A corner taken 0.25 seconds too slow, how could the qualifying session still be competitive? Forget it, let's just watch the main race later, Suzuki has a significant advantage in the main race.
This 0.25 seconds was not just any 0.25 seconds; Ren Fei hadn't even used his full strength, which was also the biggest disappointment for the Suzuki representative.
Ren Fei had no rear brake. From the video, at turn one, Ren Fei and the Suzuki rider braked at the same point and exited the corner at the same point.
Despite braking at the same point, this highlighted the gap in their abilities. Over the same distance, their speeds should have been similar, but their team's rider was a full 0.25 seconds slower than the opponent. Being inexplicably 0.25 seconds slower made the Suzuki representative feel terrible.
It seemed his rider's control and prediction of corner entry speed were far too lacking.
The braking points were the same, but Ren Fei's entry speed into the corner was 180 kph, while their team's rider's entry speed was only 170 kph. This was the key to losing speed.
Someone entering the corner at 180 kph could brake, but entering at 180 kph might mean you couldn't brake in time.
After turn one, the Suzuki representative stopped watching the race. He lay back in his chair; the qualifying session was over for him.
Soon, the two-lap qualifying session ended. Ren Fei secured pole position. On his first lap alone, his lap time was almost a full second faster than the second-place rider, Dos. Even the Kawasaki team, with the strongest riders, was no match for Ren Fei, completely outclassed in terms of technology.
"Honey, I've always wanted to ask you, why doesn't the Kawasaki team use their superbike, the Kawasaki H2?"
In the pit lane below, Su Mojin voiced her curiosity. She was very curious why everyone said the Kawasaki H2R was a powerful superbike, yet the Kawasaki team had never brought this bike out for competition.
Logically, wouldn't bringing out their superbike make it easier to win?
Hearing this, Lin Yan, who was sitting on the sofa watching the race, turned to look at her. He didn't understand why his little darling was suddenly interested in this, but he still replied.
"Because of the supercharger. Superchargers are not suitable for motorcycles on the track. The current technology is not mature enough for motorcycle racing."
Regardless of whether Su Mojin understood, Lin Yan continued.
Actually, he himself was a bit puzzled by Kawasaki's decision to add a supercharger to their bike.
Superchargers had their pros and cons. They could indeed increase horsepower, but they also made the entire vehicle incredibly aggressive, indicating that the technology was not yet fully mature. Otherwise, top-tier races would definitely be faster than Kawasaki's. This was certain; the six major manufacturers spent money faster than flowing water to win.
Beginners found it too aggressive to handle, while experienced riders had more options. Just like Lin Yan, he was paying for its cool factor.
Lin Yan himself owned an H2R, and he had his reasons for calling the bike aggressive.
The H2R had a horsepower of over 310, which was incredibly high, almost absurdly so.
A normal production liter-class sportbike only had a little over 200 horsepower. The Yamaha R1 had only just over 200 horsepower. 300 horsepower was truly terrifying.
To give a more exaggerated example, even the KTM factory bike, known for its horsepower and its slogan "great power, great miracles," only had 280 horsepower. The GP22 had just over 270 horsepower, which was more than the factory bike. The Kawasaki H2R, as a superbike, lived up to its name. Of course, this didn't mean the H2 was faster than the factory bikes; speed also depended on the bike's power-to-weight ratio.
The extra 100 horsepower compared to a normal production liter-class sportbike didn't come from nowhere; it was amplified by the supercharger kit.
And this supercharger, in Lin Yan's opinion, was somewhat the source of all evil. While it provided horsepower, it also gave the entire vehicle an unparalleled weight, with a curb weight of a full 240 kilograms, nearly 50 pounds heavier than a Yamaha R1 and nearly 100 pounds heavier than a factory bike.
Crucially, the installation position of this device was behind the engine, shifting the entire vehicle's center of gravity backward significantly. This caused the bike to wheelie almost as soon as you applied throttle and made it very easy to lose control in corners. These factors almost guaranteed that, despite being a track bike, the H2R could barely compete in anything other than drag races.
Hearing Lin Yan's words, Su Mojin nodded. She indeed didn't understand and decided to ask him properly when they got home.
To avoid distracting Lin Yan from watching the race, Su Mojin didn't ask any further questions. At this moment, Ren Fei also drove his car back to the pit lane. This kid had secured pole position with almost no effort.
"Tell me, how good is that GP rider's skill?"
"Very strong. In the main race, I probably wouldn't be able to keep up with him for two laps."
In the Kawasaki pit lane, Dos said to his pit lane manager with a solemn expression.
"And that's not even that Lin Shen. If that Lin Shen came out, it would probably be even more terrifying."
The Kawasaki manager sighed.
Not being able to keep up with Ren Fei for two laps was definitely not an exaggeration.
"Forget it, these aren't things we need to worry about. Since Kawasaki doesn't have a GP rider, let Suzuki handle these things. We just need to get into the top three."
After a moment of silence, the manager quickly resigned himself. Suzuki was the king of endurance racing, and they weren't aiming for the championship, so it wasn't their concern.
"Uh, boss, I have a question I don't know if I should ask."
"Go ahead."
"Why don't people like Suzuki and Honda, or KTM, who have GP riders, bring them in to help?"
Dos, taking off his leather suit, asked. This question had bothered him for a long time. They had their own riders, so why not bring them along?
"Heh, you overestimate them. They can't get them."
The Kawasaki manager sneered. Endurance racing was a thankless task that required a lot of effort, and those geniuses wouldn't easily come for it.