Chapter 18 Sponsorship
In rainy weather, warm-up laps and formation laps are especially important, as they allow most drivers to understand the grip conditions on the track and choose their driving style accordingly.
Buzz buzz buzz~
Wu Shi made a simple turn, which greatly reduced the tires' grip on the wet track.
He glanced back at the line of cars, their figures faintly visible through the mist.
The warm-up circle is over, the formation circle begins.
After finally completing a lap and arriving at the starting straight, they discovered that the racers had not waved the green flag.
Clearly, this formation was a failure and another formation needs to be made.
Wu Shi could only drive one more lap, so he slowed down to make formation easier.
Finally, as they drove back onto the starting straight, the racers had the green flag ready.
His eyes were fixed on the racers, the moment the green flag waved.
Tsk!
A white go-kart sped out, kicking up rain and mist.
The tires, sticking to the rainwater, spin rapidly, expelling some of the water along the grooves, while the remaining water forms a film.
This film of water is what significantly reduces tire grip.
Wu Shi was acutely aware of all of this.
'The throttle needs to be reduced by 15%.'
Rustling sound!
The white go-kart continued forward steadily, but soon a loud crash came from behind.
Bang!
Three go-karts went out of control, collided in the chaos, and finally crashed into the tire wall.
Without hesitation, the organizers immediately displayed the red flag.
Wu Shi saw a racer waving a flag ahead, slowed down, turned around, and saw that there were only four cars left on the track, including himself.
Finally, the four vehicles that were driving normally returned to the repair area and stopped.
"Is Ling Kang alright?" Wu Shi asked his technician after getting out of the car.
"He's over there. He bumped his arm. They said it's nothing serious, but he definitely needs to get an X-ray," the technician said.
Wu Shi rushed over and saw Ling Kang's mother with red eyes saying something.
"Ling Kang, are you alright?"
"What could possibly be wrong with me?!" Ling Kang waved his hand, indicating that everything was normal.
"Let's go to the hospital to get it checked out," Wu Shi said. Sometimes adrenaline can make people ignore their injuries. Since the arm was bumped, and given a child's constitution, the bones in the hand might actually be fractured.
"It's okay, we'll talk about it after the final tomorrow." Ling Kang didn't care at all.
"No, you have to go now!" Ling Kang's mother shouted.
"Ling Kang, go ahead, your health is the most important thing," Zeng Tianyi also stepped forward to persuade him.
"Hey boss, tell me, should I run away?!" Ling Kang pouted.
"Let's go take a look."
"Boss? I thought you were going to let me run away!"
"Health is the foundation of everything."
Wu Shi didn't think about how to persuade him. He said that if you're injured, you should go see a doctor honestly. When he said "go all out," he meant his racing style, not that he was reckless in his work.
"Ah, alright, since the boss has said so." Ling Kang finally gave up and left the arena with his mother.
Just as Wu Shi and Zeng Tianyi were preparing to return to their race car and wait for the race to restart, the race organizers suddenly announced over the loudspeaker:
"Due to weather and track conditions, today's preliminary and final races have been temporarily cancelled. The starting grid for tomorrow's final race will be arranged according to the order of the drivers who participated today. Drivers who did not participate will be ranked after the drivers who participated based on their lap times in practice sessions."
After listening, Wu Shi took off his racing suit, finally able to get some fresh air.
"Get some rest and prepare for tomorrow's race." Zeng Tianyi breathed a sigh of relief. After seeing the accident behind him, he wasn't sure he could drive again.
"Maybe we'll release them together tomorrow," Wu Shi shrugged.
"That can't be, right?"
"Look, there's already a commotion over there," Wu Shi pointed.
Event staff are trying to explain the situation to several parents who were arguing with them.
"How can this be? Can we really make such a big deal out of an accident on the track?" Zeng Tianyi asked, puzzled.
"I don't know." Wu Shi shook his head, stretched, and said, "I went back to the hotel to take a shower; it was too stuffy and hot."
The next day, the rain fell even harder.
As Wu Shi predicted, the competition was canceled for the safety of the drivers. The final rankings and awards were based on the order of the drivers in the preliminary and final rounds.
Standing on the award stage under the rain shelter, Wu Shi held the trophy and gave a helpless "yes" to the reporter.
"Great! This will be a classic photo!" the reporter exclaimed happily.
"Perhaps it is," Wu Shi replied with a smile.
"By the way, Wu Shi, didn't your father come today?"
"No, he's on a business trip in another province today," Wu Shi shook his head.
"I have something I'd like to ask you to pass on to your father."
"certainly."
"We are ready to work with you to put our Big Eye Media logo on your clothes and race cars."
"Hey! Is this considered sponsorship?" Wu Shi was taken aback; he had received sponsorship so quickly.
"Of course, although I don't understand racing, I can tell who's fast. Wu Shi, your performance in these few races has been outstanding. I've already spoken to the editor-in-chief, and he thinks it's worthwhile to collaborate," the reporter said.
"No problem." Wu Shi readily agreed. If he weren't still a child, he would have wanted to discuss it in detail with the reporter on the spot.
"Okay, here's my business card, remember to keep in touch~" The reporter winked.
Wu Shi took it and glanced at it.
'Zhi Shiwei, what an unusual surname.'
The Zhuhai Station event was ruined by rain, with very few reports about it.
Back in Shenzhen, counting the days, there's still a whole month before we reach our fourth stop, Nan'an Station.
Wu Shi gave Zhi Shiwei's business card to his father, explaining her meaning.
"Let's ask your Uncle Chen to come along; he knows more about this kind of thing," Wu Zhenlin said.
Neither the father nor the son were procrastinators, and they quickly made contact and met three days later at a Hunan restaurant.
"Mr. Wu, hello~ I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." When Zhi Shiwei walked in, Wu Zhenlin and Wu Shi were already there.
"Hello, Ms. Zhi, we just arrived too." Wu Zhenlin stepped forward to shake hands, then looked at the man beside her with a hint of doubt: "Is this Editor-in-Chief Zhang?"
Yes, hello.
"Hello! It's a pleasure to meet you." Wu Zhenlin stepped forward to shake hands, then turned around. "Please have a seat."
"Is this Wu Shi? I read Shiwei's report, he's quite the talented little race car driver!" Editor-in-Chief Zhang praised with a chuckle.
"You flatter me. My son only started racing this year and has been lucky enough to win a few times." Wu Zhenlin humbly pointed out that Wu Shi had only been involved in racing for a short time, and his performance was indeed a gift.
The group exchanged polite greetings until Mr. Chen spoke up, saying, "Editor-in-Chief Zhang, we've actually been considering sending our child to Europa to race go-karts next year."
"Oh?" Editor-in-Chief Zhang was somewhat surprised. As the editor-in-chief of the motorsports section of a sports media outlet, he was quite knowledgeable in this area and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you planning to stay in China and drive motorhomes?"
"My child prefers go-karts," Wu Zhenlin said with a smile.
"It seems I underestimated this child's ambition!"
Editor-in-Chief Zhang certainly knew that karting was the best path to Formula 1, the highest level of circuit racing, and that aspiring to karting was tantamount to aspiring to Formula 1.