Chapter 43: Chapter 40: You Really Are Afraid to Lose
"If it wasn’t you, then who else could it be?"
Zhang Zhicong was somewhat puzzled. Could it be that there really is such a thing as self-taught in this world?
"I don’t know. The kid himself says it’s talent."
Talent?
For a moment, Zhang Zhicong was at a loss for words. He had indeed seen talented drivers but never one at Chen Xiangbei’s level of talent.
"Old Zhang, can you understand now why I said this young man can create miracles?"
"Such racing talent is a miracle in itself!"
Liang Chi silently emphasized and then pulled a cigarette from his pocket, placing it in his mouth.
But just as he was about to light it, Zhang Zhicong snagged the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep inhale.
Zhang Zhicong now looked much like Liang Chi before. After experiencing failures in CFR2000 and Formula racing, he dared not have too much hope for other things, even if he could faintly sense Chen Xiangbei’s potential.
After turn 1 of the Haizhu International Circuit, turns 2 and 3 are very sharp, essentially resembling a long straight with a slight curve.
Carlaoquan had already observed Chen Xiangbei’s pursuit from his rearview mirror and, to be honest, he was deeply shocked at that moment.
He could accept Han Han overtaking in a bend, considering Han’s status as a CCC national champion and the mechanical advantage of professional racing over regular performance cars. Losing in a corner was normal.
However, the fact that Chen Xiangbei, driving a Subaru Impreza possibly inferior to his, could close the gap in a bend completely overturned his understanding.
Ordinary professional drivers couldn’t achieve this, yet a high school student could?
On the swift-moving track, Carlaoquan didn’t have much time to ponder.
Turns 2 and 3, taken at nearly full throttle, were ideal for exploiting the high horsepower advantage of the Mitsubishi EVO 6, and Carlaoquan had secretly increased the boost value during the start.
The current maximum horsepower of the Mitsubishi EVO 6 had surpassed 460 horsepower!
He needed to rely on these two high-speed bends to completely break away from Chen Xiangbei and close in on or surpass Han Han!
All three cars sped around the bend at over 200 km/h. The race direction did indeed follow Carlaoquan’s prediction as he closed in on the car ahead of Han Han, finding the right moment to overtake.
But at this moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of the rearview mirror, the blue-black Subaru Impreza hauntingly bit onto his car’s tail.
No way!
Carlaoquan almost couldn’t believe his eyes at that moment.
High-speed cornering isn’t as easy as it looks. Side tilt and lateral G-force at over 200 km/h can exert significant psychological pressure.
Even he was merely close to full throttle. Could Chen Xiangbei really be going full throttle around the bend?
No one could answer Carlaoquan’s doubts, but regardless of the reason, it was an undeniable fact that Chen Xiangbei had caught up to the tail.
Facing the pursuit from behind, Carlaoquan decisively abandoned the overtaking of Han Han, instead sharply changing lanes to block Chen Xiangbei’s entry into the bend, ensuring no matter what, this kid couldn’t overtake him.
For Carlaoquan’s action in stealing the entry line of the bend, Chen Xiangbei was mentally prepared.
After all, for a professional driver like Carlaoquan, not being able to overtake Han Han wasn’t embarrassing, but being overtaken by a high school student was indeed a bit embarrassing.
Chen Xiangbei decisively changed lanes, intending to brake late and overtake with a dive, then complete the overtake by crossing lines.
This was Hamilton’s early-day most aggressive overtaking method in the F1 arena, which Chen Xiangbei had always admired.
But this wasn’t the F1 arena, and Carlaoquan had little driver glory. Seeing Chen Xiangbei change lanes through the rearview mirror, he instantly realized the intention to overtake.
Immediately abandoning his own line through the bend, he followed and changed lanes, continuing to block in front of Chen Xiangbei’s car, just refusing to let him overtake!
No choice, Chen Xiangbei can only change lanes again to steal the entry line. Resultantly, Carlaoquan directly "drew a dragon" on the track, crazily snaking back and forth to block, showcasing a shameless posture.
"Carlaoquan’s continuous lane changing is somewhat too sly!"
Sitting on the stands, Cao An couldn’t help but complain. They, this group of street racers, often despised such tactics.
No matter what, Carlaoquan was a professional driver, racing against a high school student, and still "drawing dragons" on the track. It was truly degrading.
"An team, do you understand now why I said earlier that Carlaoquan was afraid?"
"He witnessed the race between Chen Xiangbei and me on Nanyun Mountain, knows this high school student’s real driving skills, subconsciously afraid of losing!"
Qin Lianjie’s expression was indeed calm. Before the run, he had already anticipated Carlaoquan’s psychological state.
The quality of the car doesn’t always equate to driving skill; the higher-level drivers can see the competitive value of Chen Xiangbei on the mountain path.
Why did Qin Lianjie admit defeat truly? Because he had the skill akin to a professional goalkeeper, clearly aware that Chen Xiangbei’s speed on Nanyun Mountain had reached a level that crushed him.
No matter how dissatisfied, the absolute difference in skill couldn’t change the outcome.
Even Carlaoquan’s driving skill level could see Chen Xiangbei’s power, prompting his actions on the current track.
Yet neither Qin Lianjie nor Carlaoquan anticipated that Chen Xiangbei’s driving skills were not only strong on the streets, but seemed even stronger when displayed on the track!
In a sense, this was a driver born for the track.
"With Chen Xiangbei’s skill, there’s no need to race with shining ten thousand. Why don’t you invite him to join our team, guaranteeing generous treatment!"
Hearing Cao An’s words, Qin Lianjie’s lips formed a slight smile.
"An team, do you think if Chen Xiangbei can outrun either Carlaoquan or Han Han today, the data analysts from the Volkswagen 222 Team would let such a good seed go?"
"What we can see, the team data analysts will see even clearer, unless Chen Xiangbei doesn’t want to race professionally."
Inviting Chen Xiangbei to join the Light Point Team had been on Qin Lianjie’s mind since the race with Shine Ten Thousand.
Now he had long given up.
The reason is simple: someone with Chen Xiangbei’s talent is not destined to belong in a street racing team like Light Point.
...
At the 4th bend on the track, under Carlaoquan’s continuous blocking maneuvers, Chen Xiangbei ultimately couldn’t find a suitable overtaking route through.
Actually, according to standard race rules, such continuous lane changes to block the car behind are not allowed. But this was an "entertainment race" without referees, and the Volkswagen 222 Team had no constraints over Carlaoquan, so he acted without restrictions.
However, Chen Xiangbei’s emotions remained stable. As a driver, never let anger control you on the track, as it could lead to irrational behaviors that affect driving performance.
Unless you reach the level of a super genius like Verstappen, you could "torpedo" opponents in one or two races and still chase the points in the later races.
Otherwise, it’s better to stay calm.
But being emotionally stable doesn’t mean swallowing pride. At this moment, Chen Xiangbei’s expression gradually turned icy.
The 6th and 7th bends of Haizhu International Raceway were nearly C-shaped combinations with large angles, belonging to a type of high-speed bend.
Chen Xiangbei had to complete overtaking Carlaoquan at this combination bend, otherwise, even if he finally surpassed Carlaoquan under continuous blockage, he wouldn’t be able to catch Han Han running ahead and taking advantage of the situation.
In this race, Chen Xiangbei’s opponent was never Carlaoquan; the person he aimed to beat was Han Han!