Car Racing without Money

It's important to know that although the Donington Park Circuit hasn't hosted any more F1 Grand Prix races, that doesn't mean it's shut down or abandoned.

On the contrary, over the years, many touring car, motorcycle, and regional F3 events, like the British F3 Championship, have chosen to be held at Donington Park Circuit due to its cheaper venue fees.

The track layout is not set in stone; it adjusts its corners, buffer zones, lengths, road surface material, etc., according to the type of race.

The track data that Odetto provided was entirely outdated, serving only as a reference.

What was more troubling was that when Chen Xiangbei used a player to watch those discs, he found that the content was only footage from the 1993 F1 Driver race.

For the current Chen Xiangbei, simple race footage doesn't have much meaning in terms of learning and reference. Not to mention changes in track layout, just the performance gap between the Renault Formula and F1 is an astronomical difference, so how could the same cornering and lines be used?

Valuable track data should be created by a race engineer or data analyst. According to different database archives, it should indicate the best braking points, normal racing lines, overtaking routes, defensive strategies, etc.

Just like the Silverstone Circuit data that Odetto provided earlier.

This current one does not meet the practical standards, and the valuable information Chen Xiangbei can gather from it is limited.

Even if there is any, it would have to be gradually extracted by himself.

To the point where Chen Xiangbei started to wonder, was it because Odetto was getting old that he gave him the wrong material?

Just as Chen Xiangbei was puzzled, Kobayashi Shuji happened to come to the team meeting room, and from the discs in his hands, it could be guessed that he also intended to play the contents from the discs.

After all, they were both Super Dream drivers, and it was unlikely that Odetto favored one over the other, as two sets of track data were prepared.

Seeing the screen on the projector and then glancing at the confused expression on Chen Xiangbei's face, Kobayashi Shuji instantly understood what was going on, as both of them encountered the same issue.

Since that was the case, the footage on the discs wasn't worth much viewing, and Kobayashi Shuji immediately turned to leave.

However, just as he reached the door, Kobayashi Shuji hesitated for a moment, took out a small notebook from his pocket, and tossed it directly to Chen Xiangbei.

On the other side, Chen Xiangbei almost instinctively caught it, then looked at Kobayashi Shuji with a face full of confusion.

"Donington Park Circuit isn't included in the F1 calendar, and unless it's specifically collected, the newly established F1 teams in recent years don't have data archives of this track, and the same goes for Super Aguri."

"I was once trained at Donington Park Circuit, where the Honda F1 Racing Department specially provided engineers to inform about the track characteristics and tuning strategies, all of which were recorded in the notebook."

"If you're willing to trust it, you can have a look."

After saying this, Kobayashi Shuji walked out of the meeting room.

In the field of formula racing, the idea that teammates are often the biggest opponents is generally not wrong.

But there's a precondition: being a threat to a teammate's strength!

Kobayashi Shuji had already realized the huge gap between him and Chen Xiangbei, making it impossible for them to become rivals, at least at the current stage.

Of course, not being opponents doesn't necessarily mean there's a camaraderie among teammates.

The reason he hesitated for a moment to offer help was because Chen Xiangbei's small gesture on the way back made Kobayashi Shuji feel a sense of goodwill and respect.

Many times, people are like this: it's better to give help in difficult times than to add to one's success.

Although Chen Xiangbei just handed him a tissue, for Kobayashi Shuji, it was already considered a great comfort.

At least the opponent, as a victor in competition, didn't mock him, the "crying" loser.

Watching Kobayashi Shuji's departing figure, Chen Xiangbei was mostly puzzled; could this guy actually have a warm heart?

Flipping open the notebook at will, data records of the Donington Park Circuit were recorded in English, detailing the best braking points for each corner, tips on cornering lines, gear shift numbers, and so on, which could be described as meticulous.

Moreover, it also included tuning plans from the Honda database, such as using a medium-high downforce similar to the Silverstone Circuit to deal with the airflow turbulence caused by the track's high-speed corners and road surface irregularities.

Seeing these, Chen Xiangbei's expression gradually shifted from surprise to awe, and then to a bit of sentimentality.

Indeed, behind every genius is untold hard work.

Towards evening, Odetto led team members back to the Super Dream Base, with many showing exhaustion on their faces.

The moment he saw Chen Xiangbei, he directly asked, "Did you review the track data?"

"Yes, but it felt a bit outdated."

Chen Xiangbei replied tactfully.

"Yeah, it's outdated data."

Odetto, compared to Chen Xiangbei's tactfulness, admitted it frankly without any concealment.

"You knew it was outdated data, yet you wanted me to memorize it all within five days?"

"Any problem with that?"

Odetto casually asked back.

"The problem is that it can't be used."

Now it was Chen Xiangbei's turn to be surprised; what's the point of memorizing useless data within five days?

Yet at this time, Odetto shook his head and said, "Bei, you're mistaking a concept. Memorizing track data and driver lines isn't for you to imitate, but to learn the essence within."