Chapter 35 Gear Karting
The plan was that most people would leave after the awards ceremony, but because news of the duel between Wu Shi and Chen Lin spread, most of the locals stayed to watch, and those from out of town who had free time also stayed at the venue.
Wu Shi, Ye Zhaohui, and others arrived at the maintenance area, where Chen Lin had prepared the two go-karts for the competition.
The technician glanced at it and immediately exclaimed indignantly, "What do you mean? This has a gearbox?!"
"Damn it, Chen Lin, are you inhuman?!" Ye Zhaohui cursed as he saw the gearshift lever next to the go-kart.
"Isn't this for fairness? I'm very familiar with go-karts of my level, so why not drive one that we're not familiar with? That way, we'll be on the same starting line," Chen Lin said with a smile.
"How shameless!" Now, even Ye Ningning didn't think her boss would win.
All eyes turned to Wu Shi, only to find him listening intently to Louise speaking beside him:
"Wu Shi, Mom is calling. I'll take this call."
"Okay, don't go too far, be careful at night."
After Wu Shi nodded and finished speaking, he looked at Chen Lin and said, "Let's get started quickly, I'm in a hurry."
"Ha, arrogant." Chen Lin sneered.
Considering that neither of them were very skilled at driving, the two technicians first checked the car to make sure it was in good condition, and then each of them went to the track to drive it for three laps.
Because of his short stature at this time, Wu Shi had to put something on his seat to ensure that he could drive the race car normally.
"Let it go," Zeng Tianyi advised again.
"Boss, I also think we should let it go," Ye Ningning whispered, not realizing it would end up like this.
"Let's test drive the car first."
Wu Shi didn't mind. He sat in the car and experienced it. Although it wasn't comfortable, it was fine to drive.
"Kid, do you know how to shift gears?" Chen Lin's voice came from behind.
Buzz! Ugh!
Wu Shi drove smoothly out of the repair area.
"Damn it, this guy!" Chen Lin gritted his teeth and glared angrily.
"How can he drive a go-kart with gears?!" Ling Kang, Zeng Tianyi, and Ye Zhaohui all wondered at the same time.
Don't be fooled by the fact that it's just a gearbox, and seems like the only difference between manual and automatic transmissions. In reality, the driving difficulty and logic are worlds apart.
In a direct-drive go-kart, slowing down and accelerating when cornering is simply a matter of how much or how much you press the two pedals.
However, when cornering in a go-kart with gears, you not only have to consider which gear to use to enter the corner and which gear to use to exit the corner, but also whether to apply throttle when shifting gears.
The intricacies involved are enough to completely baffle even a novice.
Waaah!
Go-karts sped along the track.
Wu Shi experienced that strange feeling again. As his driving mileage increased, his perception seemed to extend from his body to the vehicle, from the surface controls such as the accelerator, brake, manual clutch, and gear lever, to the internal engine, transmission, carburetor, and fuel lines.
If he were given a month to drive it, he would completely understand the car and be able to drive it as freely as he would that white, big-eyed, direct-drive go-kart.
Unfortunately, I only have three laps to get used to the vehicle.
Three laps should be enough.
sieve!
Wu Shi parked the car in the repair area, and Chen Lin drove it back a while later.
When he got out of the car, he glanced at Wu Shi. Although his helmet and goggles obscured his view, everyone could sense that he was not in a stable emotional state.
No one is reliable!
Three laps of testing, to put it nicely, is testing the waters; to put it bluntly, it's just getting a feel for the situation.
Whether Wu Shi was driving at full speed or not, he didn't know, but he was definitely driving at full speed!
He thought that by leaving the maintenance area late, he could overtake Wu Shi and teach him a lesson for his arrogance. But when he got on the track, he couldn't catch up with the guy!
"Shall we start the car with the lights on?" Wu Shi asked.
By this time, it was getting dark, and it was indeed difficult to see the flag being waved.
"Let's go, get on the starting grid!" Chen Lin waved his hand, and the group pushed the car to the starting grid.
After the technicians finished inspecting the vehicles again, everyone left the track, leaving only Wu Shi and Chen Lin.
Before departure, Chen Lin glanced at Wu Shi, who was in the starting grid on the right, and felt a sudden urge to breathe.
Is he overconfident or what? He doesn't seem to care about being assigned to the dirty side?
Wu Shi was aware of Chen Lin's underhanded tactics, but he really didn't care. While he was racing with these kids, he was more focused on rehabilitation.
The racetrack's loudspeaker announced: "Both drivers, please get ready. Competition is secondary, friendship is primary, and safety is paramount. The race will officially begin after all the lights come on and off."
Outside the spectator hall, Louise tugged at Martina's sleeve: "Mommy, hurry, hurry, they're about to start the match!"
"Okay, let's run there."
Martina was helpless, so she specially invited an acquaintance from Itali over for dinner tonight.
This tall, fat man named Sid Campbell is the financial manager of a go-karting team, and he happened to be traveling in China at this time.
She had intended to introduce Wu Shi to him to prepare for next year's events, but Louise told her that she wouldn't be back until very late on Sunday night. If she hadn't asked, she would have been disappointed when she arrived in Shenzhen.
The three of them arrived at the viewing hall and saw five indicator lights on.
Whoosh!
The light went out extremely quickly, as if it had only been on for a moment.
Buzz!
Wu Shi was highly focused and started the vehicle in about a second.
The engine roared, the clutch engaged, and the vehicle started moving.
"The response is good," Sid commented.
"That's one of his strengths: quick reflexes. He's just as good as those top-performing athletes," Martina said.
As the vehicle's speed increased, Wu Shi felt the engine turning.
Different engines paired with different clutches have different optimal shift points.
The most important thing during gear shifting is to maximize the engine speed so that the vehicle can always be driven with the highest efficiency.
Knowing when to use torque and when to use RPM are questions that drivers need to feel and think about.
Click click click.
After shifting gears, Wu Shi started from the side of the road, but his starting speed was so fast that he had already pulled ahead by two car lengths.
He glanced back, then immediately shifted to the left side of the line, entering the corner directly using the optimal entry line.
Buzzing.
The race car slowed down while downshifting.
Ugh!
When you step into the apex of a corner, the engine speed is quickly increased, and the vehicle accelerates.
With just one bend, the superiority of one over the other is already clear.
"Is this a go-kart with gears?" Sid recognized the sound, but still couldn't believe it. He asked Martina, "The Wu Shi you're talking about should only be nine years old, right? How could a nine-year-old be driving a go-kart with gears?"
"Uh, Louise, what's going on?" Martina asked her daughter, not quite sure herself.
Louise leaned on the railing, watching the small figure on the leading go-kart, and recounted what had happened.
"Wow, that's incredible." Sid shook his head.
In contrast to the relatively calm discussion among the three, the spectators on the other side erupted in excitement.