Chapter 105: Chapter 86: Pole Position of the Track Record (5K)
Chen Xiangbei saw the second tier and even the cars further back closing in through his rearview mirror. He slammed the accelerator, shifting gears frantically to increase speed, and with a quicker cornering speed, he left the driver in fourth place behind him.
[Is that the start?]
The driver in second place was Yamamoto Naoki from Guoguang Team. Since Chen Xiangbei overtook and joined the first tier, he had been occasionally checking the rearview mirror to observe his opponent’s movements.
Yamamoto Naoki had personally witnessed Chen Xiangbei’s performance on the track and knew this rookie driver was strong.
But what really made him feel threatened was the track video and data sent by Matsuboto Brown.
He had never imagined that a rookie driver from China could run under 2 minutes and 20 seconds on the wet Suzuka Circuit.
More shocking was the news that Chen Xiangbei had already broken Kobayashi Kamui’s track record.
That’s none other than Mr. Kobayashi, revered as Japan’s teenage prodigy!
Yamamoto Naoki wasn’t a blindly arrogant driver; upon realizing Chen Xiangbei’s strength, he immediately analyzed his opponent’s habits and driving characteristics based on track video and data to find a way to counter.
He discovered that Chen Xiangbei was very aggressive in style, even when there was apparent sliding in corners requiring constant corrections to save the car, the Chinese rookie still wouldn’t slow down, but rather enjoyed the sensation of controlling "out of control."
Being aggressive often means increased risk, like now with tire temperatures not being optimal, he prepared to overtake early and start his flying lap.
"Mukai, speed up and overtake Ooshima Kazuya, let him block for us."
Compared to Chen Xiangbei, Yamamoto Naoki was much more familiar with the participating drivers, especially well-known ones like Ooshima Kazuya.
A large group of them had been competing since their karting days all the way to the Renault Winter Tour.
Yamamoto Naoki knew that Ooshima Kazuya was focusing all his energy on the Japan Super Endurance Series, so he surely wouldn’t know much about this newly emerging Chinese driver.
Getting them to hinder each other while he reaped the benefits!
Following the instructions, Mukai Takuma immediately sped up and overtook the lead car, and then Yamamoto Naoki roared past.
Ooshima Kazuya was completely unprepared for this unexpected situation, feeling more puzzled than anything.
It’s known in lower-level Formula racing that to achieve better lap times during qualifying, many experienced drivers often wouldn’t rush to speed up and take the lead even after the warm-up lap reaches the optimal tire condition temperature.
They wait for others to go full speed, and then follow behind to slipstream!
In motorsport, during high-speed driving, a vacuum is created behind the car, and once the following car enters this area, air resistance drastically reduces, significantly boosting the car speed.
Qualifying is about the fastest lap time, not the rank of overtaking others.
As long as you can catch the slipstream of the car in front at the right moment, you can still lead in lap time even if the speeds of the two cars are similar otherwise.
A famous penalty once occurred in F3 where there were a total of 34 cars participating in qualifying, and everyone was hoping others would start first to catch the slipstream, which led to a choke.
So the circuit presented a bizarre scene with F3 cars slowing down, competing to fall further behind.
After this qualifying ended, the event penalized a staggering 18 drivers, creating a temporary spectacle...
"Ooshima, speed up, catch up with the car ahead’s slipstream, don’t let the Chinese Kid catch up!"
The urgent instructions from the team came through the earpiece, leaving Ooshima Kazuya even more confused.
What exactly is happening, it’s only the second lap of qualifying, why worry about the Chinese Kid catching up?
Facing such illogical scenarios and instructions, Ooshima Kazuya felt like his decade of racing had been for nothing, as he was getting more confused about the current Renault Formula race.
But the team’s instructions were already given, even if he didn’t understand he had to follow them, questioning happens once you return to the P room post-race.
Ooshima Kazuya hit the gas, just as the car was accelerating, a car zoomed past beside him, chasing the two further ahead Guoguang Team Renault cars.
From the conspicuous number 13 on the car’s front, Ooshima Kazuya knew it was the Chinese driver.
This kid lacks race experience, is he treating qualifying like a real race?
[Oh no.]
The Toyota Team’s race engineer saw this scene and worry appeared on his face.
Just now Fuji TV broke sensational news again, Chen Xiangbei’s fastest lap on Suzuka Circuit had already broken Kobayashi Kamui’s lap record.
The news came from the same Honda Racing Academy source and even included a blurry photo of the lap time on the monitor screen.
But the white lap time digits were still clearly discernible.
minutes 05 seconds 135!
This news sparked intense debate, even the two commentators in the studio held different views.
Nakajima Hideyuki thought it impossible; either the photo was edited with Photoshop, or the lap time wasn’t created by Chen Xiangbei or Renault cars.
Tanaka Nobuaki believed that all signs indicated that this lap time is likely real.
On one hand, the Honda Racing Academy’s reputation is well-established; how much money must a Chinese driver have to purchase enrollment and entry slots?
On the other hand, none of the academy students who disclosed Chen Xiangbei’s unfair competition came forward to deny it.