Chapter 70: Chapter 67: Completely Winning Over the Sponsor
The roar of the engine and the whistle of the wind echoed in the night sky. Compared to the ashen-faced Peng Sheng, Chen Xiangbei appeared much more composed, simply staring expressionlessly ahead.
The closed road of 9.6 kilometers, Peng Sheng demanded it be completed in 4 minutes and 30 seconds, meaning Chen Xiangbei had to maintain an average speed of around 135 km/h.
Even if the overall road conditions on the closed road were far better than Monte Carlo’s off-road track, in actuality, the test for the driver was not much less.
The reason is simple; sitting next to Chen Xiangbei was not a co-driver giving route instructions. He needed to recall and completely replicate in his mind the obstacles, potholes, bricks, and so on that were noted during reconnaissance, to avoid them.
With only one life, Chen Xiangbei had no room for error. His high level of concentration allowed him to exclude all irrelevant emotions, showing a blank face!
Watching Chen Xiangbei narrowly dodge several piles of building debris on the road with minute precision, the overwhelming impact made Peng Sheng feel as if his heart stopped for a moment.
At this moment, Peng Sheng was glad he was in good health and found nothing wrong with his heart, otherwise, he really might not have made it.
Even so, Peng Sheng dared not watch any longer and simply closed his eyes to escape the instinctive fear!
However, he quickly found that doing so had little effect; in addition to the obvious piles of building debris, there were many not-so-obvious potholes and bricks scattered on the road, making dodging even more extreme.
The sound of tires slipping came from time to time, indicating that Chen Xiangbei had undergone multiple extreme lane changes, reaching the edge of the car’s grip limit.
For the first time, Peng Sheng realized that racing could indeed feel like dancing on the edge of a knife!
At this moment, time had come to a standstill for Peng Sheng, with each second feeling eternally long.
After an unknown passage of time, he finally felt the violent thrust vanish, his sole remaining conscious instinct prompting him to press the pause button on the phone in his pocket.
Following closely was a violent churn in his stomach; he thrust the car door open and nearly crawled out, collapsing onto the ground and retching uncontrollably.
Chen Xiangbei’s previous warnings came true, this car really shouldn’t have been ridden!
It was only after emptying the contents of his stomach that Peng Sheng caught his breath and felt alive again.
Standing to the side, Chen Xiangbei considerately handed over tissues, having experienced similar situations several times before, it had become second nature to him.
"Mr. Peng, I’m sorry, I wasn’t quite sure on my first run, I was afraid there wasn’t enough time so I went a bit fast."
To be honest, tonight was Chen Xiangbei’s first time over to scout the route, he wasn’t sure how high the gold standard of this 4 minutes and 30 seconds really was, so he could only drive faster.
If he slowed down and didn’t meet the standard, wouldn’t that be a failure...
Upon hearing these words from Chen Xiangbei, Peng Sheng, who initially wanted to say something, swallowed his words back down.
Was this merely going a bit fast?
To verify exactly how much faster Chen Xiangbei had gone, Peng Sheng quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket and glanced at it,
the screen displayed a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds 33, directly causing cold sweat to break out again on his forehead!
No wonder he was in such a sorry state, Chen Xiangbei was not just a little fast, he was a full 40 seconds faster, with an average speed reaching 160 km/h.
Converted, Chen Xiangbei was running about 44 meters per second; at night, the normal high beam distance where visibility was possible was at most just a hundred meters, meaning his maximum reaction time in most situations was less than two seconds.
In fact, these were just the theoretical numbers. At such extreme speeds, the brain had to process an overwhelming amount of information. Potholes and small brick fragments on the ground could not be spotted from a hundred meters away.
Peng Sheng could only think of two possibilities: either Chen Xiangbei’s reaction speed was astonishing, and it was thanks to his superb technique that he safely completed this closed road,
or that this kid had an amazing memory, remembering where every obstacle was after just one reconnaissance run and changed lanes in advance to avoid them.
