Chapter 84: Chapter 77: Japan’s Hero Nakajima Goro
Within the 130R corner, Chen Xiangbei entered at an almost insane speed, the extreme lateral G-force at 260 km/h directly pressed his body to the left side.
Even though the mechanical quality of this Renault car far surpassed that of the CFR2000 at the Huasae base, it still couldn’t withstand the tilting brought by such extreme speed.
Chen Xiangbei could vaguely feel the entire car unable to suppress the slide, tire grip had already reached its limit at this speed.
Facing this situation full of pressure and challenge, Chen Xiangbei still did not let go of the accelerator with his right foot. He firmly believed his driving skills could control the ’uncontrolled’, just as he had thrillingly maneuvered countless turns on the track before.
As long as you want to win on the track, there is no such thing as absolute safety. Even if it means broken bones, there’s no slowing down, this is Chen Xiangbei’s motto as a driver!
Everyone in the pit held their breath, watching Chen Xiangbei take the 130R turn at full throttle. As the Renault car roared past the apex, many instinctively let out a long breath, meaning the full-throttle challenge of the turn was successful.
Seeing this scene, even Watanabe Hideyuki, the chief engineer who least favored Chen Xiangbei, couldn’t help but say, "Director Sawano, I think this lap by the Chinese newcomer should have broken into 2 minutes and 20 seconds."
"It’s not should have, it definitely broke in."
Mizutani Sho gave a definite answer in advance, with such speed, there’s no reason it couldn’t be faster by 1 second.
The 130R corner is the third to last turn at Suzuka Circuit, and almost as Mizutani Sho’s words fell, the computer screen displayed Chen Xiangbei’s final lap time.
minutes 19.336 seconds.
The Chinese newcomer really broke into the 2-minute-20-second mark!
At this moment, almost every Honda Academy engineer watching revealed a look of shock on their faces.
Although this single lap speed is not the fastest 2 minutes 5.641 seconds for the Renault car at Suzuka Circuit.
They knew inside that the value of this lap time was almost comparable to Kobayashi Kamui’s dry track record.
Or, to put it more directly.
If Chen Xiangbei could run a lap time of 2 minutes 19.336 seconds in the rain, then he must be able to run close to or even surpass a lap time of 2 minutes 5.641 seconds on a dry track.
Conversely, Kobayashi Kamui may not be able to achieve that in the rain.
Being a Chinese newcomer running the Suzuka Circuit for the first time, yet able to rival the genius boy of the Japanese racing world, it’s something hardly anyone would believe!
After passing the start/finish timing point on the track, Chen Xiangbei directly drove the Renault car back to the pit lane. As soon as he parked the car at the pit entrance, the Honda Academy technicians professionally gathered around to service and inspect the car.
Among them, there was even a young technician who gave Chen Xiangbei a thumbs-up and said, "Xiangbei-kun, you’re the strongest student I’ve ever seen!"
The strongest student?
Chen Xiangbei smiled after hearing it and politely replied with a thank you.
After stepping out of the cockpit, thanks to the physical training at the Huasae base, his physical fitness had significantly improved, at least he wouldn’t be exhausted after a few high-intensity laps like before.
But facing the high-G pressure on the track, Chen Xiangbei still found it somewhat strenuous; physical training is a long process.
After removing his helmet and walking into the pit, dozens of eyes simultaneously turned toward him, with varied expressions yet no one spoke.
This situation felt somewhat "eerie" to Chen Xiangbei until Sawano Hiroyuki approached him, extended his hand, and said, "Congratulations Chen Xiangbei, welcome to the Honda Suzuka Driver Academy."
With Sawano Hiroyuki’s words, a round of warm applause erupted in the pit. It was not only praise for Chen Xiangbei’s technique but also a salute to his courage.
Full throttle through the 130R corner at Suzuka Circuit has always been a symbol of becoming a driver, let alone in the rain.
"Thank you for the recognition, Director Sawano."
Chen Xiangbei said with a gracious smile as he shook hands.
"You are very special."
Sawano Hiroyuki responded. He had never seen a rookie perform with such composure in such situations as Chen Xiangbei.
In addition to Chen Xiangbei’s superb wet driving skills and incredible familiarity with the Suzuka Circuit layout, it all showcased that he was not an ordinary rookie driver.
For Sawano Hiroyuki’s comment, Chen Xiangbei maintained his smile and did not offer any explanation.
Seeing this, Sawano Hiroyuki did not dwell on the issue, but instead, asked, "Don’t you want to know your final lap time?"
"It should have been within 2 minutes and 20 seconds."
This time Chen Xiangbei answered, feeling quite confident in his lap time prediction.
"That’s right, you achieved a fastest lap of 2 minutes 19.336 seconds."
"Not bad."
[Just not bad?]
Sawano Hiroyuki’s eyes revealed a hint of deeper meaning, it seemed he needed to have a chat with Miyamoto Shigeru in China to understand this Chinese kid’s background better.
"Mizutani Sho, take Chen Xiangbei to sign the student contract."
"Yes, Director Sawano."
Mizutani Sho responded, then led Chen Xiangbei to the conference hall.
Watching their backs fade into the distance, Sawano Hiroyuki turned and set his eyes on Matsuboto Brown, saying with a blank expression, "Matsuboto, go to the principal’s office and terminate the student contract."
"Director Sawano, I..."
Matsuboto Brown almost pleaded with a choked voice upon hearing this.
Truthfully, even at this point, he hadn’t fully accepted the reality.
He only taunted a Chinese rookie a few times, behavior quite common among young people. Does it really warrant reaching the point of leaving the racing academy?
