He could barely hold onto the handlebars of the racing car, having almost lost control twice in the previous corners.
Sweat streamed down his forehead, soaking his helmet, and his arms trembled slightly, making even the act of squeezing the brakes feel strenuous.
Lin Yan felt as if his arms were filled with lead, completely drained of strength.
As the shaking intensified and the frequency quickened.
The fans in the stands also noticed the abnormality in Lin Yan's arms.
On screen, during each of Lin Yan's turns, the hand supporting the side of the car shook violently. Not only the person but the car itself also vibrated intensely, a fact made extremely clear by the high-frame-rate cameras positioned by the roadside.
Due to tire wear, the grip had significantly decreased. Before each braking into a corner, the car would shake violently, preventing Lin Yan from entering the turn at a lower angle.
After exiting the turns, Lin Yan's rear suspension even bounced a few times, another sign of insufficient tire grip, akin to spinning wheels at the start. This startled the fans outside the track.
But Lin Yan's hands still gripped the handlebars tightly.
His gloves were soaked with sweat, and Lin Yan struggled to control the car.
"Damn it, am I going to crash out here!"
Lin Yan cursed inwardly, exerting force with both hands, veins bulging on the backs of his hands as he gripped the handlebars.
Michael was not in a much better situation; the intense effort in the earlier laps had left his limbs utterly weak.
The fans watching the race held their breath, as most of the drivers had little tire life remaining.
Consequently, the cars were shaking to some extent, but Lin Yan's Ducati V4SP was shaking far too violently.
Meanwhile, Lin Guoxiong, watching the live broadcast on his computer in his office, felt his heart leap into his throat. More than the outcome of the race, he was concerned about his son's safety.
He was an amateur, but even watching the race made him feel it was incredibly dangerous. Furthermore, his son's car was shaking to such an extent, and the recent bounces of the rear suspension had nearly thrown Lin Yan off.
Just then, there was a knock on the office door. Lin Guoxiong's secretary entered, immediately seeing Lin Guoxiong sitting tensely before the computer.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then approached Lin Guoxiong and whispered a few words into his ear.
Upon hearing the secretary's report, Lin Guoxiong's brow furrowed slightly. He cast one last glance at the computer screen on his desk, then tidied the files on his desk and walked out.
"If it's not physical exhaustion, then it could very well be muscle weakness,"
Hao Dong, commentating on the live broadcast, said with a heavy tone.
Judging by his tone, he clearly leaned towards the latter. After all, in his understanding, a twenty-year-old driver at the peak of his physical condition wouldn't be this weak, even with poor stamina.
But if it were indeed muscle weakness, then perhaps...
He didn't voice the rest of his thoughts.
Muscle weakness, as the name suggests, refers to the inability of skeletal muscles to generate normal strength. Muscle weakness is not uncommon in two-wheeled racing.
There have been GP riders who, due to crashes, suffered permanent muscle weakness in their right arm and had to mount the brakes below the left-hand clutch.
In Hao Dong's eyes, Lin Yan's condition was a clear symptom of intermittent muscle weakness, meaning temporary muscle fatigue.
But even with temporary muscle fatigue, Lin Yan would likely be unable to finish the race.
"Muscle weakness? Is that true?"
"This shouldn't be permanent muscle weakness, right?"
"Definitely not. If it were permanent muscle weakness, the race organizers wouldn't have allowed him to compete."
"It must be temporary. Damn, I almost thought he was sandbagging."
"Would a professional driver sandbag? Do you think this is like playing a game?"
"I just feel like he's out of energy..."
...
Indeed, self-imagination is the most fatal. Under Hao Dong's "misleading" commentary, the fans in the live stream were quite convinced.
The fans at the venue, lacking commentary, were unaware of what was happening.
However, most people in the crowd still believed that Lin Yan's arm was shaking due to exhaustion, which was a normal assumption.
But where there is controversy, there are always those who think they know better, and opinions were divided.
Furthermore, the idea of a professional driver becoming exhausted and experiencing severe arm tremors after only five laps was not very credible, so this theory was quickly dismissed.
"They had such high expectations for me, and now they're so disappointing. Damn, I can't watch this anymore!"
At this moment, a young man in a suit on the spectator stands swore loudly, looking very displeased.
"Exactly. We thought he might win the championship, and we could witness history."
A middle-aged woman in her forties, sitting next to the young man, immediately chimed in agreement.
She had little interest in this kind of race herself; she was accompanying her son.
As the two spoke, they immediately drew agreement from newer fans.
"Yeah, he was so amazing in the first few laps, but now he's so slow in the later laps."
"Who knows? Maybe he took money."
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? There's no taking money on the Isle of Man, and as a fan, you should respect every driver on the track. What are you saying?"
Seeing his two sons talking like that, the father immediately stood up and reprimanded them on the spot.
However, older fans were still...
Listening to the surrounding discussions, a group of old fans and a group of new fans argued, caught in a heated debate.
"Hey, have you no conscience? Didn't you see how hard Lin Yan is trying? What more do you want?"
At this point, Gu Yueyan, who was nearby, couldn't stand it any longer. She stood up and yelled at the crowd, while Reba next to her also looked indignant. If Gu Yueyan hadn't been holding her back, she would have stood up to reason with them long ago.
Gu Yueyan was holding her back for her own good, and she also knew that Lin Yan wasn't sandbagging or throwing the race; it was genuinely due to physical reasons. Feng Yueying had told her about it on their last call.
"Alright, everyone, stop talking. The race results aren't out yet, and the drivers are still fighting hard. As Chinese people, we're here discussing our Chinese driver."
After Gu Yueyan stood up, another uncle stood up and spoke. It was the same uncle who had been on the same flight as Gu Yueyan and them.
"Damn it, it's rare for us Chinese to have an Isle of Man driver, and he's already trying this hard. What else could be wrong?"
At this moment, another uncle also stood up.