Hao Dong shouted in the live broadcast.
People near the stands looked at him strangely. Did the event specially assign a commentator to our stands?
From the moment Lin Yan entered the corner, the outcome was already decided.
Exiting turn eight, the Ducati V4 led the RC8 by the length of a bike.
Following that, turn nine, KT
...
Next, Lin Yan’s path was blocked by a Yamaha rider. This Yamaha rider was also an external reinforcement invited by WSBK.
Today, these major teams placed their invited reinforcements in the first race.
Their thoughts were the same as Lin Yan’s: they wanted to gain some distance first, and then avoid close battles in the later stages.
Although both were riding Yamaha R1s, the rider in front of Lin Yan was clearly much stronger than the previous one.
This was evident in his lines and the control of the cornering details.
Lin Yan followed for a full half lap without finding an opportunity. When the race entered the third lap, Lin Yan began to use his old tricks.
“The same move, it’s turn eight and turn nine again. Can Lin Shen replicate the overtaking maneuver from earlier? Let’s wait and see.”
Hao Dong kept the audience in suspense in the live broadcast. If it were up to him, it would be simple.
In fact, according to him, Lin Shen didn't even need to ride so steadily; he could just use a high lean angle and force his way through.
At turn nine, Lin Yan overtook the Yamaha rider in the same manner, but this time the Yamaha rider was clearly much more experienced.
He fully utilized the Yamaha’s cornering speed advantage, exiting the corner almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Yan.
The Yamaha’s straight-line speed was poor, but its cornering speed was very fast.
In the end, Lin Yan still managed to secure the inside line at turn nine with his positional advantage, but the Yamaha rider’s reputation as a cornering surgeon was well-earned.
At turn ten, he attempted to regain his position using cornering speed again.
However, Lin Yan always responded calmly, without any sign of panic.
After three corners, Lin Yan had already opened up a gap with the Yamaha rider.
The Yamaha team personnel were stunned. How could they compete?
What was the difference between this and cheating? They were clearly not on the same level. This was bullying!
After overtaking the Yamaha rider, Lin Yan’s next obstacle was a Honda rider.
Honda had also brought in a fierce competitor this time.
He had previously won a WSBK championship, but he was now getting old, already thirty years old.
This was an age close to retirement. Although Lin Yan found the strategy of fielding an older rider very puzzling, he still had to overtake.
Lin Yan launched a fierce attack on the rider in front of him, entering the corner at a 65-degree lean angle and overtaking from the outside. This was the so-called aggressive pass.
Overtaking from the outside was a complete display of skill dominance, and 65 degrees was the limit that this Ducati V4 could achieve.
“Sixty-five degrees!”
An old fan of endurance racing in the stands exclaimed. This was the first time he had ever seen such a low lean angle for a racing bike.
“Brother, you don’t need to be so surprised. Sixty-five degrees isn’t Lin Shen’s limit yet.”
A die-hard fan of Lin Yan sitting next to him said. He was an old fan who had followed him from the Isle of Man to Shanghai and now to the endurance race, not missing a single event.
“Then what is Lin Shen’s maximum lean angle?”
Hearing this, the fan made a gesture.
“Six... sixty-eight.”
The old fan’s eyes widened. This was simply unbelievable.
“But I feel like Lin Shen won’t be able to achieve such a high angle this time. The difference between a production bike and a factory bike is too great.”
...
Lin Yan’s choice to overtake from the outside was not without purpose. The line taken by this Honda rider was clearly that of an experienced rider.
Therefore, Lin Yan chose to overwhelm him with sheer skill. Although overtaking from the outside carried the risk of crashing, and a high lean angle would also wear out the tires, it was effective.
“Lin Shen’s bike is starting to shake. Is it really okay to overtake from the outside like this?”
Hao Dong began to analyze.
In the corner, Lin Yan could clearly feel the bike shake.
This was caused by low tire grip. The track temperature was simply too low, making even a 65-degree lean angle difficult.
However, Lin Yan never did anything he wasn’t sure of.
After shaking a few times, the Ducati V4 stabilized. As long as Lin Yan could overtake, the opponent would have little chance.
After four laps, Lin Yan had already moved into third place.
In the Ducati pit, Zhang Mingzhi’s smile did not diminish.
At this rate, winning the championship was only a matter of time, depending on the weather conditions.
Vinales’s expression was also quite calm, clearly confident.
Although he was a little worried, these were minor issues for now.
His concerns differed from Zhang Mingzhi’s; he was worried about Lin Yan’s stamina in the later stages.
Even in a wet race, everyone’s strength was evident, and the only difference would be increased variables.
Stamina was the key to endurance racing.
Su Mo Jin sat quietly in a corner, watching the screen. She couldn’t understand the details, but she could grasp the general situation.
However, she couldn’t do anything from the stands and could only pray in her heart for her beloved on the track.
While Lin Yan was overtaking, the two bikes in front were also constantly swapping positions.
King still had some skill, barely holding off the Suzuki rider.
Due to the close battles and position changes, they had not pulled far away from Lin Yan.
King was riding a large Italian bike.
He was desperately trying to shake off the Suzuki rider behind him.
But the opponent stuck to him like a piece of sticky candy.
It should be noted that the only somewhat pitiable scene in this race was the battle for first place.