Car Racing without Money-Chapter 395 - 163: That Man Has Returned (10K)

By the time some preliminary results were reached, a week had already passed.

Brother Cheng Long was the first to give a disappointing response. He had recently returned from Hollywood back to Hong Kong, naturally facing a significant decline in income, and he also had a team to support.

Although Brother Cheng Long has invested in many companies over the years, including some publicly listed ones, operating an F1 team is certainly not a business game that a private individual can afford to play. Chen Xiangbei understood this very well.

The Dong Family of Eastern Shipping gave a similarly straightforward reply. They were willing to sponsor Chen Xiangbei for five million US dollars a year, roughly equivalent to forty million Hong Kong dollars.

This offer was indeed not low, even exceeding Chen Xiangbei’s expectations slightly.

It’s important to note that large shipping companies belong to a ’semi-monopoly’ industry, with only a few leading companies in each region, and their clientele is mainly corporate, so their need for commercial promotion is not that high.

Moreover, Chen Xiangbei had little contact with the Dong Family of Eastern Shipping, only having participated in one Australian Grand Prix. If they had refused the sponsorship request, it would have been understandable.

However, the Dong Family decisively offered five million US dollars, and Chen Xiangbei wondered if there was an element of ’friendship’ from Dong Yuanxi in this.

If there was, it would truly confirm what Qin Lianjie said.

A driver may not need a woman, but a wealthy lady can help you drive a faster car...

However, five million US dollars were only one-sixth of the sponsorship funds needed.

The remaining gap had to be filled by major car corporations like Huali Group and the deep connections of Jiuli Sports.

Lu Xiaoman also understood this and contacted Staler directly to discuss with President Li of Huali Group.

The old man from the United Kingdom initially used his connections to reach out to the president of Ford, providing a two hundred million US dollar loan to assist Huali Group’s acquisition of Volvo, and now it was time to return the ’favor.’

Originally, the sponsorship negotiations between Huali Group and Jiuli Sports were discussions between two unrelated companies.

In the end, both companies seemed to have reached a tacit agreement, presenting the same request to Chen Xiangbei. That was their hope that he would participate in the 2009 ROC National Cup held at Yanjing Bird’s Nest Stadium.

On the night of receiving the response, Lu Xiaoman found Chen Xiangbei, who was training, to update him on the current sponsorship status.

"Xiangbei, Jiuli Sports has already secured the rights to host the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, and President Peng has been actively promoting your entry into F1. On top of the initial sponsorship of fifty million RMB, they are willing to increase it to ten million US dollars."

"As for Huali Automobile, Staler mentioned that President Li has long had the idea of entering high-level racing, even planning to directly invest twenty million US dollars to acquire twenty percent of the HRT Team, becoming a title sponsor or joint operator."

At this point, Lu Xiaoman paused and then added, "However, they unsurprisingly both raised a request."

"What request?"

Chen Xiangbei asked in return.

"To participate in the 2009 ROC National Cup at Yanjing Bird’s Nest Stadium."

Hearing this term, Chen Xiangbei was a bit taken aback.

To be honest, it wasn’t the first time he heard others mention participating in the ROC National Cup, but Chen Xiangbei never considered it as his goal.

The reason is simple; this event has a rather special nature, leaning more towards an honor competition.

To draw a parallel in other sports, Chen Xiangbei thinks it’s quite similar to boxing.

Boxing is divided into Olympic boxing and professional boxing. The former leans towards national honor while the latter is the pinnacle of professional competition.

Winning an Olympic Gold can earn the cheers and adoration of the people, but only the latter can truly be called a "boxing champion."

However, the ROC National Cup isn’t exactly the same because Olympic boxing clearly lags behind professional boxing, prompting the International Olympic Committee to explicitly prohibit professional boxers from the four major organizations from turning back to participate in Olympic events.

But the drivers in the ROC National Cup are truly the peak kings!

This means Chen Xiangbei would be participating in an honor competition with uncertain outcomes, potentially amounting to nothing in the end...

If it were a time of achieved success, participating just for fun wouldn’t be a problem.

Chen Xiangbei was previously at a critical stage in vying for an F1 seat, naturally unable to spare attention for the ROC National Cup.

Now, with the seat almost secured, only awaiting sponsorship funds, Chen Xiangbei had some free time.

"Do you think I should participate?"

"We are the hosts this year, and the nation needs this honor on a national level."

Lu Xiaoman replied meaningfully, hinting at the answer with no further explanation needed.

Normally, China wouldn’t even qualify to participate in the ROC National Cup.

The reason is simple; the National Cup finals have only eight teams with sixteen drivers, all of whom are top dominators of certain car competitions, including some F1 World Champion level drivers.

Chinese drivers lack the strength to take part in the peak kings’ game.

But just like the World Cup grants a spot to the host nation, being the organizers of the 2009 ROC National Cup, China also received a direct qualification spot.

Holding an event on home ground and at a high-profile venue like the Bird’s Nest, being eliminated without a win would indeed be quite unsightly.

Undoubtedly, China’s strongest driver at present is Chen Xiangbei, standing at the doorstep of F1.

This is why Huali Automobile and Jiuli Sports share a unified expectation for Chen Xiangbei to participate; they have no better driver options.