At six o'clock, it was completely dark when Lin Yan got into the car. The heat emitted by the engine was particularly noticeable in the night air.
Lin Yan set off again to continue the race. The track had fallen into darkness, with only the headlights at the front of the car illuminating the road.
Lin Yan was experienced in night racing.
"Why not add a penalty for not defending?"
"Unacceptable."
The old man shook his head, deeming it not a good strategy.
"Then there's only one way: add a points race. Points are awarded for overtaking, and these points can be used to offset laps."
Quinn spoke, having actually thought of this method earlier but not yet voiced it.
Upon hearing this, the old man pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Inappropriate!"
He didn't give a reason, but Quinn could guess the general sentiment.
This old man didn't want Ducati to win.
With no better solutions, the two had to give up, issuing only an official directive for drivers to respect sportsmanship as much as possible and defend with their best effort.
The speed was incredibly fast. An hour later, Lin Yan returned to the pit.
"Look at this."
Zhang Mingzhi handed the race bulletin to Lin Yan, who scanned it.
For some reason, Lin Yan felt that the race was not particularly friendly towards them.
..................................................................
Time flew by rapidly. Soon, it was ten o'clock at night. The race had already been going on for ten hours. The audience was getting tired. There had been no overtaking scenes, and some had already fallen asleep on their chairs. Only Lin Yan's fans remained energetic. At this moment, the first batch of Lin Yan's fans from China had arrived at the scene and were cheering him on. Among them was Chen Qianqian, who had just arrived.
However, just as cheers continued to erupt from the stands, the motorcycle Lin Yan was riding suddenly lost power.
The once fast-moving motorcycle rapidly decelerated without the aid of brakes. Lin Yan realized something was wrong and twisted the throttle twice, trying to increase the speed, but it had no effect.
At this point, he was still some distance from the pit start line, about a third of the entire track length. Lin Yan cursed inwardly. As the vehicle's power completely diminished, he flipped himself off the bike and began pushing it towards the starting point.
The sudden turn of events caused the previously calm Ducati pit to become tense. All technicians were on high alert, and Zhang Mingzhi looked as if he were facing a great enemy.
Ren Fei and Lens both stood up from their seats, and Su Mojin also looked towards the track with a worried expression.
The nearly one-kilometer journey was exceptionally difficult for Lin Yan to push the motorcycle. Gripping the handlebars, Lin Yan gritted his teeth tightly. Cars continuously whizzed past him from behind. Fortunately, the area where Lin Yan was walking had staff holding lights to signal, and the drivers behind him all noticed.
Seeing this, the Suzuki pit was overjoyed. Ducati had been leading by thirteen laps, and now they would likely be lapping Ducati.
However, soon, the face of the Suzuki team leader showed a hint of confusion. What was he doing?
Lin Yan was not the first person whose car had malfunctioned. Another V-four motorcycle, an Aprilia, had been sent to the pit not long before and had been out for half an hour before reappearing.
"Lin Yan, go!"
"God Lin, go!"
On the track, every section of the track Lin Yan passed was met with encouragement from the audience. But Lin Yan was simply too tired to respond. After riding for over five hours, coupled with pushing the bike, his stamina had reached its limit.
Step by step, Lin Yan ran, using his momentum to restart the engine and even occasionally fumbling with the engine. These actions puzzled the Suzuki manager.
Another strange engine roar sounded, but after just one attempt, the engine stalled again. Lin Yan pushed the car quickly while carefully listening to the engine's sounds.
Track staff stood by with lights, unable to help due to the rules. Fortunately, Lin Yan had maintained his balance throughout and hadn't fallen. But even so, it took over ten minutes for Lin Yan to return to the pit, and the lead he had built was about to be caught up.
"Zhang Mingzhi!"
As the motorcycle entered the pit, Lin Yan called out Zhang Mingzhi's name. Zhang Mingzhi, who was waiting at the entrance, immediately rushed over.
"The third cylinder of the engine is cooling down. I suspect that's the problem!"
Lin Yan told Zhang Mingzhi the results of his recent observations. Zhang Mingzhi nodded quickly and then led a group of technicians to push the car onto the lift.
After saying this to Zhang Mingzhi, Lin Yan collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.