Two racing cars passed the finish line. Lin Yan caught the slipstream of the Suzuki rider and aggressively pushed the throttle on the straight, his car quickly overtaking the Suzuki rider's Suzuki Hayabusa.
At this moment, the Suzuki rider also saw the notice board displayed by his pit crew. As a member of his team, he naturally understood the team's coded message. However, Lin Yan had already passed him halfway, and there was nothing he could do.
The so-called "tricks" were malicious blocking. However, it was very difficult to achieve malicious blocking on motorcycles. Four-wheeled vehicles have rearview mirrors, allowing drivers to know when the car behind is attacking. They can time their adjustments to block the opponent on their racing line. However, even in top-tier four-wheeled racing like F1, such lane changes for defense are only allowed once. This is why in many F1 races, you see a scene where the car behind prepares to overtake, the car in front blocks once, and then returns to its own line. This is the reason, and the race regulations only allow this one defensive maneuver.
Motorcycles are different. You have no idea when the opponent will attack. If you block too early, it's fine. But if you block too late, and the opponent is already beside you, and you try to change lanes, you'll be in a terrible accident. Malicious blocking will be penalized as dangerous driving, and a crash could lead to a lifetime ban.
The car accelerated rapidly. Before the first corner, Lin Yan braked hard and cleanly overtook the Suzuki rider. The latter had no time to make any subtle moves.
"Sigh!"
The Suzuki team manager sighed. This was not the first time he had sighed.
Blocking was simply impossible. There was no way to block.
With such a gap in skill, if their car wasn't performing well, he truly wouldn't see any hope. Who could endure being lapped so easily?
Without the Suzuki rider behind him, Dos, riding the Kawasaki Ninja H2, had to face Lin Yan head-on. Sensing Lin Yan behind him, he immediately felt a significant increase in pressure.
There's a saying in racing: if you can follow "Lin Shen" for ten laps, it means you're skilled. If "Lin Shen" can follow you for five laps, it means you have good pressure resistance. And now, he was experiencing the pressure of "Lin Shen" behind him. It was nerve-wracking.
However, Lin Yan didn't let him endure this pressure for too long. Soon, Lin Yan launched his attack.
In a twenty-four-hour endurance race, there's no concept of lapping and letting cars through. So, if Lin Yan wanted to move forward, he had to overtake Dos ahead as quickly as possible.
Without hesitation, Lin Yan positioned himself behind Dos at turn eight and made his move at turn nine. This time, Dos defended well, tightly holding the inside line.
In the stands, the Kawasaki pit crew chief frowned, wondering what this kid was doing.
"Tell Dos to let the opponent pass directly. Don't waste time and energy on him."
He would eventually be passed anyway. Blocking now was completely meaningless, serving only to help the Suzuki team. They wouldn't do such thankless tasks. With that spare time, they might as well focus on fighting for third place, which was still a podium finish.
The chief thought this, but Dos didn't think the same way.
Although he knew internally that Lin Yan was formidable and unmatched, he still wanted to challenge him.
When Lin Yan attacked at turn nine, Dos predicted that Lin Yan would attack at this corner and took a crossover line. Although Lin Yan's cornering speed was slightly faster, Dos still managed to defend against Lin Yan, albeit precariously.
At turn ten, after failing to attack once, Dos knew Lin Yan would attack again. He intentionally braked early, preparing to use the opportunity of Lin Yan's car exiting the corner wide to take a crossover line. However, this time Lin Yan gave him no chance. He braked late and hard. Even though the tire was at its limit, Lin Yan's car remained very stable. In terms of tire management, Lin Yan was on par with these endurance racers, perhaps even superior.
Braking late and hugging the inside line, Dos found the inside line blocked by Lin Yan when he prepared to enter it. He had no choice but to slow down and brake, then turn to the outside line. He noticed this very early. Top drivers in the top leagues have a habit in their cornering and other maneuvers: their body is performing one action, but their eyes are already looking at the next point. As the car enters the corner after braking, their gaze is on the apex. As the car enters the corner, their eyes are on the exit point. Their eyes are always one step ahead of their hands.
This reduces the occurrence of errors. Driver errors are not what normal people think of as mistakes. Under extreme pressure, a driver's heart rate continuously soars. When the heart rate exceeds 170, their vision blurs, and they feel dizzy. Most drivers experience these symptoms during close racing. In such an environment, executing precise cornering, lines, and overtakes without error is incredibly difficult.
When Lin Yan was battling with Raisner back then, he wasn't calmly competing under his helmet. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was panting, his face red and neck thick, fighting even harder than a physical brawl, requiring extremely high cardiac capacity.
Within two corners, Dos was no match. Lin Yan successfully lapped him. After further increasing his lead over Dos, green flags were waved from the sidelines. The first hour had ended, and all drivers entered the pit for tire changes. Lin Yan, being in the lead, was the first to enter the pit lane. Six or seven mechanics were ready at the pit entrance, holding tires and tools. The moment Lin Yan's car stopped, they immediately sprang into action.
He dismounted and patted Ren Fei on the shoulder, whispering a few instructions in his ear. After the tire change and refueling, Ren Fei mounted the bike and sped out of the pit.
"How were they, young master? How is the skill level of these drivers?"
Back in the pit.
After Lin Yan rested for a while, Zhang Mingzhi approached him and said.
"Their skill level is average. They have little impact on Ren Fei and me, but the winning margin is still not large. My current concern is that the car might have problems at night."
A twenty-four-hour endurance race is different from an eight-hour one. Cars break down quite frequently, and their racing car's repair rate is also very high, making them more prone to issues.
Hearing this, Zhang Mingzhi's expression changed. This was almost identical to what Vinares had said before.
Lin Yan gave a few simple instructions, and Zhang Mingzhi left.
Su Mojin was massaging Lin Yan's shoulders and arms from behind. She didn't interject at this moment, knowing that Lin Yan needed rest, both mentally and physically.