Chapter 54 2010 Event Plan
The early spring breeze still carried a chill, covering Lonato with a blanket of ice.
As a specially invited driver, Wu Shi held a good position in the team. On his first day at headquarters, he was taken by the team leader to visit the headquarters' technical center and factory.
CRG's technical center spans 10,000 square meters, where staff will research various products such as racing car chassis and components.
"Some of the technical standards in CIK were actively promoted and implemented by us, which increased the safety and economy of go-karts," the team leader said, stopping to watch in front of the production line.
The unique charm of a mature industrial production line was laid bare before Wu Shi's eyes.
After touring the headquarters, Wu Shi finally arrived at the team's location to get to know his future teammates.
Teammates in a racing team are both partners and competitors; how to manage these relationships is up to the individual driver.
Unlike CD SPEED's shabby garage and factory, the CRG team has a fairly spacious base.
Different items were placed in different areas, and dozens of go-karts were hung on the wall in categories, but the tires and engines were not installed.
"We will be providing you with a go-kart for the competition, so we need to use all our time these next few months to fine-tune the vehicle. You will need to give your engineers plenty of feedback." The team leader called over a blonde female engineer.
"Her name is Rosa Reyes, and she's one of our top engineers. From now on, she'll be handling all your technical inquiries," the team leader explained.
"Hello Rosa, I am Wu Shi." Wu Shi extended his hand.
"Hello, I'm very happy to be your engineer going forward. I hope we have a great year together." Rosa half-squatted down to shake hands.
After getting a general understanding of the team's situation, Wu Shi hadn't even pushed his go-kart to the test track when he saw a familiar face.
"Uncle Joss?" Wu Shi greeted him.
"Hmm?" Joss Verstappen turned his head and saw Wu Shi without much surprise. He said, "Sure enough, you're here too. Last year, your superb driving skills were hard for Max to surpass. I once thought he was too slow. After analyzing the whole Christmas, I realized that it was because you were too fast."
Wu Shi didn't expect that just by saying hello, Qiao Si would say such a long thing.
"However, Max won't admit defeat, and neither will I."
"Uh, Uncle, I just came over to say hello, not to declare war. Max is outstanding. Without me, he would be far ahead of his peers."
To be honest, Pan Zi was like this in his previous life. Whenever he participated in a competition, he would basically crush his peers and catch up with the seniors.
"." Joss fell silent.
"Wu Shi, go for a few laps first, and tell me your impressions afterwards," Rosa called out.
"Okay, coming~"
Wu Shi sat in his brand-new ride. The go-kart alone cost 30,000 euros for its chassis, which would be about 300,000 yuan in China. In 2010, that amount of money was enough to buy an 80-square-meter apartment in what was then considered an outer district of Shenzhen. In the future, it would cost at least a million yuan!
However, he had already told his father about these things back in 2007, so there was no need to think too much about it.
Buzz!
The go-karts entered the track, and as expected of a product from a major manufacturer, the traction was excellent and the chassis was very rigid, with minimal drag and stickiness when turning.
Of course, these driving feel optimizations are mostly aimed at making it more comfortable for the driver to control the vehicle. To truly optimize lap times, it is necessary to make minor adjustments to adjustable parts such as the front and rear wheel camber, suspension, and carburetor.
After a few laps, Wu Shi was able to get a general feel for the vehicle's condition. To achieve absolute control over the vehicle, he would need to drive over a thousand kilometers.
Well, less than a thousand laps. At twenty laps a day, that's only two months. There's still plenty of time before this year's race.
Upon arriving at the repair area, Rosa brought over her laptop and asked, "Describe how you feel."
"It feels alright, but the steering isn't sensitive enough. I think I need to release more steering power." Wu Shi prefers oversteering.
"Okay, here's your current data. The steering angle for each corner is shown above. After you adjust it, go run a few more laps and come back to tell me how it feels," Rosa said.
"no problem."
Wu Shi put on his helmet and went back down to run.
For the average viewer, running laps isn't exactly exciting. All they see is the car going around and around, and no matter how much it leans in the corners, as long as it doesn't flip over, it all looks the same to them.
But it's a completely different story for drivers and engineers.
As the driver continues to run laps, his heart rate remains high because he must precisely control the vehicle when entering corners at all times. He can only relax his nerves when he is on a straight.
Engineers, on the other hand, are completely focused on the curve data graphs on the computer, and need to analyze the vehicle's condition in detail.
This is just the case at the go-kart level. In higher-level Formula series, there is more and more complex data to analyze and master.
A hard day's work ended, and inadequate lighting forced the drivers to leave the racetrack.
Wu Shi was parched, so he took the water Rosa handed him and gulped it down. Then he turned around and saw Joss talking to Pan Zi.
Pan Zi nodded repeatedly as he listened to his father's words, then suddenly noticed Wu Shi and looked up at him.
Joss noticed this too, so he simply brought Panzi over and said, "Your lap times are about the same, but I feel that you are driving at your absolute limit."
"Uh, is there?"
"Your cornering speed is very fast, but your straightaway speed is much slower. Is it due to special tuning?" Joss analyzed to himself.
Wu Shi didn't speak. Could he admit that he had slightly loosened his grip? After all, it was practice, mainly for curves. There was no need to test the straight-line performance here, otherwise, he would have been completely exposed.
"What competition are you going to participate in this year?" Pan Zi suddenly asked, his voice still a little unclear, as if he were going through puberty.
"The Europa League KF3 Championship, the Swedish KF3 Viking Cup, the KF3 World Cup, and if I have time, I can also go to Monaco. I heard that WSK is also holding a competition, and I will go there too," Wu Shi said.
"Yes, I'm planning to participate in the Europa League, the World Championship, and the WSK KF3 Series." Panzi nodded.
"I don't recommend you go to Sweden or Monaco," Joss said.
"Why?" Wu Shi asked.
"The Europa League and the World Championship are enough to prove your strength, and the WSK Series will arrange more matches, saving you the trouble of traveling to multiple locations and saving you energy and money," Joss said.
"I see! I understand. Then I'll just participate in these competitions like Max." Wu Shi nodded.
Joss's serious expression softened, and he said, "That's perfect. I want to see your match against Max; he's improved a lot since last year."