This is the kind of thing only someone extremely wealthy and unconcerned with reputation would do.
Reaching the end of the straight, Daniel saw the gap between the two racing bikes and felt a fine sheen of sweat on his palms. The difference in straight-line speed was considerable, considering Honda was the second-fastest factory bike after Ducati.
Leveraging his advantage of no electronic traction control on corner exit and the slipstream, Daniel managed to prevent Lin Yan from pulling away on the straight. Entering Turn 1, Daniel didn't attempt a late brake; the distance wasn't enough, and Lin Yan would definitely brake late.
With equal skill, even with fierce competition, it wouldn't necessarily be possible to overtake.
As expected, at the end of the straight, Lin Yan's front wheel bottomed out, his body shot upright, the rear wheel lifted, and he extended his leg for a standard heavy brake. This was a significant brake, and at this distance, Daniel wouldn't be able to overtake whether he pushed or not.
The two bikes entered Turn 1 one after the other, Lin Yan's lean angle reaching 63 degrees, while Daniel behind him only managed 61. He used this angle advantage to mask the GP22's deficiency in cornering speed.
"He didn't make a move in Turn 1. Will Daniel make a move in Turn 2? It looks like these two are really going at it!" Hao Dong said into the microphone.
"I suspect he will. After all, the RC213V is stronger than the GP22 in cornering speed. In the corners, Daniel has an advantage, and based on my observation, Daniel's sliding technique seems very effective," Su Chen analyzed beside him.
While they were talking, Daniel and Lin Yan had already reached Turn 2. Just as Su Chen had predicted, Daniel made his move, a slide followed by a late brake, with an extremely low lean angle. Before Lin Yan's bike could even tilt into the corner, Daniel's bike was already beside him.
Daniel controlled it perfectly. Lin Yan didn't brake early in this corner either, and Daniel perfectly blocked Lin Yan's line.
"Daniel's late brake shouldn't normally be enough to slow down, but he's very smart. Even if he can't slow down enough, he's perfectly blocking Lin Shen's line."
"Yes, Lin Shen's bike was clearly trying to enter the corner, but it was blocked by the rear of Daniel's bike."
Their late braking techniques were similar, but the overtake was made possible by excellent positioning.
Seizing the opportunity, Daniel moved ahead of Lin Yan. He then turned out of the corner, heading into Turn 3, a hairpin turn, which is a slow corner that heavily relies on the bike's lean angle.
For the corner that demanded lean angle, the director instinctively switched to slow motion for Lin Yan.
Lin Yan didn't disappoint the director's expectation. His shoulder was almost touching the ground, and the protective gear on his shoulder left streaks of white marks. The black helmet visor caught the light from the camera, displaying a chilling sheen from left to right. This slow-motion shot was incredibly cool.
With an ultra-low lean angle of sixty-eight degrees, Lin Yan's racing bike forcefully overtook on the inside line of this hairpin turn.
Daniel was slightly stunned by this cornering angle. The angle was imperceptible to the naked eye, but judging by sight, it was definitely lower than his own.
The positions changed again, followed by Turn 4. This corner was not suitable for an attack, so Daniel didn't make a move, simply following Lin Yan steadily.
After Turn 5, there was still no movement. In the consecutive Turns 7 and 8, Daniel attacked again. Lin Yan had no way to defend here. It was a simple overtake. In the subsequent Turn 9, Daniel executed a slide combined with a maximum braking maneuver, entering the corner at an extremely peculiar angle, completely defending against Lin Yan behind him.
After consecutively defending for two corners, Daniel still managed to hold off Lin Yan.
Below, the King of Horses watched the two riders confronting each other back and forth and showed a look of "as expected."
Although it seemed like they were trading blows, in his eyes, Lin Yan had already won. When a person could completely compensate for a bike's shortcomings with their talent, their future path was already determined.
In Turn 11, after defending for two corners, Daniel was overtaken by Lin Yan again. Lin Yan's near-limit lean angle made him doubt if the GP22 had also been upgraded in the corners, even making him feel like it wasn't Ducati's factory GP22, but a Yamaha YZR with red graphics—
"Sigh, do you think I'm worried about that?"
Honda's chief mechanic sighed, staring blankly at the track. He was retiring next year, and a world championship meant nothing to him.
The reason for his sigh was his admiration for the extraordinary talent of the rider before him.
At twenty years old, with such skill, his future was long. Even if they won this time with Daniel's help, if this Chinese rider continued to develop at this pace, they would likely be suppressed for at least ten years without any hope of success.
"It's okay, old man. Stay calm. Maybe another genius will emerge in a few days. Honda can just sign another one."
Honda's chief mechanic glanced at him, as if to say, "Find me another genius who can dominate a four-time champion right after entering MotoGP."
Not only that, but a rider's growth period extends to twenty-seven years old, meaning their skill and mental fortitude would only increase before then. This Chinese rider was far from his peak. He was, frankly, the most terrifying person he had ever seen.
Seeing the old man so dejected, resembling an emo internet poet, the King of Horses patted his shoulder and left.
On the track, Lin Yan had once again pulled away on the straight. However, Daniel seemed to have lost the will to continue. He didn't push to catch up but started focusing on his lap times.
Seeing this, Lin Yan also stopped pushing and began working on his lap times. He didn't believe Daniel would give up so easily. According to Viñales, could a fighter like him give up attacking after just one lap?