Chapter 7 Pole Position in the Preliminaries and Finals
"It looks quite easy," Martina said.
"Hmm." Wu Shi nodded. It would be strange if they weren't driving easily; either these kids were too amazing, or he, a former F1 driver, was too incompetent.
He could anticipate that this would be the case in domestic competitions, with almost no pressure.
That's how it was in my past life. Domestic champion drivers would only get a top ranking of 10th or 20th in the preliminary rounds of the European Championship, which was quite absurd.
This is partly due to the difference in driver training resources between China and other countries, and partly due to the presence of professional karting drivers in the higher divisions of those championships. These drivers are, to some extent, local powerhouses who have dominated many young F1 drivers in past competitions.
Even Wu Shi today wouldn't dare guarantee good results if he went.
'But with enough practice, I'm not afraid of them at all.'
Whether in this life or the previous one, he never felt weak!
"Keep running well, your race is quite complicated," Martina said.
"Yes, it's not perfect after all." Wu Shi took another sip of water and was about to put the glass down when Louise caught it.
"I'll help you carry it!" Louise said happily.
"?" Wu Shi tilted his head, his face full of question marks.
No, little girl, I remember you used to "hate" me quite a bit! Why are you looking at me with stars in your eyes now?
"Oh dear, Wu Shi, get some rest." Martina smiled and patted him.
In the second round of the preliminary competition, while groups two and three were running, Wu Shi, having nothing else to do, came to the sidelines to watch the competition.
After the warm-up circle and the formation circle, the green flag was waved.
Buzzing!!
The cars surged forward and quickly made their way to Turn 1.
At this moment, number 322, who was ranked third, tried to sneak in from the outside and shut down number 331, who was ranked second.
Bang!
Sure enough, car number 331 didn't give way at all, and the two cars swerved after the collision.
Their sudden stop caught the drivers in the fourth and fifth positions behind them off guard, causing them to crash as well. The sixth driver, however, managed to swerve to avoid the collision.
The scene became chaotic for a moment.
"Oh no, we've run into someone!" one parent exclaimed, covering their mouth.
Upon hearing the instructions for the match, the athletes on the field waved the yellow flag.
Wu Shi glanced at the scene and realized that the accident at Bend 1 was not serious and no debris needed to be cleared.
Sure enough, the racers soon waved the green flag at the command, and everyone's cars sped up and surged forward again.
After seven or eight laps, some parents compared the data of Ling Kang, the first place winner in this round, with that of Wu Shi, and couldn't help but say:
"Wu Shi's long-distance running ability seems to be similar to Ling Kang's, right?"
"Yes, judging from the speed just now, yes."
"Looks like this is going to be interesting."
Parents were discussing it amongst themselves. They had thought Wu Shi was a level above everyone else, but they didn't expect his long-distance speed to be about the same as Ling Kang and Zeng Tianyi.
The coaches, however, shook their heads, saying that this was the opinion of laymen.
Wu Shi's slowness wasn't due to long distances, but rather the lack of need to push himself to the limit when there was no threat.
Under extreme conditions, tires wear out more, fuel consumption increases, and engine wear increases, and there's still a long race ahead!
After the second round ended, the third round quickly began, with groups one and three competing against each other.
Wu Shi approached the go-kart and noticed a small, smooth surface on the right rear tire. This was because race personnel had scraped the tire to collect data for the tire manufacturer and to check for cheating.
"Wu Shi! I will hold you tight!" Ling Kang suddenly said as he walked over.
"Oh? Welcome~" Wu Shi liked to see the boys' competitive attitude; it was better than Lin Cong's petty tricks.
This time, Wu Shi swung the front of the car a few times during the warm-up to help the tires warm up faster.
During the formation lap, he slowed down, looked back twice to confirm that the formation was complete, and immediately increased his speed. When he saw the green flag at the racing line, he instantly unleashed his full power.
As he had predicted, Ling Kang followed closely behind him.
Unfortunately, the go-karts in Group A are relatively slow, and sucking in the exhaust doesn't offer any benefits other than saving fuel.
Soon, both cars arrived at Turn 1 at the same time. Wu Shi lightly applied the brakes again and gracefully navigated the turn.
