Car Racing without Money

"Turn 8 right-hand turn and Turn 9 left-hand turn are a continuous S-combination. Light brake to adjust speed and stick to the right side to enter the turn. Be mindful of your angle and racing line, as it's common here for drivers to go side by side battling for the Turn 9 entrance line."

"To avoid this situation, you need to use the outer curb to widen your line, increase your cornering speed, and then go full throttle on the uphill straight after exiting Turn 9."

"Got it? Full throttle!"

Through the headset came Odetto's "roar." What kind of demeanor he had back when he was an F1 team leader, Chen Xiangbei did not know.

But he was well aware that after Odetto became the Super Dream Team Leader, most of the time, he would exert only about sixty to seventy percent of his effort.

Having witnessed the melee in the "Domain of the Gods," lower-level formula racing indeed looks like child's play.

In a sense, this descriptor isn't derogatory. The average age of Renault Formula Junior drivers is around sixteen, which is considered underage in most countries, except for the older Chinese driver, Chen Xiangbei.

This time, Odetto started to unleash his power. He needed to improve Chen Xiangbei's lap time and driving skills in the shortest time possible!

There was no response from Chen Xiangbei to this command, as his concentration was so high that he couldn't afford to pay attention to the buttons on the steering wheel.

S-curves are among the most common corners for drivers, and Chen Xiangbei is incredibly familiar with this racing line. The technical key is that between the two turns, one must quickly adjust the steering angle to maintain the car's absolute balance.

The problem is that Odetto's demand for speed is so high it almost maxes out, even exceeds, the grip limit of this Renault car, rendering many of Chen Xiangbei's experienced racing lines unusable.

The reason Odetto emphasizes speed is that in terms of track familiarity and racing lines, even if Chen Xiangbei had the talents of Senna and Schumacher, he couldn't achieve in a few days what others have honed for years.

Driving a standard-powered spec car and not outperforming the opponent with conventional lines, all you can do is keep the throttle open longer, brake later, and drive faster!

From a mere few kilometers of top speed, squeeze out a few hundredths of a second lead, accumulating to reach the top of the leaderboard.

The Renault car sped through the S-combination turns, and with speed beyond the grip limit, Chen Xiangbei almost constantly felt the car was "drifting."

But this time, Chen Xiangbei's car did not lose control. He performed a magnificent racing line with his excellent control.

"Beautiful!"

Sawano Hiroyuki clenched his fist and cheered internally for Chen Xiangbei.

As a double champion in Japan's top events, he knows well how "overburdened" this Renault car is on the track.

Chen Xiangbei's cornering speed and racing line are not just challenging his own limits but also pushing the mechanical limits of this car.

The Chinese Kid held up under pressure, exceeding expectations in some ways!

Meanwhile, Odetto quietly breathed a sigh of relief while no one noticed. He understood more than anyone how difficult the commands he issued were, entirely beyond the scope of a Renault Formula driver's level.

But the problem is, to win the championship, you have to crush your opponents.

To step into the F1 hall, you must crush the "masses" at the same level.

For the next few corners, Odetto didn't issue any extreme challenge commands, allowing Chen Xiangbei to perform freely.

The reason is simple: Odetto wants to inspire Chen Xiangbei's potential, not send this Chinese kid to his death.

The current grip level of the tires was enough to safely go through the upcoming curves, already partly due to luck. It's impossible for Chen Xiangbei to save the car on every corner.

If the driver can feel where the limit boundary of the track is, then that's meeting Odetto's current standard.

Soon, Chen Xiangbei completed the first lap, using his dynamic start to push into the second lap.

Data engineer Mizutani Sho didn't disclose the lap time, as the multiple instances of sliding intervention meant the lap time could only be described as unbearable to look at. The second lap was the real timed lap.

However, Mizutani Sho didn't have high expectations for how fast the second lap could be.

Excessive tire wear was already insufficient for a full PUSH, as the price of aggression was burning out a new set of tires in one lap.

This is why the cost of formula racing is astronomically high. Let loose in training to push lap times, the cost of tires alone per lap can reach eight thousand, not counting the various fluid losses and labor costs.

Chen Xiangbei also understood that track sliding caused more tire wear than initially planned. The second lap would not be as aggressively hard-braking, with a comparatively normal driving style.

The short track, just over three kilometers long, can be completed in the blink of an eye.

When the Renault roared past the starting line, Chen Xiangbei immediately inquired with the team, "How long was that last lap?"

"1 minute 09 seconds 976."

Through the headset came Mizutani Sho's reply.

"So slow?"

Chen Xiangbei asked in surprise, knowing that this lap wasn't going to be fast, but he hadn't expected it to be over 0.5 seconds slower than estimated!

The current pole position record at Donington Park Circuit is held by an Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo, who clocked a lap time of 1 minute 08 seconds 433.

That's right, this Ricciardo is not someone else with the same name. He is the very same "big tooth" Ricciardo who later became a Red Bull Driver and gained considerable popularity within the paddock.

Additionally, the "old acquaintance" holding the track record at Donington Park during this era isn't just Ricciardo. Another driver from the future Red Bull Racing Team, from Mexico, Perez, also clocked an F3 pole position record here in 2007.