The temperature today was indeed very high. Even with the sunshade above the spectator stands, Hao Dong was frequently wiping sweat from his brow.
The qualifying session began. Lin Yan was the first to set a red segment, followed closely by Reisner and Gena. Gena, while not the best at close racing, was incredibly fast at setting lap times. However, Reisner wouldn't be giving him any leeway this time.
Reisner was in peak form today, staying very close to Lin Yan.
After the last race, Reisner had thoroughly discussed the issue of letting other drivers through with Tesu, even bringing up the contract. If necessary, he was prepared to terminate the contract directly. For Reisner, his performance meant he wouldn't lack for teams; at most, his salary wouldn't be as high as Honda's.
Lin Yan was slightly impressed by this, at least he was more resolute than when they first met.
The three bikes were in a line, one in front, one behind, and one in the middle. Coincidentally, the top three bikes were precisely those that had achieved the first three red segments.
After a series of chicane corners, the three bikes arrived at the entrance of Turn 8. Below, as Lin Yan approached Turn 8, Su Mojin instinctively clasped her hands together.
Downshifting, braking, extending a leg, knee-dragging, body leaning low.
Braking hard into Turn 8, Lin Yan executed the maneuver and apex perfectly. Knee-dragging and descending, Reisner behind him performed the same actions.
At the apex, he applied throttle to exit the corner. Lin Yan was gentle with the throttle this time, as it was a downhill section.
Exiting the corner, braking, transitioning, entering Turn 9.
In the transition zone between Turns 8 and 9, the front and rear suspension of Lin Yan's bike visibly vibrated intensely. Coupled with the braking in the corner, the front and rear suspension bounced severely.
Reisner behind him wasn't faring much better. As for Gena, he was in an even worse state. While he appeared stable, his braking points were deliberately earlier, a very conservative cornering technique.
For many riders, this corner was a good choice. Rather than risking a crash by pushing too hard, it was better to maintain a stable performance and secure points, even if their position dropped.
Based on the data from this corner, the Suzuki and Yamaha exhibited the least amount of vibration. The Suzuki was agile, and the Yamaha had a shorter wheelbase. These inline-four engines were not significantly affected by this corner.
However, their riders still navigated it with extreme caution. Once this corner was past, the rest of the race would be a complete free-for-all. Lin Yan led the way, with the two bikes following behind, embarking on their mission to break lap records.
Lap after lap, they repeatedly broke the track record. Today, Lin Yan even surpassed the track record he had set himself last year.
After completing the next four laps consecutively, Lin Yan once again secured pole position, finishing first. Gena came in second, and Reisner was third. To everyone's surprise, this race still held an unexpected twist: Reisner's bike suffered an engine blow-out on the final lap.
Whether it was due to the heat or some other trickery, Reisner's bike genuinely blew its engine on the last lap. As he was racing, black smoke began to billow from the rear of Reisner's bike.
Having been outmaneuvered by Gena for the second time in a row, Reisner was so furious that he began to curse loudly as soon as he dismounted. This was the first time Lin Yan had ever seen Reisner lose his composure like that.
Considering the previous incident, it was understandable that Reisner might be having wild thoughts.
"I originally thought that with such hot weather, Lin Shen's GP23 would be the first to buckle under pressure and blow its engine. I didn't expect Reisner's bike to blow first, and in qualifying, after only five laps."
Hao Dong was also somewhat incredulous. In a sense, the Yamaha was the most prone to mechanical failures in GP. Honda's bikes were quite reliable. Engine blow-outs hadn't happened for at least ten years. He hadn't expected it to happen to Reisner this time.
Judging by Reisner's demeanor as he returned to the pit, Lin Yan suspected the guy would be going to have a word with his team manager again.
As Lin Yan had predicted, upon returning, Reisner immediately confronted Tesu, leaving Tesu completely bewildered.
He hadn't done anything to the bike. While he appreciated Gena, his position wouldn't allow him to do anything detrimental to the team.
"Reisner, what are you doing? I'm telling you, it was an accident, it was just an accident."
"An accident? Blowing an engine after less than five laps? Don't tell me, you should know how low that possibility is."
Reisner was full of defiance. Compared to the instructions he received last time, tampering with the bike made him even more furious.
This involved safety. If the engine had blown in a dense pack of riders, the consequences could have been dire.
The two had a heated argument in the pit. Clearly, Reisner still didn't believe Tesu hadn't tampered with anything. This was understandable. After what had just happened, let alone Reisner, even Gena himself had some doubts about whether Tesu had done anything.
While the Honda team was arguing, other teams were enjoying the spectacle.
However, in the afternoon, Lin Yan received a message on his phone. To his surprise, the message was from Reisner.
"Are you free? Let's talk."
With such a brief message, Lin Yan wasn't sure what Reisner intended.
"I guess he wants to switch teams."
Su Mojin, who was also looking at the message, offered her opinion. She felt that Reisner contacting Lin Yan at this particular time and in this context was likely because he was looking for an alternative and wanted to discuss a team transfer.
A team transfer? Lin Yan was slightly taken aback, then his eyes lit up. This was quite a coincidence. He was just planning to set up a satellite team to make money... no, to compete in the top category. And here the person was?