Car Racing without Money-Chapter 414 - 169: Underestimating the Strength of F1 Drivers

Chapter 414: Chapter 169: Underestimating the Strength of F1 Drivers

The sky over Yanjing in November was somewhat hazy, with a light sprinkle of snow falling intermittently.

Qin Lianjie drove Chen Xiangbei to the official designated hotel, where the scene was the same as at the airport’s arrival gate. The entrance was crowded with waiting journalists and fans.

Fortunately, the hotel had a dedicated drivers’ passage. After Han Han showed his credentials, he bypassed the crowd and went straight to the underground parking lot.

"Xiangbei, I won’t go up with you. Rest well and prepare for tomorrow’s race."

Qin Lianjie said this after parking the car.

The ROC National Cup organizers had booked the entire hotel for the participants, making it troublesome for outsiders to enter or stay, apart from drivers and race staff.

Anyway, Han Han could handle any issues, so there was no need for Qin Lianjie to stay.

"Sure, thank you."

"Come on, no need for thanks between us."

"Go for it, I’ll be waiting to see you on the top podium!"

After saying this, Qin Lianjie started his Civic Type-R and drove away.

The friendship between men doesn’t need to be overly sentimental.

"Xiangbei, let’s go up."

Han Han came over and said, then led Chen Xiangbei to the designated floor for the China team via the elevator.

The staff from the Chinese Automobile Federation, who had received the news in advance, were already at the elevator entrance waiting for Chen Xiangbei, ready to provide him with driver credentials and some necessary race materials.

Under normal circumstances, these things should be coordinated by the driver’s team.

But this time, the ROC National Cup clashed with Chen Xiangbei’s team’s schedule. They had to race against time to complete the ignition test of the TF110 prototype before winter testing.

This is why Chen Xiangbei chose to return alone.

However, the ROC National Cup is also a spec race event, where the professional demands on the racing team are not as high. Chen Xiangbei could completely share his team members with Han Han.

As the only domestic dual champion in track and rally, Han Han’s team is composed of former tech personnel from Volkswagen and Subaru, which is essentially on par with Chen Xiangbei’s former "Dream" stage.

Of course, the former Dream has now evolved into the HRT team, a top-level professional F1 team that completely outclasses any racing team in the country.

After handling the registration related to the race, Chen Xiangbei arrived at the driver’s room assigned to him. He had some food and took a shower, and just as he was about to lie down for a rest, there was a knock at the door in the hallway.

Opening the door, he saw Han Han standing outside.

With a stack of documents in his hand, Han Han said, "Xiangbei, these are detailed track and car data prepared by my team members. Would you like to take a look?"

Chinese drivers have a habit of never going unprepared into battle.

Even though officials would provide a track layout and specs for the spec cars, Han Han still led his team members to walk the track several times and produce data more suitable for the drivers.

"Sure, let me check it out."

Chen Xiangbei gladly agreed and invited Han Han into the room.

Sitting across the coffee table, Chen Xiangbei opened up the data.

The ROC National Cup is different from regular car races; it’s hosted at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium, which could be considered a semi-indoor venue.

In the center of the Bird’s Nest Stadium, two parallel tracks have been modified to host two drivers racing simultaneously.

And after completing one lap, the special layout of the track allows the two drivers to swap positions. The driver originally on the outer circle switches to the inner circle, and vice versa, ensuring absolute fairness in course layout and distance for both.

The combined track length of the special inner and outer circles is 2.76 kilometers, with twelve turns, meaning drivers face a turn every two hundred meters on average.

Due to the limitations of the indoor track layout, most turns in the Bird’s Nest are large-angle turns like C-shaped or U-shaped turns, making full-throttle acceleration nearly impossible and requiring very precise lines from the drivers!

Theoretically, a track layout focused on precise lines falls under the specialty of formula drivers.

But at this moment, Han Han reminded: "Xiangbei, besides the track layout, you also need to pay attention to the track surface material."

[Material?]

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangbei noticed the note in the data stating that the Bird’s Nest track surface was made of wood planking.

"Why would it be wood?"

Chen Xiangbei asked somewhat surprised.

Back when the Bird’s Nest hosted the ROC National Cup in his previous life, he was just a kid, watching the excitement on TV without really noticing any special details.

Under normal circumstances, the track surface should either be standard asphalt for track races or gravel/mud for rally races, at the very least a concrete surface.

A track with a wooden surface was something he’d never seen before.

"There are two reasons: on one hand, laying wood planks is quick and easy, and removal is simple too, without damaging the original surface of the Bird’s Nest."

"On the other hand, compared to typical asphalt surfaces, wood has much less traction, allowing drivers to showcase drifting moves as much as possible during the race."

"After all, for most ordinary spectators in the country, it’s hard for them to discern the technical nuances of advanced lines, whereas cool drifting is more eye-catching by comparison."

Upon hearing Han Han’s explanation, Chen Xiangbei nodded thoughtfully.

It’s much like street racing, where drifting excites the adrenaline more than precise lines.