Ling Kang perfectly replicates the trajectory of the vehicle in front, and with a light touch of the brakes, he can easily swing the vehicle into the bend.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The vehicle skidded and went out of control instantly, but fortunately Ling Kang was skilled enough to regain tire grip by quickly turning the steering wheel and spinning twice in the lane.
Rustling sounds!
However, by then, go-karts were already overtaking him.
'I can't do it! Absolutely not! That cornering speed! How does he keep the car stable?!'
Ling Kang ran back onto the track, feeling anxious. He couldn't understand how he could have gotten through Turn 1 at almost full throttle!
At that speed, if you turn the steering wheel, the rear wheels will instantly lose traction and skid!
"Oh! Ling Kang made a mistake!" Lin Cong exclaimed excitedly.
The preliminary rounds will be scored based on rankings, with the first place receiving 0 points, the second place receiving 2 points, and so on. Finally, the preliminary and final rounds will be ranked according to the contestants' scores, from lowest to highest.
"Go for it, baby! If you stay in second place, you'll have a chance to start from the second row," Lin's mother said happily.
"Okay! I'll do my best! By the way, Mom, have you made contact with that person yet?" Lin Cong asked.
"Don't worry, both children agreed," Lin's mother said with a smile.
On the track, Wu Shi, whose victory was decided at the first corner, once again began his boring lead.
The twelve-lap race ended quickly, and apart from a few people discussing the reason for Ling Kang's mistake, most people were talking about the collision that had just occurred.
"I don't understand," Ling Kang said to Zeng Tianyi as they returned to the repair area.
"I saw it, you took too much risks." Zeng Tianyi kept recalling Wu Shi's maneuvering at Turn 1, and he couldn't understand it either.
"Hmph, he's probably just practicing on this track a lot. We'll see his true skills in the later races!" Ling Kang said.
"I heard he practiced driving at this venue, so it's normal for him to have special driving techniques," Zeng Tianyi said.
"So? You'll be in the same group as him in the upcoming match. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to follow him and see how he actually runs. Just the way he handled it at turn one, his lap time shouldn't be almost a second faster than ours."
"Damn! What a pity, I missed the first turn!" Ling Kang regretted. Knowing it was impossible, he should have just followed behind and secretly learned a few tricks.
"When will you grow your brain?"
"Hey!" Ling Kang really wanted to punch this guy.
"I'm not called 'Hey'." Zeng Tianyi remembered watching a TV series before, and there seemed to be a line like that in it.
The fourth round, the preliminary round of Group 14, arrived quickly, and Wu Shi got into the car again.
"He has basically secured pole position in the preliminaries and finals," a coach said.
With two zeros, as long as he performs normally in this round, even if he doesn't get first or second place, he will still get the lowest score of the entire competition and be in pole position.
As the coaches predicted, Wu Shi maintained a steady lead throughout the race without any unexpected incidents.
"He got pole position in the qualifying round!"
"I never expected such a dark horse to emerge this year!"
As he entered the pit lane, many people were amazed by Wu Shi's steady performance, but he wasn't too excited. He couldn't even get a pole position in the junior karting group. He should just go sell fish. Maybe he could even make it into some kind of corporation.
"Congratulations on securing pole position in the qualifying round! It looks like the championship is practically guaranteed for you!" Boss Chen appeared and offered his congratulations in advance.
"The game isn't over yet."
Wu Shi was not being modest. On the racetrack, there are always changes in pace. For example, 21 years ago in his previous life, Pan Zi was leading in Azerbaijan when he suddenly had a tire blowout in the last few laps, losing the championship.
If we get points from Azerbaijan, we won't have to fight the old man so fiercely later on.
Of course, for the audience, the 21-year race was really interesting, with the driver's championship only being secured in the final battle, just like the year in his previous life.
"Hey, what are you thinking about, our little genius?" Martina's voice came from behind.
Louise had already run over and handed over a glass of water: "Water, water."
"Thank you!" Although he didn't know what was wrong with the little girl, he still accepted her kindness.
"Get a good rest tonight. After the competition tomorrow, Uncle will take you out for a big meal!" Boss Chen said.
"Yes, I will do my best." Wu Shi nodded.
"Yes, there's a Chinese proverb that says, 'Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.' Let's go back first!" Martina said.