Mindset is the biggest taboo for a driver.
After going wide, Gena quickly found his line again, but by the time he rejoined the racing line, Raisina ahead had already pulled away.
The gap between them was two to three car lengths.
Clenching the throttle, he pushed the engine to its limit, chasing!
Gena refused to believe that Raisina had fully adapted to the race car.
The first lap of qualifying is usually the slowest lap, and Gena was no exception; he hadn't yet unleashed his full potential.
Gena was a typical qualifying driver, a lap-time specialist. He struggled in race battles but was sometimes faster than Raisina in his Ben Tian days when it came to setting lap times.
Don't think such drivers don't exist; there are plenty of them in GP.
Some riders have a riding style that excels in solo laps but falters in close racing.
The speed increased rapidly as he smoothly navigated through turns twelve and thirteen.
Upon learning that Raisina was behind him, Gena's expression became more focused, and his lap times improved by a noticeable margin.
After another two turns, Lin Yan's first lap time was freshly recorded.
1 minute 47.623 seconds.
He had broken the previous track record on his very first lap. Lin Yan hadn't raced on this track last year, so he wasn't the record holder, but it didn't matter; he was now.
"Good heavens, Lin Shen is truly invincible. This seems to be Lin Shen's first time on this track."
"First time? I don't believe Lin Shen's 'first time' anymore. This guy is a pure scoundrel. Last year, he raced on all the tracks for the first time, and what happened? He raced thirteen times and set thirteen track records. Is he even human?"
"Indeed, I no longer believe Lin Shen's 'first time'."
"......"
The audience knew it was Lin Yan's first time on this track, but to achieve such a good result on his debut was truly frustrating. It was true that comparing oneself to others would eventually lead to anger.
Fans were furious, and the other drivers present were even more so.
They treated Lin Yan as an alien.
Even with extensive simulator practice, racing on a new track for the first time is different from simulation. Achieving a track record on the first attempt was the epitome of being a freak.
On the main straight at the finish line, the red car flashed by. Lin Yan's car reached a terrifying top speed of 373k.
Someone in the stands guessed Raisina's motive.
Letting Gena pass, and then dominating him on the straight again. But that was a bit too cruel.
Despite being cruel, Raisina did exactly that.
After letting Gena pass, exiting turn sixteen, the "Horsepower Dog" once again outpaced the Ben Tian.
On the straight before the finish line, Raisina pushed the GP23's top speed to 369 km/h, only four kilometers per hour slower than Lin Yan's previous speed. For someone who had only been riding a Ducati for a month, this was an exceptional performance.
Perhaps Gena had spurred him on, or perhaps they were motivating each other.
This time, Gena also pushed the Ben Tian's top speed to its limit, reaching 363 km/h. This speed was only six kilometers per hour slower than Raisina's, a significant improvement from before.
However, it still couldn't change the fact that he was overtaken on the straight.
The "Horsepower Dog" remained the "Horsepower Dog."
Tetsu from Ben Tian's pit was speechless. Their reputation had been thoroughly trampled by Raisina this time.
Qualifying ended.
Lin Yan secured pole position with a time of 1 minute 47.456 seconds, followed by Gena in second and Raisina in third.
Although Raisina had strong straight-line acceleration, Gena's selection by the Ben Tian team was for good reason. If Lin Yan hadn't been present, Gena would have been the next "Pole Position Prince."
Back in the pit, Lin Yan wasn't surprised by Gena's result. During his time at Ben Tian, Raisina's qualifying times weren't much faster than Gena's; they were almost neck and neck. Now, with a new car, even with good adaptation, he was still a bit behind Raisina, who had been riding Ben Tian for many years.
Gena was a typical "single-rider" driver, excelling in solo laps or leading from the front in races. Such drivers often struggled in races because they relied heavily on rhythm.
In qualifying, with no interference, their lap times would continuously improve, getting better and better within their own rhythm. Similarly, when leading in a race, it was the same.
Therefore, for such drivers, if they lead the race, the second-place rider must follow closely, otherwise, they could easily be left behind.
There were many drivers like Gena in GP. Gena reminded Lin Yan of someone from his previous life.
The "Robot," Jorge Lorenzo, had a riding style very similar to Lorenzo's during his time at Yamaha.
However, the strength of Lorenzo in his prime was undeniable. Although his peak period was short, he was someone who could contend with Rossi and Marquez. Gena now only shared the style; their abilities were worlds apart.
Lorenzo was brilliant in solo laps and also in battles, but his solo laps were exceptionally outstanding.
Another characteristic of solo-rider drivers is that once they get into their rhythm, they are incredibly stable and rarely crash. Lin Yan didn't know if Gena was like this, but Lorenzo was.
Lorenzo was one of the few in the history of GP over the past thirty years who didn't use his legs to lean into corners. He didn't use them often, but rather, he never used them; he never extended his legs through corners, a unique case in GP.
As for why he was called the Robot.