The time was 11:20 AM, with over forty minutes remaining until the race start. Lin Yan had already dismounted from the simulator and was beginning his warm-up exercises.
Ren Fei was doing the same. By this point, Lun Si was no longer bothering Gu Yueyan and was also warming up with Lin Yan and the others.
The event's camera crew entered the pit box, holding their cameras.
The camera feed was connected to major broadcasting platforms and sports television channels.
"Hello everyone, I am your commentator, Hao Dong."
At the same time, Hao Dong also opened his live stream. The moment he went live, a wave of racing fans flooded into the chat.
His fans were very curious about his sudden broadcast.
"Hey? That's not right, wasn't the Isle of Man TT already raced this year? Dongzi, why are you live again?"
"Could this be..."
"There's a car numbered 27, could that familiar person be Lin Yan?"
"I think based on what Gou Dong just said, it's very likely!"
"Wow, really? I get to watch Lin Yan again, I'm so excited~"
"Tsk, a rider from the Isle of Man coming to race in MotoGP, isn't that just messing around?"
...
Needless to say, the fate of the last troll was predictable.
However, Hao Dong hadn't finished building the suspense for long before Lin Yan's face appeared on the screen.
"Holy crap, it really is Lin Yan."
"It's really Lin Yan! I have to wake up my roommates, our whole dorm are Lin Yan fans."
"The one upstairs, are you guys still sleeping in the middle of the day?"
"Is he here to participate in MotoGP? 27 is awesome."
"Good heavens, I declare, from today onwards, our Lin Yan female fan club officially enters MotoGP..."
Inside the pit box, Lin Yan put on his airbag vest and chest protector, then donned his leather suit before walking out of the pit box with Zhang Mingzhi and the others.
At 12:30 PM, the team staff pushed the bikes onto the track.
All thirty factory bikes were pushed out of the pit box simultaneously, drawing the attention of the spectators on the track towards the starting grid.
The Shanghai Grand Prix had attracted a staggering 180,000 spectators this year, with over 70,000 being Chinese fans.
Such a large crowd filled almost all the grandstands, which were packed densely.
The thirty factory bikes were lined up one by one at the start of the track. At the same time, thirty grid girls holding parasols also emerged from the pit box.
Lin Yan straddled his No. 27 race bike, the GP22 beneath him having its front and rear wheels covered by tire warmers.
Lin Yan placed his helmet in front of him, not yet wearing it, as the track temperature was extremely high.
Although the air temperature was only 27 degrees Celsius, the track temperature had already reached 60 degrees.
Just sitting there, sweat was already trickling down.
According to the electronic draw, Lin Yan drew the seventh position, meaning he would start seventh.
In MotoGP, qualifying sessions also saw riders start in the order of their draw, with a very small interval of only five seconds between riders.
However, catching up to the riders ahead within those five seconds was practically impossible, even for Lin Yan.
Take this Shanghai circuit for example, with a lap length of only 6.3 kilometers. To close a five-second gap over 6.3 kilometers meant gaining an average of 0.8 seconds per kilometer, which was a pipe dream among top-tier riders.
On his bike, Lin Yan saw the Honda rider who was scheduled to start second. Because the rider's back was facing Lin Yan, he couldn't see the rider's number or face.
However, Lin Yan guessed that this rider on the factory Honda bike was likely Rinsler.
Lin Yan had checked the data; Rinsler was only 1.7 meters tall, and the figure he saw from behind perfectly matched this description.
Facing the scorching sun, Lin Yan closed his eyes, simulating the cornering scenes in his mind.
To Lun Si's astonished gaze, Gu Yueyan walked to Lin Yan's side and opened the umbrella she was holding, shielding him from the sun.
Feng Yueying then went to Ren Fei's side and also held up an umbrella, while Xiao Lan stood by Lun Si.
With five minutes remaining until the race start, the safety car, a BMW M3, began its lap around the Shanghai circuit to check for any debris on the track.
This Shanghai circuit had a total of thirteen corners, six left and seven right, making it a standard clockwise track.
When the safety car returned to the finish line, the riders all put on their helmets.
Team personnel removed the tire warmers and retreated along with the grid girls.
As the referee waved the green flag, the leading Yamaha factory rider twisted the throttle with his right hand, and the bike shot forward with a roar.
Next was Rinsler, who was in second place.
When it was Lin Yan's turn, accompanied by a fierce engine roar, the GP22 beneath him launched forward.
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