Most importantly, Luo Xi was confident in himself; even if the car had a slight issue, he might not lose.
Seeing his master’s reply, Lin Yan nodded and said no more.
Since his master didn’t need it, he let it be. He understood his master’s personality well.
Even if he made a mistake, he didn’t want his master to go easy on him because of it.
In his opinion, a competition should be fought with full effort.
Lin Yan’s action could be considered a gesture of courtesy before force, as he was preparing to make his move next.
If he continued to drag it out, his chances of winning would only decrease.
No sooner said than done.
Approaching the first corner, Lin Yan floored the accelerator, pushing it to the limit, and then delayed his braking point to the absolute extreme.
A piercing screech of tires erupted from the bottom of the wheels, and the car’s suspension jolted.
A super heavy brake.
Lin Yan executed a super heavy brake, a maneuver that could undoubtedly be considered the level of a professional F1 driver.
As Lin Yan exerted his power, so did Luo Xi. Under the gaze of three hundred thousand spectators, the highlight of this race was just beginning.
Braking hard to take the inside line, he overtook his master’s car. Then, Lin Yan, inside the cockpit, jerked the steering wheel. The front wheels of the nearly six-meter-long F1 car scraped the ground as it turned into the first corner, kicking up a puff of white smoke from the friction.
As Lin Yan made his move, Luo Xi followed suit. He applied the same heavy braking, performed the same maneuver, and their braking points were almost identical.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless – these three words were embodied perfectly by the two drivers at this moment.
The raging air surged through the aerodynamic fairings of the F1 cars. The two cars hugged the apex of the first corner, speeding through it.
Exiting the corner quickly, Lin Yan flipped his wrist, rapidly straightening the steering wheel. The edge tire on the side of his car suddenly mounted the curb, narrowly avoiding a spin into the runoff area. It was a textbook outside-inside line.
“Wow, is the main event about to begin? He saved so much tire up to this point, Lin Shen must be preparing to go all out now. It looks like Boss Luo is about to do the same.”
Commentator Hao Dong was incredibly excited. Although the earlier part of the race was also thrilling, the subsequent duel was clearly going to be even more intense.
As they stepped on the accelerator, both cars exhibited slight wobbles, and gusts of wind whistled past the cockpit overhead.
After exiting the corner, Luo Xi’s car stayed tightly behind Lin Yan, incredibly close. The aerodynamic fairing at the front of his car was almost touching Lin Yan’s exhaust pipe.
Beneath his helmet, Luo Xi’s gaze was intently fixed on the second corner ahead.
The second corner wasn’t ideal for overtaking, but that didn’t mean it was impossible.
For the upcoming second corner, Luo Xi deviated from the normal racing line. He missed the braking point and deliberately delayed his braking by five meters. This wasn't just late braking; at this distance, Luo Xi’s car was guaranteed to run wide.
However, Luo Xi had no intention of braking normally in the second corner; he wanted to brake late and run wide.
The braking point was just ahead. Before Lin Yan’s car even began to slow down, Luo Xi twisted the steering wheel, pulling alongside Lin Yan and preparing to force his way into the inside line.
What is forcing one’s way? Forcing one’s way means using your car’s body to block another’s line, preventing them from entering the corner when they should.
Running wide was inevitable, but as long as Luo Xi’s car’s rear could block Lin Yan’s front, preventing Lin Yan from entering the corner, his objective would be achieved.
Second corner.
Lin Yan’s car had already slowed to the required entry speed. However, just as he was about to turn the steering wheel to enter the corner, Luo Xi’s car roared past from the side. Their cars were side-by-side, and Luo Xi, with greater speed, continued to push forward.
“Lin Shen is preparing to enter the corner, but Boss Luo has already blocked his line. Fortunately, Lin Shen reacted quickly, or the two cars would have nearly collided. It looks like Lin Shen is about to be overtaken this time.”
Seeing Luo Xi’s maneuver, Hao Dong exclaimed in surprise.
As Luo Xi’s car moved across, Lin Yan quickly straightened the steering wheel. It was truly a heart-stopping moment.
However, as soon as Hao Dong finished speaking, the situation on the track changed again.
“Oh! Boss Luo braked too late and ran too wide, leaving a gap for Lin Shen. They took an alternate line, and Lin Shen regained the position!”
“Wow!”
The audience erupted in a clamor. This overtake had clearly stirred up a lot of excitement.
Hearing Hao Dong’s words, Venables, sitting below, shook his head and said calmly.
“It wasn’t that Luo Xi ran wide; it was that Lin Yan braked early for this corner.”
Braked early?
Those in the pit room were stunned. They didn’t understand Venables’s words, not out of doubt, but because they couldn’t see it. Even Ren Fei was bewildered; he hadn’t seen Lin Yan brake early either.
The braking point was still the same, the position hadn’t changed, so how could it be early?
Only the bearded foreigner beside him nodded in agreement with Venables, stating that Lin Yan had indeed braked early for this corner.
However, Lin Yan’s braking was extremely subtle, making it difficult for most people to notice. Even he had only gotten a general idea and would need the pit room instruments to see exactly how Lin Yan had operated just now.
He speculated that Lin Yan might have tampered with the gear selection, causing the car’s speed to decrease in the latter half of the corner, thus resulting in an unchanged braking point but a shorter braking distance.
As Luo Xi’s car was about to overtake Lin Yan, Luo Xi applied the brakes. This braking point was far beyond the original position, a full five meters later.
According to Luo Xi’s calculations, this distance was more than enough to block Lin Yan. But who was Lin Yan?
In terms of driving skills, no one understood his master better than he did.
Lin Yan had already guessed what Luo Xi was planning when he saw Luo Xi’s car changing lanes in the rearview mirror.
Coincidentally, the moment Luo Xi changed lanes was also the time for the car to shift gears. Lin Yan seized the opportunity to upshift one gear less.
The reason Lin Yan wasn’t blocked by Luo Xi was precisely because he had shifted one gear less.
By not upshifting, the car’s maximum speed was limited. At the braking point, Lin Yan’s car was traveling 30 km/h slower than normal, which was equivalent to braking early.
At this point, Luo Xi had already completed his lane change and pulled alongside Lin Yan, so he didn’t notice. However, Venables and the bearded foreigner, watching the race from a third-person perspective, detected some clues.
Luo Xi’s car sped past, its rear bumper just half a meter past Lin Yan’s front bumper, leaving a gap for Lin Yan. Lin Yan turned the steering wheel, and the car smoothly entered the corner.
Hugging the inside of the turn, the car reached the exit point, and Lin Yan immediately stepped on the accelerator.
Seeing Lin Yan slip away from behind him, Luo Xi, though somewhat puzzled, had no time to dwell on it. He turned his head, and his car also entered the corner, positioning itself behind Lin Yan once more. However, due to the failed overtake and running wide, he lost a little speed.
After dodging this overtaking attempt, for the subsequent third and fourth corners, Lin Yan’s braking points were later compared to the previous three laps.
While keeping an eye on the track, Lin Yan also observed Luo Xi’s car’s movements through the rearview mirror.
However, it seemed that due to the failed overtake just now, Luo Xi was not in a hurry to make a move in these two corners and was instead focused on closing the distance he had lost.
Next was the fifth corner, a corner where overtaking was relatively easy.
Lin Yan’s car entered the corner first, with Luo Xi closely following.