The race quickly entered its twentieth lap, with Lin Yan already a league ahead.
Having used almost all of his spare tires, the Ducati V4 was aggressively revving, creating a gap of over five seconds between him and King.
In a racing competition, a five-second gap meant King couldn't even see the tail of Lin Yan's bike.
Just then, the Suzuki rider behind King quietly crept up.
Lin Yan maintained a lean angle of over sixty degrees, preparing for Li.
Employing the same cornering technique as sliding and the Rossi leg out, he smoothly navigated the turns as if gliding through cream.
The sheer fluidity of his cornering was a spectacle in itself.
Over forty minutes had passed in the race, and the pit crews of various teams began their preparations.
In about twenty minutes, the first driver change would occur, and Li was already donning his racing suit and warming up.
The weather had worsened since the start. Dark clouds had enveloped Tianhai City, and occasional raindrops suggested an imminent downpour.
By lap twenty-five, Lin Yan had extended his lead to over seven seconds. The rider behind him was no longer the Kawasaki Hayabusa but the Suzuki Hayabusa.
"King is now attacking the Suzuki rider ahead. Can he reclaim his lost position? Let's wait and see."
With Lin Yan so far ahead, Hao Dong couldn't just stand idle and had to commentate on the other racers.
Fortunately, the battles elsewhere were exciting enough to keep him engaged.
The Suzuki rider had seized an opportunity when the Kawasaki Hayabusa's chassis vibrated, smoothly overtaking it, and the positions between them changed once more.
King intended to regain his position, but the Suzuki rider's defense was formidable, and he hadn't found an opening yet.
The BMW rider had climbed to tenth place. The BMW team had the worst luck in this race, nearly failing to even qualify for the main event.
As Lin Yan completed lap thirty, green flags began to wave along the sides of the track.
This signaled the riders to return to the pit lane for a tire change after the current lap, as the one-hour mark had been reached.
At this point, the fuel warning light on Lin Yan's dashboard began to flash.
Race car fuel loads were calculated with extreme precision, as adding too much could affect the overall weight of the vehicle.
The Ducati's chassis was already shaking violently, and at the end of lap thirty, its tires were finally worn out.
By then, Lin Yan had a full ten-second lead over the second-place rider. Ten seconds!
Ten seconds was a significant margin; it meant that when Lin Yan was exiting turn eight, the second-place rider was just exiting turn five, a difference of three whole corners.
After completing lap thirty-one, Lin Yan drove his car through the special lane at the finish line and into the pit lane.
He stopped precisely in front of the Ducati pit box, dismounted, and removed the fuel cap.
His movements were incredibly swift, making one wonder if he had practiced qinggong.
As Lin Yan got out of the car, the chassis supports deployed front and rear, lifting the entire Ducati V4.
Four crew members worked simultaneously on the tire change, with Li standing by, ready to get on.
The pit crew members, having undergone extensive training, worked with lightning speed.
Once the tires were changed and the car was lowered, two other prepared mechanics immediately began refueling.
Moments later, the fuel tank was full. Li quietly climbed onto the bike, screwed on the cap, and sped out of the pit lane.
When Li entered the pit lane, the second-place Suzuki rider had only just brought his car in, highlighting the immense speed difference.
After Li drove off, Lin Yan went to the rest area, removed his helmet, unzipped his racing suit slightly, and sat down to catch his breath.
Two Ducati team members immediately came over to give him a massage.
Lin Yan's stamina could only last a little over an hour, and the team needed to use this time to help him recover his strength and rehydrate quickly.
Meanwhile, Li, now on the bike, was also navigating the corners with speed.
Lin Yan had already created a substantial advantage for him, eliminating the need to battle with others. Without engagements, his lap times would naturally improve significantly.
After about five minutes of rest, Lin Yan had recovered considerably, his breathing stabilizing.
He casually glanced at the large screen.
Huh? The second-place rider was from the Kawasaki team. This was unexpected. Lin Yan recalled that the rider behind him when he pitted was from the Suzuki team.
He hadn't expected the positions to change so quickly.
After a few more glances, Lin Yan noticed something unusual. At the same time, Zhang Mingzhi and Vinales also noticed it.
This Kawasaki rider's skill... had improved!
This Kawasaki rider's throttle control and precision seemed to have become more accurate, and the gear changes were also smoother.
"Something's not right. He wasn't this strong during the selection trials," Zhang Mingzhi remarked, his tone laced with doubt.
"It seems the Kawasaki team was hiding their strength," Vinales replied calmly. He had meticulously observed all the riders' skill levels during the selection trials, and this rider's performance had indeed improved. He hadn't expected to be fooled himself.
However, this rider's strength likely wouldn't increase too drastically, certainly not enough to surpass King, otherwise, he would be recognized.
Lin Yan stretched his body and stood up from the resting chair, interjecting. "They probably modified the car's data."
Hearing this, Zhang Mingzhi nodded in agreement. There was no other explanation besides altering the car's data.
He himself knew several ways to modify car data to conceal strength, such as slightly slowing down the brake and throttle response, which could create such an effect.
With a bit of concealment in the rider's actions, it would be difficult to detect under normal circumstances, let alone through race footage.
Their guess was correct; the Kawasaki team had achieved this deceptive display of strength by altering the car's response speed.
The Kawasaki rider on the track had now pulled away from the Suzuki rider behind him. Although his skill was less than King's, he was undoubtedly stronger than the other riders in that group.
In just three laps, he had pulled away from the Suzuki and closed the gap to Li by 0.5 seconds.
This speed had even shocked Hao Dong.
"This second rider for the Kawasaki team is in great form today. His lap times are incredibly fast."
However, no matter how fast he was, he couldn't close a ten-second gap in an hour. And after an hour, when Lin Yan returned to the track, that gap would only widen.
Lin Yan completely removed his racing suit. Su Mojin, with great care, picked up a towel that had already been washed and began wiping the sweat from Lin Yan's face.
She had been by his side all along, merely unable to assist until now.
ps: Although the updates are not frequent, they are very consistent~