Chapter 44 Winning Streak
Nothing unexpected happened during Saturday's practice and qualifying matches, except that Dionysius Marcus, who had previously provoked him, came over again and made some outrageous remarks, saying that he would show him that cheating wouldn't win him any match.
"So, you think I won the match against Sarno by cheating?"
"Isn't that right?" Dionysius Marcus retorted.
"Yes, you're right." Wu Shi nodded.
"Hmph! Admit it now!"
"Yes, I admit it."
Wu Shi felt helpless. In an era before the arrival of sarcasm and cynicism, saying sarcastic or cynicistic things was taken as the truth. If one should not speak out, the simplicity of that era will never return.
The following Sunday, during the qualifying rounds, the hosts and guests on the live streaming channel were ready to begin broadcasting the match.
Host: "In yesterday's qualifying round, the gap between the contestants was not large. In the mini category, the 1st place lap time was 53.015, and the 33rd place lap time was 54.181."
Guest: "The difference between each driver is almost 0.2 seconds, and the top drivers are only a fraction of a second apart. The drivers are very close in skill."
Host: "Let's take a look. The one in first place, oh, it's actually Wu Shi from China. But just as I predicted, he can't establish an absolute advantage here, and he probably won't even get a good ranking in the qualifying rounds."
Guest: "That's not how it works. In the qualifying rounds, the contestants will only try their best to make it to the finals, rather than choosing to show their strength."
Host: "Then let's wait and see!"
The Jessolo circuit is characterized by a large number of hairpin bends, which mainly test whether drivers can maintain a steady pace and drive continuously. Once a deviation occurs, it means a huge loss of time.
Wu Shi's familiarity with the track is indeed not as high as Sarno's, but now what's limiting his lap time is no longer his proficiency, but the performance of the car.
To ensure absolute certainty, he pushed things to the limit.
sieve!
The results are out.
Upon seeing the score, the guest looked somewhat shocked: "51.954, this score is an indisputable pole position."
Mini-level qualifying lap times are generally above 53 seconds, so the guest dared to assert that Wu Shi would take pole position.
Host: "No, the other contestants are still racing!"
The guest shook his head and smiled, then said nothing more. After all the qualifying races were over, no one was able to surpass Wu Shi's time.
Then he spoke again: "After these two stops, I believe I can make a judgment."
The host countered, "Ahem, this Chinese driver is indeed very fast, but if he pulls ahead by even a second, I think there might be a problem with the car's qualification."
Guest: "This is just my personal opinion. As a professional guest, I think Wu Shi's driving skills are outstanding. If you observe his driving carefully, you will find that whether it is practice or qualifying, his steering is always in place and he rarely has to correct it. This is a very impressive ability. Many higher-level karting drivers do not have this ability."
The host racked his brains for words to refute the argument. He was not only speaking according to the agreed-upon terms, but also according to his own true thoughts. This foreign guy had already taken one championship from Italia. Was he going to take most of the mini-class championships this year?
This is something he cannot accept.
But by the afternoon, Wu Shi's performance proved him wrong once again.
The terrifyingly precise control confirmed the guest's statement.
Extremely similar to Sarno's situation, this guy, when in the lead, always maintained the gap and kept the runners behind him hanging in the air. It looked like the first and second place were chasing each other, but in reality, it was the first place running alone.
The host watched the red flag rise and the national anthem play on the broadcast screen, and could only remain silent. He could host with prejudice, but he could not call victory a defeat.
But it doesn't matter, there are still five stops to go. This Chinese guy can't be this consistent every time!
At the third round of the ACI Championship held in Viterbo, the host maintained his opinion. This time, the guest was different, but from a professional point of view, he still believed that Wu Shi's driving skills were quite superb.
The host continued to express his biased views, and then Wu Shi regained pole position and PTW again in the subsequent main race.
Three consecutive victories have silenced him, but have excited many others.
"Wow! Wu Shi, really, those three victories are absolutely amazing, I still can't believe it! KART REPUBLICK wants to sponsor us and wants to print their eagle wings on the front of your go-kart!" Seth exclaimed excitedly.
"This is great news. How much sponsorship did they give?" Sid asked from the side.
"What are you doing here?" Seth frowned. He had heard that Sid had officially left the Laya team, taking his shares with him.
"I think I should be able to speak with you as Wu Shi's agent next."
"Huh?" Seth exclaimed in disbelief.
"Of course, Martina is very busy at the company and can't always take care of things here. We have already signed a contract, and I will be Wu Shi's agent during his time at the Karting Club," Sid said with a smile.
"How much would it cost to hire you?" Seth asked boldly.
"Five hundred thousand euros." After saying that, Sid saw the constipated look on the other person's face and laughed, "Haha, did you think I would treat Wu Shi like your club does? No, I only need one euro a year."
"Are you crazy! Are you working for free?"
"No, I'm investing in him, just like you did before," Sid said with a broad smile.
Wu Shi stood to the side, simply curious about how much sponsorship KR, the go-kart parts supplier, was willing to provide.
"You got your first sponsorship, are you happy?" Louise asked quietly from the side.
"Actually, I've already received sponsorships in the country," Wu Shi said.
"Huh? Oh! I remember now, it was that reporter's side. Did your father give you the sponsorship fee?" Louise asked.
"No, that money was just enough to cover my go-karting expenses for a year," Wu Shi said.
Louise nodded. She had been following Wu Shi recently and knew that go-karts had a lot of consumables. First was fuel, which wasn't cheap, and second were tires, which required at least two sets every week.
During long-term driving, the engine, carburetor, brake pads, etc. all need to be replaced, and it will cost at least a thousand euros a week.
Fortunately, Wu Shi didn't crash much, otherwise the cost of replacing the go-kart chassis would be very expensive.
"€100,000 a season, and if he performs even better this year, they are willing to discuss a new agreement with us after the season," Seth said.
"That's too little. Tell them this is a driver who could go all the way to the championship. If they want their brand printed next to number 398, they'd better show their sincerity," Sid said.
"Okay, I'll go talk to him again." Seth nodded. He had been blinded by his own success, and Wu Shi's performance deserved higher sponsorship.
"There are a few other parts suppliers you should also contact. If you don't want to, I can talk to them myself," Sid advised.
"No, no, I'd love to."