Chapter 56 Dominant Level Strength
The Laconca track looks very square, with a few false turns, and its characteristics are quite distinct. A regular KF3-level go-kart would need about 49 or 50 seconds to maintain a stable lap time here.
If it's during practice, and you're aiming for pole position in the qualifying round, you can go even faster, potentially finishing in 48 or even 47.
Wu Shi's car is still number 398. Fortunately, the veteran drivers did not use this number, otherwise this KF3 rookie would have needed to find another number.
Panzi's license plate was quite arrogant; it was simply 301.
This competition also features several strong teams, such as IDP, MORSICANI TACING SAS, SODI RACING TEAM, and so on.
While looking at the list, Wu Shi also saw some familiar faces, such as Locke from the MARANELLO KART SRL team, Gasley from the SODI RACING TEAM, and Ocon Laurent from the OCON LAURENT team.
However, none of this matters to him. In a race with hundreds of participants, most of the drivers will remain in karting, a small number will move up to lower-level formula racing, and only a handful will advance to F1.
Therefore, most people only have a fleeting encounter with him, and perhaps after this year's competition, they will never cross paths again.
Amidst the background noise in the pit area, the race organizers' announcements rang out as the drivers boarded their go-karts, ready to start their effective practice.
Wu Shi was quite familiar with this course, having run it with Seth in 2008. So after a short trial, he got the hang of it and quickly set his first valid time.
49.416.
He didn't know what his score was, but he was definitely not satisfied, so he didn't go back to the repair area and continued speeding.
Rustling sound!
Verstappen ran a valid lap before him.
48.326.
"Yeah! I knew it, Max could definitely outrun that guy!" Joss clenched his fist and waved it hard.
He had barely finished speaking when Wu Shi's go-kart crossed the finish line again.
46.122.
"???" Joss froze.
"Joss, Max beat Wu Shi by two seconds, that's pretty good." Rosa laughed from the side. She followed Wu Shi every day, and Wu Shi often talked with Pan Zi, so she and Joss also became "familiar" with each other.
"Damn it, this guy is definitely using a trick! He knew I would watch how Max ran, so he sneaked off behind me!" Joss lamented.
In previous practice sessions, he would usually have Max and Wu Shi run separately so that he could see how Max ran and how Wu Shi ran. However, he did not expect to encounter this situation in the first official competition.
It's worth noting that last year, Wu Shi never made a second valid flying lap. This means that Wu Shi, this freak, basically only needed to make one lap, and that lap time was enough to consistently secure pole position.
Joss recalled asking Wu Shi after a race why he only did one speed lap, and whether he could guarantee that it was his fastest lap.
Wu Shi's response at the time was: "I don't know if this is my fastest lap, but I know that this lap time has definitely broken the historical record for this level on this track. If someone can surpass me, then I will give them pole position, and then I will catch up in the race."
He still remembers how casually that guy said those words.
But why did this guy do two laps today?!
Wu Shi parked the go-kart steadily in the pit lane. He was quite satisfied with his first lap, believing that he had left a speed record that would be remembered for generations. Anyone who wanted to break this record would have to hurry, because the KF3 would be discontinued in a few years!
"Hey! Wu Shi!" The sports media reporter had interviewed Wu Shi many times. He waved excitedly and asked, "Do you know what lap time you just set?"
"It should be quite good, right?" Wu Shi asked.
"It's more than just quite good. You know, even the KF3 group in the WSK Masters Series couldn't achieve your lap time!" The reporter looked the young man up and down, his eyes full of curiosity.
"You're so fast that I feel like you'd break the record on any track."
"That shouldn't be the case," Wu Shi shook his head.
"Why? Don't you have that confidence?" the reporter immediately pressed.
"No, because the rules of F1 change every year. Even if I break a record when I'm able to drive in an F1 car, it won't make any difference. To use an old Chinese saying, it's like 'Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong,' a contest that can't determine a winner." Wu Shi finished speaking and turned to leave.
"Hey!" the reporter tried to call out to him.
Wu Shi ignored me. Want to know the meaning of the allusion? Go look it up yourself!
The reporter simply wanted to ask him if he was so sure he could make it into F1. Many karting drivers who are very good at it haven't been able to continue their talent in higher-level races. After all, karting is all about small cars, and the difference in difficulty between driving small cars and large cars is obvious.
Panzi was already waiting in the pit area, talking to Joss about something, seemingly not understanding why the lap time was two seconds different.
"Turn 1, Turn 2, and all the subsequent right-angle turns—this guy's entry and exit speeds are terrifying! It's not a problem with the line; it's about how he can control the car in such an extremely stable range!" Joss looked at Rosa's data and felt only despair. This was too outrageous!
He believes that this is a lap that a person can run, because there are many people in the WSK Masters Series who can run under 46 seconds, and there are people who can run under 46 seconds under the right conditions, but how many years have they been running?
Many of the participants in the Masters Series specialize in a particular level, up to the age limit! Their lap times often become the final record for that track.
"Hey, Wu Shi, you're here." Pan Zi greeted him, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge and a fighting spirit. He figured he'd be training like crazy on this track after the race, practicing his records.
Both of them belong to the CRG team, so some data can be shared. Furthermore, with Joss's connections in the racing world, he can get a few Masters racers to run some data, and after analyzing it, he can also guide Panzi, at least improving to within 47 points is not a problem.
Once Wu Shi set the fastest lap, the game almost immediately lost its appeal.
Everyone knows that the Chinese will definitely dominate this track.
As expected, Wu Shi did not lose in the round-robin and secured pole position for the pre-finals.
The results of the preliminary and final rounds were not unexpected. In a total of sixteen laps, he led Verstappen by a full 16 seconds when the race ended, with his fastest lap time being 48.333 seconds.
Verstappen, who is in second place, had the fastest lap time of 49.416 seconds, and his total time was 0.3 seconds ahead of Spinelli Loris, who was in third place. After that, the total time difference between the two adjacent drivers was basically two seconds and four seconds.
Gasly ranked fifth, and O'Connor ranked fourteenth.
With twenty points secured, the final match began quickly.
The final round has a higher point value than the preliminary rounds, so every ranking is crucial. However, Wu Shi, who is ranked first, doesn't care about these things. He just needs to get the winner's 45 points.
Having gained experience from the preliminary and final rounds, he controlled his speed slightly to avoid overworking the vehicle, and ultimately easily scored 45 points.
His outstanding performance has attracted the attention of many people who were not paying attention to him before.
When Wu Shi stepped onto the podium, he saw fans in the crowd below holding up photos of him and shouting. He couldn't help but laugh, truly experiencing the popularity the reporter had mentioned.