Chapter 53 CRG Team
2009 passed quickly and was very fulfilling. Wu Shi successfully won the championships in three events: the Italie KF5 Championship, the French Cadet event, and the Belgian KF5 Championship.
In October, he also went to the United Kingdom to participate in the open tournament there. Unfortunately, his karting broke down, and although he had pole position, he couldn't bring back the victory and could only watch young Russell walk onto the podium.
"This is yesterday's front page of the sports newspaper." Martina handed a newspaper to Wu Shi.
In the most prominent position, a sentence was written in bold: "A young man from China has already made waves in European karting competitions."
"Only when we change 'waves' to 'giant waves' will we have achieved our goal," Wu Shi said calmly.
"Aren't you excited at all? I've never seen a kid your age on the front page before." Martina was surprised and reassessed Wu Shi's psychological maturity.
"I'm definitely a little excited, but it won't make me lose my composure." Wu Shi handed the newspaper to Louise, who had squeezed in. The two had lived under the same roof for two years and were so familiar with each other that they were completely used to each other's presence.
"Then I'll tell you something else, I wonder if it will make you so excited you can't sleep?" Martina said with a smile.
"Is the LaFerrari Drivers' Academy going to accept me?" Wu Shi asked excitedly.
"What are you thinking? You're not even twelve years old yet!" Martina rolled her eyes and said, "CRG has extended an invitation to you, hoping you will join them and that they will support you to participate in the 2010 Intercontinental or World Championships."
"Oh, that's great! How did Uncle Sid talk to them?"
CRG is renowned in the karting world. It is a karting manufacturer that sells a variety of high-quality karting parts or complete vehicles, and is favored by karting drivers all over Europe. It is also a famous racing team.
Several drivers once fought for him in the CRG team: Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, and Nico Rosberg.
This team is practically a cradle of F1 world champions, and it's an honor for any young driver to be invited by them.
"It's almost there. As long as you can maintain your performance, we will receive a large monetary reduction and support from their professional team," Martina said.
"Well, when are we heading to the convoy? What about Seth's side?" Wu Shi asked.
"Seth already knows, and he said there will always be a place for you in the team, and you're always welcome if you need it," Martina smiled.
"Oh, that's great. Maybe I'll have to run a couple of shows sometime."
"Of course they'll be very happy. We'll be heading to their headquarters after Christmas."
Where is their headquarters?
"Lonato in the province of Brescia, where you used to compete," Martina said.
Wu Shi was not Italian after all, and he was not sensitive to place names in different places. If you mentioned a city in China, he would probably know where it was.
Lonato is a beautiful city with a stunning Lake Garda. The dense area of old brick buildings makes you feel like you've stepped into the Middle Ages. If you also hear the music of Scarborough Fair, the nostalgic feeling is even stronger.
The days leading up to Christmas were mostly spent reading, practicing go-karting, and playing. Even though Wu Shi's skill level was already quite high, he still trained every week without fail, and he even devised some special physical training programs for himself.
In previous matches, he had already felt that his physical fitness was holding him back.
On Christmas Day, I thought it would be another day spent with the three of us, but unexpectedly Wu Zhenlin flew in from China.
"I didn't expect the company to give you a day off!" Martina said happily.
"Actually, I asked for leave. I swapped our Lunar New Year holiday with the current one," Wu Zhenlin said with a smile, while gesturing for the three people who had come with him to come out.
"Ling Kang?!" Wu Shi was shocked to meet this friend from China in a foreign land. After the initial shock, he greeted the two adults behind Ling Kang, "Hello, Uncle and Aunt."
"Hey, boss! Waaah! I've been running around for another year. I thought Zeng Tianyi and Ye Zhaohui were good enough, but then this guy named Zhou Guanyu came along." (in the middle) Ling Kang cried.
"So, what place did you get?"
"second!"
"Then what are you crying about!"
"Hey, isn't this just a way to vent?" Ling Kang laughed.
"You two still have such a good relationship!" Ling Kang's mother said with a smile.
"What is this?" Martina asked, looking at Wu Zhenlin.
"You should have met him before. The kid is Ling Kang. He ran races in China with Wu Shi. Some time ago, his parents contacted me, hoping to introduce him to this place for some experience," said Wu Zhenlin (English).
"The best way is to join a team," Martina said.
"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. I asked Mr. Wu Zhenlin to introduce us, and I would also like to ask you for your advice." Ling Kang's mother said politely to Martina.
"What are they saying?" Ling Kang scratched his head.
"You don't speak English?" Wu Shi asked in surprise. When children are going abroad to develop their careers, most parents will have them learn a foreign language in advance to avoid them not being able to adapt after arriving in the country.
"How could I possibly?!" Ling Kang exclaimed indignantly.
"Dude, your life is going to be very painful from now on," Wu Shi said with a chuckle.
"What's the meaning?"
"First, you need to learn English."
Ling Kang's expression changed.
"Secondly, this is Italy, so you will also need to learn Italian."
Ling Kang's expression changed again.
"Finally, before you learn it, you won't understand anything. Living here is like a dream, and it's the same when you're karting."
Ling Kang's face turned ashen; he realized what awaited him next.
"Then, boss, aren't you here?!" However, he quickly recovered.
"Uh, I'm going to the north in a while."
"Then I'll go too!"
"You're overthinking it. You'll most likely head south," Wu Shi guessed.
"Hmm? Boss knows my upcoming plans?"
"You've come here to seek better career development, so it's best to join a team here. They will provide you with the corresponding training and planning. The team that's easier to negotiate with is in the south."
When Wu Shi saw that Wu Zhenlin had brought the people, he guessed that he would most likely ask Martina to introduce them to CD SPEED.
Of course, that's a polite way of putting it. Although Wu Zhenlin only comes to Europa four or five times a year, he still has a fairly good understanding of the situation here.
He already knew that his son had made a name for himself. As Wu Shi's father, recommending a driver to the CD SPEED team was not a difficult task. However, he was not very familiar with the team, and since he and Martina were already family, he let Martina make the arrangements.
Sure enough, after hearing what Wu Zhenlin said, Martina immediately contacted Seth.
When Seth heard that another Chinese driver wanted to join the team, he immediately said no test required! He probably thought he had just opened another gold card.
Upon hearing this, Ling Kang's mother immediately expressed her gratitude and insisted on treating the group to a meal outside, also giving Martina a red envelope.
Wu Zhenlin gestured for Martina to accept the money, saying it was nothing, just normal business dealings.
After Christmas, Ling Kang and his family of three went to Sarno, while Wu Shi and his family of four went to Lonato.
Before parting, Wu Shi received a letter from China, sent by Zeng Tianyi.
In his letter, he wrote that he might drive a motorhome in the future because traveling abroad is too expensive and his family can't afford it.
It also mentions that Ye Zhaohui really wanted to go abroad, but his father wouldn't allow it, so he could only continue karting in China. After a few rounds, he said that there was no point in continuing like this, so he simply stopped karting.
Finally, he mentioned a driver named Zhou Guanyu who was also quite good at karting and was reportedly preparing to go to the United Kingdom to continue racing go-karts.
After reading the letter, Wu Shi felt a pang of emotion as he looked at the scenery passing by outside the window. Some people continued on their original paths, while others were set off into the unknown because of his appearance.