Only before Matsuboto Brown could voice his words of plea, Sawano Hiroyuki shook his head and interrupted, "Matsuboto, accept defeat gracefully, so you can have the dignity to win it back next time."
"As a driver, don’t be unable to handle defeat."
Regarding Matsuboto Brown, Sawano Hiroyuki held no prejudice; on the contrary, he had always seen potential in him, considering him a promising new student.
But a loss is a loss, and a driver who cannot keep their promises will not earn the respect of others.
Even if one wants to wash away the shame, it shouldn’t be done by staying in this way, but rather by winning back on the track in the future!
Hearing these words, coupled with the impression of Sawano Hiroyuki’s rigid seriousness, Matsuboto Brown realized he had no room for pleas, and his mindset shifted from hoping for "forgiveness" to becoming angry and embarrassed.
He turned and left in a huff, not even bothering to put on the façade of the most common hypocritical courtesy he learned in Japan.
Seeing this situation, even the usually "cold" Sawano Hiroyuki secretly sighed, feeling far more disappointed than angry.
...
In the Honda Conference Hall, Mizutani Sho handed a student contract to Chen Xiangbei, letting him look through the terms in detail before deciding whether to sign.
The junior student contract, since it does not involve sharing commercial interests, is mostly very straightforward; it’s just about clarifying responsibilities and obligations of both parties. Theoretically, no one would refuse to sign; it’s just a formality.
Chen Xiangbei quickly glanced through it, the contract stipulated that Honda would provide training funds and technical support, while in return, he was to grant Honda Team priority signing rights.
This is also quite understandable; Honda isn’t a charity, they invest a lot in training student drivers, all to provide reserve talent for the team, right?
And in terms of practical interests, with so many contenders for so few spots in Formula Teams, student drivers couldn’t be more eager for Honda Team to sign them.
After all, Honda possesses a prestigious legacy with six team championships and five driver championships in F1 history!
Without any hesitation, Chen Xiangbei signed his name on the student contract.
"Congratulations, Xiangbei-kun, you are now officially a Honda Suzuka Racing School student."
As the contract signing was completed, Mizutani Sho stood up once more to extend his congratulations to Chen Xiangbei.
"Thank you."
"Judging by the speed you displayed today, only Hoshino-kun can compare to you."
"Who is Hoshino-kun?"
Chen Xiangbei asked, recalling vaguely hearing Hoshino-kun mentioned in his earpiece earlier.
"The academy’s strongest driver, Hoshino Yoshi, the champion of the Japan F4 Championship, with points more than double that of the second place!"
"Moreover, Hoshino-kun only raced karts for a year before winning that year’s JAF Cup. Director Sawano believes his talent surpasses that of Kobayashi-kun, possibly only second to Sato-kun."
When introducing Hoshino Yoshi, Mizutani Sho’s tone was evidently enthusiastic, indirectly showing his high regard for this student.
[Hoshino Yoshi?]
Chen Xiangbei pondered, he remembered that after 2008, aside from Kobayashi Kamui, the only other F1 driver from Japan was Kakida Yuuki. He hadn’t heard of any Hoshino Yoshi.
Either he didn’t make it in racing, or history in this world was altered.
"Is he in the academy?"
Since a skilled person had emerged, Chen Xiangbei naturally wanted to witness the other’s prowess.
"Hoshino-kun works part-time and only comes to the track for training during his free time."
If it were merely F4 championship results, even with Japan’s overall strong capability, Chen Xiangbei wouldn’t take it seriously.
But for someone to achieve such results with part-time training, their talent or skill must be something significant.
"Alright, I’ll get to know him sometime."
"Sure, I’ll introduce you two."
...
While Chen Xiangbei was signing his contract, in another area, in the office of the principal of the Suzuka Racing Academy, Nakajima Goro was listening to the reasons for Matsuboto Brown’s contract termination as a student.
Though the Honda Suzuka Racing School carries the name "academy," it is quite different from a conventional school, with not thousands of students, but barely a dozen including the youth training driver program.
Every student’s contract termination requires the principal’s personal confirmation, as the students who come here for training are considered the cream of the crop in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The current principal of the Honda Racing Academy is Nakajima Goro, a former F1 driver whose status in Japan’s motorsport scene is equivalent to race god Senna in Brazil, or Liu Xiang in Chinese sports.
Nakajima Goro was the first Japanese driver to score points in an F1 race, shattering the then-prevalent racial discrimination claim that "Asians weren’t suited for driving F1 cars," and leaping to become a "national hero" in the hearts of Japanese motorsport fans.
Since Nakajima Goro was propelled into the F1 Williams Team by Honda, the two forged a deep bond.
After retiring, Nakajima Goro served as Honda Group’s chief test driver, co-testing and developing Honda’s high-performance cars, and was among those inducted into the four heavenly kings of Japanese car models—the Honda NSX.
This model was labeled as the "Japanese Ferrari," before which legends such as the "Japanese War God" GTR were dwarfed.
Later, Nakajima Goro took on the role of principal at the Suzuka Racing School, leveraging Honda’s technical resources to create the "Nakajima Planning" racing company, participating in the Japan F3 and Super GT series.
And with the advent of the 2008 financial crisis, when Honda Team announced its withdrawal from F1 races, Nakajima Goro even harbored thoughts of participating in higher-level Formula races.
Of course, that’s a story for another time.
Currently, Nakajima Goro was more shocked that a potential academy driver had been overwhelmed by a newcomer from China who was just on trial.
Since when could China, which hasn’t even built a racing system, produce such outstanding Formula drivers?
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