Jiang Qiyan must have put in some serious effort this time. Through turn two, she was noticeably faster than during the main race, and she could feel the pressure mounting.
According to the race schedule they had agreed upon, it was a two-lap showdown, with eighteen turns per lap. Jiang Qiyan had to make the most of it.
At this moment, she understood that to win, she had to push every single turn to its absolute limit.
In turn two, Jiang Qiyan executed the braking and all other details to the best of her ability. Her braking point was incredibly late, and her lean angle through the corner was much lower. Fortunately, the mechanics had fitted new tires for her after the main race, and the tires were more than capable.
The cornering speed through turn two was already at Jiang Qiyan's absolute limit. As she entered the turn, her bike began to shake violently.
Her aggressive approach paid off, and the effect was obvious. In this corner, Jiang Qiyan's speed even surpassed Li Xiao's.
"This level is quite good, enough," Lin Yan commented from the sixth floor. The bike's shaking indicated that this was Jiang Qiyan's limit; if she braked any later, she would likely lose control.
Exiting the corner quickly, Jiang Qiyan kept her eyes fixed on Li Xiao's back ahead.
The distance between them was very small. Li Xiao hadn't gained much of an advantage in turn one. However, for Jiang Qiyan to overtake, she would likely need a few more turns. Although she was faster than Li Xiao in the corners, it was only by a small margin.
In turn three, Jiang Qiyan's bike was still shaking, but the gap between them had narrowed slightly. Yes, just slightly, a gap that the spectators could barely perceive with the naked eye.
Li Xiao glanced back, surprised that Jiang Qiyan could keep up. He couldn't believe she was still there, especially considering he had hired a specialist to heavily modify his bike at a great expense.
Now, he pushed even harder. He couldn't afford to lose this race.
At turn four, Li Xiao accelerated, forcing Jiang Qiyan, who had been planning to overtake, to abandon her attempt and focus on closing the gap.
The two bikes were now very close. Li Xiao's race bike was within Jiang Qiyan's attack range.
To everyone's surprise, Jiang Qiyan still didn't make a move in turn five, a perfect overtaking spot.
The two bikes ran one after the other, with Jiang Qiyan continuously closing the distance.
Fortunately, the track designed by Lin Yan didn't have many long straights, only the one at the start. Even the other straights were very short. Otherwise, Jiang Qiyan would have almost certainly lost.
However, this straight also presented a challenge for Jiang Qiyan.
At turn eight, another ideal overtaking corner, Jiang Qiyan launched her attack. With a late brake, she managed to pass Li Xiao.
She then maximized her exit speed. Her bike shook violently as she shot out of turn eight and approached the entrance to turn nine.
Her race bike roared past Li Xiao. Overtaken, Li Xiao gritted his teeth, completely baffled as to why he still couldn't handle her even with his modified bike.
"Wow, Goddess Jiang is amazing, beating even a modded bike!"
"She's really awesome, but Li Xiao is too disappointing. Riding a modded bike and still being so trash."
"Yeah, I thought he was supposed to be good. Go, Goddess Jiang, leave him in the dust!"
...
Although Jiang Qiyan was fighting hard, she was also smart. The next nine turns were perfect for her to shake off Li Xiao.
As expected, once they entered the subsequent nine turns, Li Xiao started to fall behind Jiang Qiyan. The high-difficulty corners highlighted a technical gap that no amount of horsepower could compensate for.
"She's going to win," Su Mojin whispered into Lin Yan's ear.
Lin Yan shook his head and said calmly, "If she only uses her current strength, she won't win."
"Why?" Su Mojin didn't quite understand. She wouldn't win with this performance?
Lin Yan didn't answer. He pointed towards the long straight.
This straight, over a kilometer long, would amplify the gap between the bikes infinitely. It was a distance that skill couldn't overcome.
In fact, from the moment Jiang Qiyan truly showed her skill in the earlier corners, Lin Yan had basically concluded that she wouldn't win this race.
To win, her current abilities were still a little lacking.
Seeing the long straight, Su Mojin also realized something.
Smoothly navigating the remaining nine turns, Jiang Qiyan had managed to build a 0.5-second lead over Li Xiao.
Gaining 0.5 seconds over nine turns demonstrated just how hard Jiang Qiyan was pushing.
However, she didn't relax at all. Instead, she felt even more pressure, her hair damp with sweat.
The roar of the engines intensified, knees scraping the ground as Jiang Qiyan's bike exited turn eighteen.
"Damn it, one more lap. With a 0.5-second lead, isn't that a win?"
"I wonder if that guy will stream it when he has to kneel."
"0.5 seconds... I don't feel like that's enough. Can she hold on through this straight?"
The spectators buzzed with discussion. Most believed Jiang Qiyan had almost certainly won, but a few veteran fans expressed concern.
Li Xiao's heavily modified Yamaha R7, with its enlarged engine, likely had twenty more horsepower than the RS660. With such a long straight, even a one-second lead might not be enough to prevent him from being caught.
Furthermore, his entire bike was equipped with lightweight fairings and custom parts.
The new fans were confident, but the experienced ones were worried.
"Hmph, what are you talking about? 0.5 seconds, how is he supposed to catch up? With his life?" a young fan next to them scoffed.
The race bikes roared past, exiting the corner one after the other.
Beneath his helmet, Li Xiao's lips curled into a cold smile. "So, high skill is that impressive? Let me show you what true dominance looks like."
He twisted the throttle to the maximum, the engine revving wildly, its roar exploding into the air. The speed rapidly increased.
On the long straight, Li Xiao, who had been not far behind Jiang Qiyan, began to close the gap at an incredibly rapid pace.
"Holy crap, how is that possible!"
"Damn it, the cheater... Why doesn't Lin Shen do something about it."
"Dude, what does Lin Shen have to do with it? This is a bet between the two of them. The girl agreed to it herself."
...
Before his bike even reached the midpoint of the long straight, Li Xiao had already overtaken Jiang Qiyan.
His speed was more "horsepower-focused" than even a horsepower enthusiast.
"This..."
Su Mojin had anticipated it, but seeing it firsthand still felt unbelievable. This was truly like cheating!
The others watching the race from the sixth floor, apart from Su Mojin, weren't surprised. They seemed to have already predicted the outcome.
Factory bikes, with specialized tuning for the same displacement, could easily outperform others on the straight. With the R7's enlarged engine, the displacement difference was so significant that a straight-line overtake was normal.
By the end of the long straight, Li Xiao had overtaken Jiang Qiyan and was now leading her by 0.7 seconds. He had made up 1.3 seconds on a single straight, leaving everyone gasping.
A 0.7-second gap was already substantial. Li Xiao was already exiting turn one, while Jiang Qiyan was just beginning to brake into the corner.
Even though Jiang Qiyan had achieved a 52-degree lean angle in this turn, it was no use.