The spectators on the track were thoroughly showered with affection.
Jamie and Barlow glanced back at Lin Yan. This Eastern kid, who had nearly secured pole position in his first competition, had clearly caught their attention.
The top five were all old rivals. They had competed against each other in their youth, so it wasn't surprising that a twenty-year-old like Lin Yan would draw their notice.
"Hey, kid, do you remember me!"
After Su Mojin separated from Lin Yan, a bearded foreigner starting fifth behind Lin Yan called out to him.
The voice sounded familiar, and Lin Yan looked back.
"It's me, from the game that day..."
The bearded foreigner made a gaming gesture towards Lin Yan. Based on the voice, Lin Yan now remembered who he was.
So it was him. This bearded foreigner was quite skilled in the game, and he hadn't expected him to be a coach as well.
That made sense. If he knew his master, he probably wasn't too bad.
"Interested in having a drink after the race? I'll invite that person too."
Seeing that Lin Yan recognized him, the bearded foreigner extended a warm invitation.
"That person?" Lin Yan blinked in surprise, then a look of joy spread across his face. Could his master have come as well!
The bearded foreigner chuckled and said,
"That's right, the one you're thinking of."
"Great, then I'll treat!"
Seeing them chatting happily, Barlow and Jamie exchanged glances. How did this Chinese kid know the bearded man too?
Soon, the flags on the track began to wave, and all the staff members left.
"Alright, off you go."
Lin Yan ruffled Su Mojin's head, and Su Mojin reluctantly walked towards the pit lane.
Adjusting his helmet, Lin Yan lowered his body onto the fuel tank of the bike.
As the staff withdrew, a tense atmosphere permeated the vast racetrack. Apart from the roar of the crowd, everything else was silent.
The thirty riders, with their feet on the ground, all assumed a standard starting position, their gazes beneath their helmets fixed straight ahead.
The red flag waved, and the green flag was withdrawn.
A row of red lights in front of the starting line lit up one by one.
"Lights out, start!"
As the red lights extinguished, a deafening roar of engines erupted across the Kyoto International Circuit, an area of nearly 4.5 square kilometers.
Thirty motorcycles launched forward simultaneously.
The front wheels of the bikes lifted slightly. Lin Yan shot out from the second row. It was a top-tier launch, but the riders' skills were quite similar, so Lin Yan's launch advantage wasn't significant.
The needle on the tachometer jumped wildly. On the short straight before the start line, Lin Yan shifted through four gears, then braked and downshifted for the turn.
The first corner was a left-hand turn. Due to his starting position, the bearded foreigner was directly behind Lin Yan to his right, and there was no opportunity to take the inside line.
Successfully navigating the first corner, the positions of the top five remained unchanged, but the gaps between them narrowed, their front wheels almost touching their rear wheels.
Lin Yan's onboard camera offered a clear view of the rear of Suzuki's R, who was in fourth place ahead of him.
The second corner was an unremarkable turn. Several bikes didn't take wide lines, and there were no opportunities for overtakes.
In such top-tier competitions, the chances of riders making mistakes were extremely slim. Each rider hugged the inside of the turn, leaving no room for the vehicles behind.
Kyoto Circuit. Lin Yan had raced here before. After the second corner, there was a short straight. After the eighth corner, there was also a short straight. Including the finish line, there were three straights, which was advantageous for Ducati.
On the straight after exiting the second corner, a red silhouette in the camera view gradually overtook the blue one. The production-model horsepower king pulled alongside and passed the production-model GSX by drafting.
Lin Yan overtook the Suzuki rider on the straight.
However, the Suzuki rider had anticipated this and, after being overtaken, engaged in a braking duel with Lin Yan, preventing Lin Yan from gaining too much distance. In the third corner, he used the GSX's agility to overtake back.
"It's true that the Ducati is strong on the straights, but its cornering is too weak."
Hao Dong exclaimed regretfully. Lin Yan's braking was too aggressive, causing the bike to shake. As he prepared to enter the third corner, a gap appeared, which the Suzuki rider seized.
With a simple position change, Lin Yan didn't gain an advantage. The rider ahead of him wasn't ordinary if he could reach third place!
Next came the consecutive turns of corners four and five. The first set of consecutive turns was destined to be a place where positions would change.
The bearded foreigner on the Yamaha R1 behind him made the first move. Consecutive turns were very advantageous for bikes like the Yamaha, which excelled in cornering speed. Lin Yan didn't sit idly by and attacked the rider ahead again.
Almost all riders on the track would make a move in these consecutive turns. The second-placed Jamie would naturally attack the first-placed Barlow.
The Suzuki rider didn't make a move. He was observing the situation, waiting for the two riders ahead to make their moves, hoping to benefit from their efforts. However, to defend against Lin Yan behind him, he also delayed his braking point.
This young junior was incredibly aggressive in his attacks.
Suzuki delayed his braking, but Lin Yan's braking point was even later. A standard late-braking overtake meant delaying the braking distance and maintaining high speed for a longer period than the opponent.
In simpler terms, it was similar to a rear-end collision. At a certain point, the rider in front brakes, and if you don't, you'll crash into them.
Lin Yan wasn't aiming for the rear of the opponent's bike at this moment. Corner four was a left-hand turn. Lin Yan's bike veered slightly to the left, just missing the opponent's rear. This meant that, while it was still a form of rear-end collision, Lin Yan turned slightly, moving to the opponent's left – this was a late-braking overtake.
The Suzuki R rider had just braked to a reasonable speed and was preparing to lean into the corner when Lin Yan, from behind, shot to his left.
Then, he applied heavy braking, causing the rear of the bike to lift, the rear wheel leaving the ground.
A drawback of late braking was that your braking distance would be shorter than the rider in front, so your braking force had to be greater than theirs.
After heavy braking, Lin Yan, stabilizing the bike, blocked the Suzuki rider's line. However, just as Lin Yan was preparing to enter the corner, the bearded foreigner from behind also arrived.
He replicated Lin Yan's previous move, also late-braking and blocking Lin Yan.
Three bikes vying for one corner was not a common sight in races. Their bikes were close together, and the spectators' hearts pounded in unison.
The bearded foreigner entered the corner first on the inside line.
Just as they exited the fourth left-hand turn, the three bikes formed a "sandwich" structure, with Lin Yan trapped in the middle.
However, the subsequent fifth corner was a right-hand turn.
A left turn followed by a right turn, left and right. In the left turn, the bearded foreigner was on the inside line, but in the right turn, the bearded foreigner was on the outside.
"Lin Yan and rider 21 behind him both late-braked. Rider 21 was on the far left, giving him an advantage in corner four. However, corner five is a right-hand turn, which favors the Suzuki rider on the right. Lin Yan in the middle seems to be in a difficult position."
As expected, in the consecutive turns, the bearded foreigner, who had been leading on the left, instantly moved to the far outside, while the Suzuki rider, who had been on the far outside, moved to the inside.
In the consecutive turns, it seemed like the positions hadn't changed.
"In this situation, will it all be in vain?"
A simple position change, and no change in ranking?
No, Lin Yan executed a crossover line and overtook Suzuki.
While Ducati bikes were weak in corners, Lin Yan's cornering was strong, using rider technique to compensate for the bike's deficiencies.