Chapter 87: Chapter 80: Beginner Hexagonal Warrior
Not only was Sawano Hiroyuki full of questions, but even the racing academy students present couldn’t help but whisper when they saw Chen Xiangbei fiddling around to find the settings options.
"Does this Chen Xiangbei even know how to use a simulator?"
"In China, they probably don’t have such advanced simulators; it’s likely he’s never even seen one before, let alone used it."
"He probably hasn’t seen one; it’s quite obvious he’s not very familiar."
"If he hasn’t used a simulator, how come he’s so familiar with the Suzuka Circuit? Did he learn it from a map?"
Someone’s question immediately stumped the other students present.
There are only two ways to increase track familiarity: either through real driving training or simulator training.
If Chen Xiangbei often came to Suzuka Circuit, he would have been recruited into the racing academy long ago with such lap times; the only possibility left is simulator training.
Can someone really achieve such results by relying on maps or computer toys if they’ve never used such highly realistic advanced simulators?
No one answered this question; rationality deemed it impossible, yet reality presented such a "genius"!
However, as Chen Xiangbei adjusted the settings, Sawano Hiroyuki and Nakajima Goro, two former top formula drivers, overturned their previous doubts, and subconsciously showed an expression of shock on their faces.
Because the racing parameters Chen Xiangbei set were almost identical to the ideal lap parameters simulated by the computer!
Under normal circumstances, the advanced simulator racing parameters are made into a 60% scaled model by the team’s engineers and tested in the wind tunnel.
Then, data is collected through various sensors, and all parameters are packaged into a virtual model of the car, which is placed in the central computer of the racing simulator, thus a virtual car with entirely consistent parameters appears on the screen.
Usually, before formal simulator training, engineers allow the car to run autonomously in the simulator and establish an absolute speed ideal lap as the target lap time.
Ordinarily, a driver’s speed would be much slower than the ideal lap; at this point, engineers need to correct the driver’s control and tuning parameters through comparison, striving to achieve an effect infinitely close to the ideal lap.
The cooperation among drivers, engineers, and simulators forms a closed loop tuning system, which brings significant help for research and driver practice through a racing simulator.
Now, the racing parameters set by Chen Xiangbei himself have not yet been tested, nor compared with racing engineer parameters, yet are already infinitely close to the computer-simulated data.
It seems Miyamoto Shigeru’s information was accurate, and Chen Xiangbei indeed underwent long-term simulator practice!
In the four-axis cockpit, Chen Xiangbei naturally did not know of Sawano Hiroyuki and Nakajima Goro’s astonishment; he was more relieved that the Renault entry-level formula cars had basically maintained consistent performance over the past decade, allowing many parameters from later years to be applicable.
Unlike in F1, where even the number of engine cylinders changed from V10 to V8, and later to V6 hybrids.
The aerodynamics aspect changed from aerodynamic cars to ground effect cars.
These major changes every few years made it impossible for Chen Xiangbei to remember all the parameters, making it inconvenient to tune.
Fortunately, Chen Xiangbei’s professional English was quite good, and since the basic setup logic of the simulator was similar, he ultimately felt his way through inputting the racing parameters, then pressed the start button for his first simulator test run.
As the simulator could only make instantaneous changes, unable to fully simulate the sustained G-force pressure from high-speed corners, it could be said that it temporarily compensated for Chen Xiangbei’s weakness, allowing him to better unleash his potential.
But also due to the low realism of the simulator, along with the abrupt experience brought by the four-axis, these factors also affected his driving operations.
The virtual Renault car sped across the big screen, and everyone’s gaze in the hall was fixed on it without moving an inch. Even without the timing display from the stopwatch, the crowd could sense how astonishing the speed was, and how extreme and smooth the racing line was.
"I have a hunch that this Chinese newcomer can break the track record this lap."
"I don’t think so; 2 minutes and 5 seconds might still be somewhat challenging."
"If he breaks the track record on the simulator, can Chen Xiangbei break it in an actual dry run?"
"Even if he can’t do it now, it’s only a matter of time given his speed yesterday!"
The students present marveled, and no matter how stubborn or prejudiced their views were, they couldn’t resist the overwhelming shock brought by sheer skill.
Matsuboto Brown’s departure was not in vain; this Chinese guy might truly be the strongest newcomer in the history of the academy!
Amidst the crowd’s discussions, the virtual Renault car crossed the starting line, showing a lap time of 2 minutes 5.683 seconds on the big screen, just a bit shy of the real-life track record of 2 minutes 5.641 seconds set by Kobayashi Kamui.
This lap time could be said to either break or not break the record; it’s akin to "nearly breaking."
The reason is simple: the simulator’s car starts similarly to real life, and due to the lack of pre-acceleration at the start of the first lap, it is the slowest lap.
Chen Xiangbei’s lap time fell short of the record by fractions of a second. Even if his second lap has no technical improvement in racing line, he can definitely break Kobayashi Kamui’s real-life track record just by relying on the acceleration from the start.
So strong!
"Sawano, Hoshino Yoshi’s hidden record of 2 minutes 5.122 seconds seems hard to withstand the attack from this Chinese newcomer."