Regardless of which one, Peng Sheng was certainly opened to a new world today, simultaneously feeling a sense of lingering fear.
If Chen Xiangbei had been even a bit less skilled, riding in this car would have been a life-risking game!
"Xiao Chen, your driving skills have entirely exceeded the sponsorship standards, do you have time to discuss a contract now?"
In business, as in war, Peng Sheng, although baffled why a talented driver like Chen Xiangbei was still unknown domestically, knew that gold would always shine.
With time, Chen Xiangbei would definitely become famous, and by then trying to sponsor or outright sign him would incur exponentially higher costs; investing in a potential blue-chip is best done early!
"Mr. Peng, what kind of sponsorship are you considering?"
There are generally three types of racing sponsorship: the first is individual driver sponsorship, the most common being advertisements on the racing suit.
Drivers without sponsorship often have blank racing suits at the front, while the stronger and more famous drivers will have their suits covered with various sponsor logos, looking like they have countless patches sewn on.
Many times the number of sponsors can also indirectly show the driver’s achievements.
There used to be online debates asking who was better between racing-inclined celebrities Han Han and Lin Zhiying?
In actuality, you don’t need to check their records, just one look at their racing suits makes their skill levels apparent. Lin Zhiying’s plain white racing suit could at most be considered that of an enthusiast, not even touching the realm of professionalism.
The second type is team sponsorship brought by the driver, commonly seen in top-level events like F1.
In the F1 Paddock, there are mostly just 20 seats, akin to having one radish in each pit. Many F1 drivers have long careers, racing for over ten years is not uncommon, making the competition very fierce.
If without overwhelming skill, competing for a seat would require "money power" to be a significant booster.
At this point, one would need to pay out of pocket, or bring in sponsorships, typically referred to as "pay drivers."
The last type is pure team sponsorship, which does not care who the driver is and is solely meant for advertising on the F1 cars.
Of course, at Chen Xiangbei’s current stage, he only has the option of individual driver sponsorship.
He wanted to determine if Jiuli Sports just wanted to advertise on the racing suit or if they were prepared to sign him and engage in subsequent commercial promotional operations, etc.
"If possible, we wish to sign a management contract with you."
Unquestionably, having sensed Chen Xiangbei’s potential, Peng Sheng wished to maximize benefits.
"Sorry, I only accept personal brand sponsorships."
Chen Xiangbei decisively rejected Peng Sheng’s proposal, fully aware of his future commercial value, which could not possibly be "sold cheap" at this stage.
"That’s also fine, I’m willing to offer ten thousand annually for advertising on the front of your racing suit."
Each position on a racing suit has different pricing; normally, the hat is the most expensive, followed by the chest, then the arms, and the legs being the cheapest.
When Han Han first debuted, Michelin Tires sponsored him for three thousand, although eight years have passed since then, there should be an adjustment for inflation, but Chen Xiangbei didn’t have the same fame as Han Han had back then, making Peng Sheng’s offer not low.
"I’ll give you a 20% discount."
Chen Xiangbei replied with a laugh.
"Why?"
It was now Peng Sheng’s turn to be somewhat surprised; never having seen a commercial negotiation where someone offered a discount proactively, without thinking the offer too low.
"Think of it as my support of Mr. Peng’s passion for Formula racing."
Chen Xiangbei’s smile broadened. Though it felt like a lifetime, he still remembered Peng Sheng’s love for Formula, as well as the sincerity shown in the invitation.
Enthusiasm is hard to change; it was something that influence Peng Sheng to choose to sign drivers and not surprisingly, he would still head towards investing in Formula teams.
Huali Group, Jiuli Sports, were potential partners Chen Xiangbei had already chosen; the future was long, and two thousand was not a big deal.
Just after Chen Xiangbei said this, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out to see a message from Liang Chi.
"Honda Suzuka Racing School has responded, return quickly!"
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