lap, Chen Xiangbei’s state could be summed up with the word "composed." He gradually mastered the rainy Suzuka Circuit’s traits, maintaining speed while minimizing the risk of losing control.

Additionally, Mizutani Sho noticed the perfect coordination between throttle and gear in the track monitoring data, almost a delight to watch.

He hadn’t seen a trainee with such detailed and precise operations for a long time, with the car engine’s RPM displayed on the data graph, almost maintaining a straight line without fluctuations.

"It’s indeed impressive."

Sawano Hiroyuki nodded in agreement as he too observed the performance data from the race car monitors.

In the midst of these eagerly anticipating gazes, as Chen Xiangbei crossed the finish line once again, the lap time on the computer screen stopped at 2 minutes 20.913 seconds.

"Nani, can the lap time still improve by two seconds?"

Someone exclaimed in surprise, and the pit room instantly erupted into a commotion.

Many students couldn’t appreciate the finesse of Chen Xiangbei’s cornering lines, basing their judgment of speed more on top tail speed.

Some believed that even if Chen Xiangbei’s top speed had decreased, that lap couldn’t have been more than one second faster.

After all, improving by one second on a lap is already an exaggerated number, especially since Chen Xiangbei’s first lap wasn’t slow to begin with.

Yet Chen Xiangbei forcefully pushed it to 2 minutes 20 seconds, just one step away from breaking through!

Matsuboto Brown’s face turned ashen upon seeing this number, his former pride and arrogance thoroughly shattered at this moment.

He knew very clearly that even if he hadn’t run off the track on his third lap, the improvement he could achieve would only be around one second, and he would still be crushed by Chen Xiangbei’s lap.

A five-second lead is a gap sufficient to shatter one’s confidence, proving that their talent and strength aren’t even on the same level.

"Director Sawano, what’s my fastest lap time?"

At this moment, Sawano Hiroyuki heard Chen Xiangbei’s questioning voice through his earpiece.

"2 minutes 20.913 seconds."

Sawano Hiroyuki initially thought that telling Chen Xiangbei this lap time would bring cheer and excitement from the other end.

Yet he didn’t expect to hear Chen Xiangbei calmly asking, "Director Sawano, how’s the stability in all aspects of the car? I’m planning to push for another lap."

What?

The Honda engineer, upon hearing this through the earpiece, showed a look of surprise.

At just over 2 minutes 20 seconds, as a rookie, is Chen Xiangbei still not satisfied? Does he plan to push under 2 minutes 20 seconds?

To this, Sawano Hiroyuki didn’t say much, merely signaling race engineer Mizutani Sho with his eyes.

"Chen Xiangbei, your car’s performance is all normal, you can PUSH."

"Roger that."

After saying this, Chen Xiangbei released the talk button on the steering wheel, then stepped on the accelerator to speed up.

Having run two laps on the Suzuka Circuit, he had completely matched the real conditions with the simulator map in his mind. In a sense, this ability is a necessary talent for former F1 drivers!

It’s important to know that before the FIA had a budget cap in place, to ensure the balance of strength among teams, they strictly limited F1 drivers’ real track practice, only allowing a few days of on-track driving during the winter training period each year.

This led to many GP2 drivers and F1 rookies having hardly ever touched an F1 car, let alone trained on tracks, with only basic racing simulator experience.

But as an F1 driver, you are destined to showcase strength beyond ordinary understanding; in the brief practice sessions during Grand Prix weekends, you must fully grasp the car’s performance and track characteristics.

Drivers unable to achieve this inevitably get eliminated and can’t establish themselves in the paddock.

In his previous life, Chen Xiangbei had also trained this way!

The Renault Formula Racing Car roared around the Suzuka Circuit, where if Chen Xiangbei’s first lap was aggressive, the second lap was precise.

Then the third lap embodied the ultimate combination of aggressiveness and precision!

The roar of the engine echoed through the skies, signifying that Chen Xiangbei had reached near full throttle many times. Right in front of him now was the most famous 130R corner at Suzuka.

In the previous two laps, Chen Xiangbei had been somewhat cautious while taking this corner, given the wet and slippery track from the rain, plus the fact that after the 130R corner lies a nearly 90-degree right-hander.

If braking isn’t enough at full throttle, there’s a high chance he would fly off the track.

But this time, Chen Xiangbei wanted to try and experience taking the 130R corner full throttle.

"Director Sawano, the Chinese rookie is still accelerating; he likely intends to take the 130R corner full throttle."

The race car data on the screen in the pit room already showed Chen Xiangbei at full throttle, and with the 130R left-hand bend ahead, it was clear what he intended to do.

"In such rainy track conditions, he wants to go full throttle?"

At this moment, Director Sawano Hiroyuki finally voiced his doubt.

Chen Xiangbei had already found out his lap time, becoming the victor in this bet, and there was no need for him to take the risk of attempting a full-throttle 130R.

Even though this corner had been modified several times to expand the run-off area for driver safety, it still couldn’t handle the high speed of 300 km/h at full throttle.

Even though the Renault Formula Racing Car is much slower, with a top speed of only 260 km/h, its aerodynamic and mechanical downforce can’t compare to F1 cars.

If any reason must be found, Sawano Hiroyuki suspected that this lap by Chen Xiangbei was an attempt to challenge Kobayashi Kamui’s track record!