Chapter 39 Discrimination
The huge lap time appeared on the real-time lap time leaderboard, but most people didn't pay any attention to it.
A small number of people noticed the suffix of the finishing cars—60mini. They looked at the chaos on the track, then at the lap times, and then at the crowded track again.
Some people realized that either the champion was playing against weaker opponents, or they were just randomly choosing a car model.
After completing one lap, Wu Shi did not stop. He was ready to race again for the second lap, since the tires were now at a very comfortable temperature.
"Raul, you've broken 1 minute 18 seconds. Do you remember what your pole position was in the mini group last year?" Sid said.
"Of course I remember, his 1:18.339 would place him outside the top fifteen," Raul said mercilessly.
"No! You're confusing things. If it weren't for the slower cars blocking his way, you know he would be even faster, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to break 1 minute and 17 seconds!" Sid said.
"Heh." Raul chuckled, without replying.
"."
"Sid, let's talk in private," Martina said.
"good."
The two moved to the side.
"Thank you for introducing us, but it's clear your boss doesn't want a Chinese person in his team, and you don't need to argue with him anymore," Martina said.
"No, you know, Wu Shi's talent is really exceptional. I dare say, in all these years in this industry, he is one of the few geniuses. If his talent could continue, do you know where he might be standing?" Sid said excitedly.
He often travels to China and knows that the conditions for motorsports there are poor, so he basically believes what Martina told him: that the little guy had only been karting for a year.
To achieve this level in just one year—what else could it be but genius?
And look at his performance today, my God, he ran a lap time that was the same as his qualifying time on his first time driving an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar track!
He felt he couldn't miss this opportunity; he wanted to help Raul correct his mistakes and seize this chance!
Martina took a deep breath, said nothing, and went back to watch the competition. Seeing her daughter staring blankly at the field, she asked, "Louise, you've been training here for quite a long time. How fast can you run?"
Louise snapped out of her daze, her face flushed, and she stammered, "One minute and nineteen seconds, no, I mean I can occasionally get under one minute and nineteen seconds."
"Wu Shi is quite remarkable," Martina said again upon hearing this.
"Yes!" Louise agreed wholeheartedly. Although the racers were all wearing racing suits and helmets, she could almost spot that figure at a glance.
While the others remained silent, Wu Shi crossed the finish line again.
1:17.984.
Now, everyone fell even more silent.
While the group remained silent due to their differing opinions, in the pit area, a middle-aged man with a thick beard paused for two seconds, then immediately stepped forward after watching the go-kart enter the racetrack.
Wu Shi got out of the carriage, and after these two laps, it still felt familiar.
He took off his helmet, didn't see Aunt Martina, guessed she was still up there, and didn't care, preparing to go straight up and ask her what was going on.
"Hey!"
When a middle-aged man with a thick beard suddenly appeared, Wu Shi was so startled that he trembled backward.
Holy crap, bro, if you didn't know better, you'd look like a wild man from the forest!
"Hey kid, can you understand Italian?" (Italian)
"You should be able to understand English, right?" (English)
The middle-aged man spoke two sentences in quick succession, making him seem impatient.
Wu Shi instinctively covered his buttocks. Many people in Europe have this habit, and the uncle in front of him didn't seem like a good person. He took a few steps back and didn't say anything.
"Oh! Hello, I'm sorry to scare you. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Seth Verick, the team leader of the CD SPEED team." The man said, handing over his business card.
"Hello." Wu Shi accepted the business card.
"Interested in joining our team?" Seth asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, I can't answer your question right away. My mother is upstairs discussing this with the Laya team." Wu Shi shook his head.
"Laya, ah." Seth sighed. Although the team hasn't performed well in recent years, the old team still has its foundation. Even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse.
"However, sir, may I first learn about CD Speed?" Wu Shi asked.
"Of course! The team was founded three years ago by my brother CD, who has achieved considerable success in the field of super karting. As soon as the team was established, it attracted many drivers to join."
"Sadly, he passed away from a heart attack last year, and the team was handed over to me. Currently, the team has a total of 12 riders across all levels and 18 experienced mechanics."
Seth gave a brief introduction to the team. From what I heard, it was a small team that was barely breaking even.
"Okay, thank you for your introduction. May I ask again, if I choose to join your team, where will I be positioned?" Wu Shi asked aggressively.
After listening, Seth realized that this child, who was just taller than his waist, was far more mature than other children his age. He did not answer immediately because he knew that his answer might influence Wu Shi's opinion.
He didn't know how Martina's talks with the Laya team went, but he felt that Wu Shi was quite talented and that the Laya team would not miss out on such a player.
Considering what Wu Shi just said, this kid clearly felt that he had too little say and wasn't treated well in a mature, large racing team like Laya, which is why he raised this question.
If he offers enough incentives, could he win the little guy's favor?
Of course, all of this is predicated on whether Wu Shi is worth the high price to recruit.
He hesitated for a moment on the issue, then gritted his teeth and took the gamble!
The current drivers in the mini category are quite average. If we don't focus on developing our own drivers in this category, then in a few years, there may be a situation where there are no outstanding drivers in the higher categories.
For a racing team, not having enough good drivers means not getting more exposure, which will affect things like getting endorsements, recruiting new trainees, and other revenue-related matters.
"I can guarantee that you will be our number one driver in the mini class, our resources will be geared towards you, and we can stipulate in the contract that if your performance is outstanding enough, we will still allocate resources to you as a core driver when you move to higher-level races," Seth said.
"Thank you for your reply, sir. I think this is what I need, but I still need to discuss it with my mother."
As soon as Wu Shi finished speaking, Martina and the others came down the stairs together.
"Wu Shi, what happened?" Martina asked. She had been waiting upstairs for a long time and hadn't seen him, so she came down to look for him with some concern.
"Well, I met a sincere gentleman who wants to invite me to join his racing team." Wu Shi looked at Sid. The rest of the Laya team members did not follow, clearly they were not satisfied with him.
Was I running too slowly?
No, he believed in his skills.
Their dissatisfaction wasn't with their own technology, but with their own race.
Discrimination will always exist, and even if you demonstrate your abilities, arrogant people will not change their minds.