Chapter 42 First Victory
Following the Mini class, the KF/KZ class races will take place, and the track will remain hot.
No matter how exciting the rest of the race was, Wu Shi's pole position lap time of 1 minute and 16 seconds firmly attracted everyone's attention.
Anyone who frequents the Sarno circuit knows what breaking this record with a mini go-kart means.
"Hello, I'm a reporter from RK newspaper. Just now, you successfully broke the MINI class record on this track. How did you do it?"
Seth brought over a male reporter and winked at Wu Shi.
"I was just driving a go-kart normally. If you're surprised by this lap time, it's only because the previous lap record was too slow," Wu Shi said, immediately revealing his expertise.
Seth, however, clapped his hands in delight. He was about to go wild! Where would the attention come from if he didn't go wild? As long as he could maintain his performance, this arrogance would be perfectly justified.
The reporter was clearly stunned by this answer. He didn't quite catch it for a moment, and if it weren't for his years of self-discipline, he would have definitely called him arrogant and ignorant.
"Oh, although you said it quite calmly, I could sense your disdain for the other drivers. Are you quite confident in maintaining your pole position in the race?"
"If the car doesn't experience any mechanical problems, I think I will bring the championship back to the CD SPEED team," Wu Shi said.
"Okay, thank you for your reply."
After the reporter left, Seth stepped forward, his face beaming, and said, "Very good! Young man, you speak with such presence!"
"I'm just telling the truth."
Wu Shi didn't care at all. He returned to Louise's side, sat down, and took the water glass.
After a short rest and lunch, the afternoon's competition began quickly.
Before the race, the team leaders of each team personally inspected the starting gate in the pit area, and when they saw number 398 in the first row, they couldn't help but stop for a moment.
It's now mostly clear that he's Chinese.
It's unbelievable! A Chinese person, a sight that appears only once in a lifetime, actually appeared on the Italian football field.
The starting whistle signaled everyone to leave the track.
Wu Shi looked back and saw that the go-kart with the word "LAYA" on it was almost touching his rear.
The whistle blew, and the vehicles drove out of the maintenance area in an orderly manner.
This year, the trains are departing in a marching fashion, just like in China.
After leading the team around the track, Wu Shi returned to the starting line, keeping a close eye on the indicator lights.
Turn on/off!
The competition has officially begun.
Buzz! Whoosh!
Because of the go-kart's horsepower tuning, Wu Shi did not floor the accelerator, but instead applied the gas pedal while ensuring the vehicle did not slip.
"That was a quick reaction!"
"The vehicle's dynamics at the start were also quite stable. Sure enough, the guy who can achieve such an insane lap time is no ordinary person."
Wu Shi's car started off with its head tilted to one side, and he quickly took over the center line, making it very difficult for the drivers behind him to overtake him.
However, his plan was in vain, because he was an order of magnitude faster than the others from the start. With his extremely strong reaction speed and full utilization of the vehicle's grip, only his go-kart sped off.
Rustling sound!
Car number 398 entered the corner first, and within just one corner, it had already pulled ahead by two car lengths.
When the car entered the combination corner, Wu Shi's smooth and effortless maneuvering was a stark contrast to the other drivers who were still vying for position.
"Just like he said, if there are no mechanical failures, the championship is practically in our grasp." Seth excitedly watched the start of the race, and then immediately called the team's legal counsel to go to the race headquarters.
He needs to make sure there are no problems when he goes up on the podium later.
After two laps, Wu Shi had already pulled ahead of the people behind him by a second, and he subconsciously started cruising, something he had learned from Pan Zi.
Under DRS rules, if a car is even one second ahead, the car behind cannot use DRS to overtake.
Why hold it for more than a second?
Of course, the car isn't hot enough to keep up for more than ten seconds, so it's better to let the car behind it run on its tailpipes, increase its tire wear, and increase its cooling burden. Who knows, the car behind might retire from the race due to instability.
Of course, this trick doesn't work so well in the go-karting world; it's just that Wu Shi was used to it.
Soon, the nine laps of the race ended, and under the dancing checkered flag, car number 398 crossed the finish line, a race with no suspense whatsoever.
"Wow!" Seth and his team cheered.
A team that has only been established for three years can win a race, even if it is only in the mini category!
"Perfect PTW." The technician clapped.
Upstairs, Sid continued watching the racecourse, saying, "Once he takes the lead, his lap times depend entirely on the speed of the riders behind him, always staying between 1.2 and 1.5, which is frighteningly consistent."
Raul remained silent.
"Mr. Raul, I served the team for eight years and witnessed its most glorious moments. We had the opportunity to return to those glory days, but you personally turned it down," Sid added.
"Enough! Sid, you'd better leave the caravan with your shares as soon as possible," Raul snapped.
Sid shook his head, wondering why Raul was so stubborn. He believed that if Raul was willing, he could persuade Martina and Wu Shi, since the treatment offered by the LAYA team was completely different.
Smaller teams like CD SPEED train their drivers at various karting tracks, while LAYA Club has its own small track, giving them ample time to test vehicle performance and collect rubber pellets from the track to help assess vehicle conditions.
Wu Shi parked the go-kart perfectly at the location marked with the first sign, and then heard cheers from the maintenance area.
He paused for a moment, then waved to the people shouting, which only made the shouts louder.
Sure enough, in these countries where motorsports are developed, there are many enthusiasts and a high level of racing awareness. Although PTW seems boring and simple, you can feel its high value.
After weighing himself on the scale next to him, Wu Shi prepared to take a break for a while.
The awards ceremony will be held after all the subsequent groups have finished their competitions.
But he had only taken a few steps when a reporter rushed up to him, held out a microphone, and said, "Shi, your performance in the morning rankings was already quite excellent, and this afternoon you won your first tournament victory in the PTW format. How do you feel?"
"Yeah, I mean, this victory is so exciting, but I think this is just the beginning. I will drive this race car to achieve even better results." Wu Shi finished expressing his excitement without any further agitation, and then added:
"Could you call me Wu or Wu Shi? Calling me by my given name alone seems like a bad way to me."
"Oh? Is it because there are any taboos in China?" the reporter asked curiously.
"No, it's just that the pronunciation isn't very pleasant. If you understand Chinese, you'll know that the homonym of 'shi' is easily misunderstood."
It's not that Wu Shi was sensitive; it's because after the internet bombardment of later generations, "history" has become "shit," and these foreigners don't pronounce "Shi" accurately, so it's hard to guarantee that it has a strange tone.
He doesn't want people to greet him with "Hello, Shi" when they meet in the future.