Nakajima Goro whispered to Sawano Hiroyuki beside him as he saw Chen Xiangbei’s speed on the first lap.
"Can’t be stopped."
Sawano Hiroyuki directly gave his answer.
Although Chen Xiangbei was not very skilled when setting parameters, it could be felt that he was just unfamiliar with this simulator equipment, which didn’t mean he had never been exposed to it before.
Skill is something that can be compensated for with time.
Sawano Hiroyuki couldn’t imagine what lap times Chen Xiangbei would achieve after training for a few months at the Honda Racing Academy and becoming thoroughly familiar with this simulator.
"Chen Xiangbei surpassing Hoshino Yoshi’s hidden lap times is, in a sense, a good thing. It can bring pressure on him to practice racing even more diligently."
Nakajima Goro brought Hoshino Yoshi here today, partly to see the clash of geniuses.
On the other hand, he hoped that Chen Xiangbei could put pressure on Hoshino Yoshi, making the young boy more focused on the track.
After all, no matter how talented Chen Xiangbei is, he is ultimately Chinese, while Hoshino Yoshi is Japan’s genius boy.
Under equal conditions, Nakajima Goro would unhesitatingly choose Hoshino Yoshi.
Just like the several Japanese F1 teams, whether it’s Honda or Toyota, they go to great lengths to recommend Japanese drivers for seats.
The Super Aguri team, in its pursuit of an all-Japanese lineup, even pushed a figure like Ino Yuji into F1, unwilling to leave the seat to others.
The household registration is always a factor that cannot be ignored within the F1 paddock, not just for Japan but for Western countries as well. There’s never absolute fairness in this world!
"It’s a pity that Hoshino Yoshi’s family conditions are hindering his development."
At this point, Sawano Hiroyuki sighed.
Normally, many formula drivers who say their families are not wealthy are speaking in comparison to top-level rich people; for the middle class, playing formula races indeed feels like poverty.
But Hoshino Yoshi’s family situation, placed in Japan, can truly be described as poor. He needs to earn his daily living expenses through part-time jobs, a vivid replica of Sato Takuma.
What’s worse for him than Sato Takuma is that he also has a chronically ill mother at home, requiring high medical expenses to maintain, ultimately preventing Hoshino Yoshi from fully committing to formula racing.
"I’ve already helped Hoshino Yoshi apply for a Honda scholarship, to see if it can help him weather the tough times."
Nakajima Goro also knows Hoshino Yoshi’s family situation and has been trying his best to help.
As the two discussed, Chen Xiangbei’s second lap speed had already appeared on the big screen, clocking in at 2:04.997.
"Wow~~~!"
A wave of astonishment spread through the hall. Although this was the extreme lap time achieved on a simulator, breaking Kobayashi Kamui’s track record and even dipping below 2:04 was enough to impress.
"Sugoi, is this the strongest student in recent years?"
"It should be, too bad the era of Sato-kun and Kobayashi-kun is different, otherwise, I’d really like to see their simulator extreme lap times."
"It seems Hoshino Yoshi can’t surpass Chen Xiangbei."
"We’ll find out soon if he can surpass or not."
Confronted with Chen Xiangbei’s simulated lap time, Hoshino Yoshi, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, finally showed a look of shock.
He alone knew the weight of running under 2:04, and he had been at the racing academy for over a month without crossing that threshold.
Moreover, compared to Chen Xiangbei, Hoshino Yoshi had a year more experience running F4, yet he was easily surpassed by the newcomer in two laps.
Is this truly a talent monster?
Quickly, on the third lap on the track, Chen Xiangbei did not show such an exaggerated improvement; it only came in at 2:04.991.
The similarity in racing parameters doesn’t mean they are identical. Chen Xiangbei would need to provide feedback to the engineer for setup to potentially achieve another paradigm improvement.
After finishing this lap, Chen Xiangbei switched the map to Fuji Speedway.
Honestly, he had also practiced at Fuji Speedway in his past life, just nowhere near as extensively as other circuits on the calendar.
The reason is simple: Fuji was a substitute venue, hosting the 2007 and 2008 F1 Japanese Grand Prix, and in the following decade, it returned to its backup status, while Suzuka Circuit remained the absolute star.
A person’s energy is limited; even monster-level drivers like Hamilton and Verstappen have their specialty tracks and weaker circuits—they can’t masterfully juggle every circuit.
Chen Xiangbei naturally prioritized practicing on standard circuits and would only run the obscure Fuji circuit on the simulator with available free time.
However, even so, Chen Xiangbei’s lap times were still impressive. It’s just that since Fuji hadn’t hosted entry-level formulas, the students there lacked an intuitive comparison for lap times, making the impact far less than the previous Suzuka circuit lap times.
But in the eyes of professional drivers like Sawano Hiroyuki and Nakajima Goro, they understood very well the weight of the Fuji Speedway lap times. The two exchanged glances, seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.
They also confirmed one thing: Chen Xiangbei had no track weaknesses. Combined with his proven performance in the rain, if his street circuit performance is similar, he would truly be an entry-level all-around warrior!