Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 130 Asia's Most Dangerous Track (Part 2)

The Mazda RX7 is known as the "Rotary King" because it is equipped with a rotary engine, the 13B, which can be described as a legendary rotary engine.

The rotary engine has a completely different working method from the piston engine. It eliminates the need for complex intake and exhaust valves and transmission structures such as connecting rods and crankshafts, which means it has advantages such as simple structure, light weight, and compact size.

When these advantages are applied to performance cars, engineers have more freedom to arrange and distribute weight. As a result, the Mazda RX7 has a very balanced front and rear axle load and was once considered to be the best handling and best-balanced performance car of the 1990s, even to the point of being the only one!
The rotary engine has both advantages and disadvantages, the first being its extremely high fuel consumption and emissions.

Don't be fooled by the 1.3L performance of the rotary engine; it's basically double that of a 2.6L piston engine, yet its fuel consumption can reach 3.0L or even higher!
Luxgen was later referred to online as a "fuel consumption black hole," and it was a strategic partner of PetroChina and Sinopec.

Mazda's rotary engine is also quite impressive; if it were made into a large-displacement engine, it wouldn't be going to the gas station, but rather being on its way to the gas station.

If we're only talking about fuel consumption, many wealthy people can actually accept it.

The way rotary engines work means they are prone to severe wear and tear. Without breakthroughs in materials science, they often can't last more than tens of thousands of kilometers, which is a death sentence for them in the civilian vehicle sector!
Mazda used to regard rotary engines as a religion. When they ran out of money, they would focus on making civilian cars to earn money, and when they had money, they would restart the development of rotary engines, and they were always in a certain cycle.

However, with the arrival of the new energy era, the fate of rotary engines has become increasingly bleak.

The reason is simple: if materials science can make breakthroughs, why not use them to solve the battery problem?

Once the battery problem is solved, electric vehicles will be the most powerful cars in the world, and internal combustion engines, including rotary engines, will essentially be facing their end...

Of course, the changing times and technological advancements do not diminish the fact that the Mazda RX7 is a very distinctive model.

Just like in the electric era, there are still many people who enjoy hot hatch performance cars.

"Nice car."

Chen Xiangbei sincerely praised that, due to the late development of the civilian automobile industry in mainland China, coupled with the influence of economic factors, it did not experience the peak of the automobile culture wave in the 1990s, and there are not many classic performance car models to see.

Hong Kong Island, with its unique historical background, has taken the lead in this regard. Whether it's the Volkswagen R36 or the Mazda RX7 in front of him, both have been a feast for the eyes for Chen Xiangbei.

"How about giving it a try?"

Qin Lianjie noticed Chen Xiangbei's longing and took out the car keys from the box next to him and handed them over.

Since the atmosphere had already set in this way, Chen Xiangbei naturally wouldn't refuse.

To be honest, even in his past life, he had never driven a Mazda rotary engine vehicle, so he was genuinely curious.

After taking the keys and getting into the driver's seat, Qin Lianjie followed suit and sat in the passenger seat.

The first thing he did after getting into the car was to fasten his seatbelt; Chen Xiangbei was driving way too fast.

Even as an amateur driver who has reached the professional level, Qin Lianjie felt his heart racing uncontrollably.

Following the normal procedure, after Chen Xiangbei turned the key, the RX7 should have emitted Mazda's signature "ZOOM~ZOOM" engine roar, then the classic old Japanese pop-up headlights would appear, and he would step on the gas and speed off.

In reality, when Chen Xiangbei turned the key all the way, the Mazda RX7 made a "clattering" sound like a tractor, and he couldn't start it even after several attempts.

Faced with this situation, Qin Lianjie and Chen Xiangbei exchanged a glance, and a few black lines appeared on his face. A subtle awkwardness seemed to permeate the air.

After a moment, Qin Lianjie swallowed and replied, "It's a common problem with rotary engines. They're hard to start when they're cold and haven't been driven for a long time. I'll have someone come and check it out later."

Hearing this explanation, Chen Xiangbei finally understood why Mazda's rotary engine, despite its renowned reputation, had never seen widespread practical application; its reliability was indeed somewhat poor.

Fortunately, the modification shop doesn't have much else, but it has a lot of cars.

Qin Lianjie drove the store's Camry as his personal vehicle, following behind Chen Xiangbei's Volkswagen R36 to Macau.

At that time, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge had not yet been built. Vehicles needed to be transferred by barge to reach Macau Island directly. It took Chen Xiangbei and Qin Lianjie nearly three hours to reach the starting point of the Guia Circuit, which is the Macau Grand Prix Building on Avenida da Amizade, for a journey of only a few dozen kilometers, including the time spent queuing to board the ferry.

With more than a week to go before the official start of the race, the Guia Circuit remains open and is still used as a regular street, although reinforced guardrails have been installed at many corners.

On the one hand, it can serve as a barrier, and on the other hand, it can ensure the safety of the drivers and the residents on both sides.

Just then, Qin Lianjie got out of the Camry, opened the passenger door of Chen Xiangbei's R36, sat down, and began to introduce the car.

"Heading north, according to the tradition of previous Grand Prix, the streets of Guia will not be completely cleared and closed until the night before the practice match."

"After all, the island of Macau is only so big, and long-term road closures will cause serious inconvenience to travel."

"Ok, I know."

Chen Xiangbei nodded. Although he had never participated in the Australian F3 in his previous life, it didn't mean he was completely unaware of it. At least he would follow it in the news every year.

The main reason is that there are too many famous riders who have participated in the Grand Prix in later generations. Basically, all the top riders that everyone can name have come to Australia to compete.

For example, Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, O'Connor, and Zhou Guanyu from China, etc.

It's fair to say that most of today's active F1 drivers have participated in the Grand Prix. It was precisely the addition of these top drivers that created Australia's title of "King of F3".

There was a saying in the early days of Formula racing: whoever becomes the Grand Prix champion is essentially dominating F3 racing!

However, two thousand years later, reality took a completely different turn from the rumors. Famous F1 drivers mentioned above, even someone as strong as Verstappen, never won a Grand Prix title.

Conversely, the drivers who won the Australian F3 championship title all showed a pattern of starting strong but fading quickly, with many failing to even make it into F1.

The last Grand Prix champion to make a splash in F1 was Takuma Sato in 2001.

The main reason for this situation is that the advantage of the location is too obvious. There is no racing simulator to practice in the F3 level. You only know the track for a few days. How can you compare with others who have been driving for several years?

Even Verstappen, known as a "racing machine," couldn't memorize racing-level information such as corners, road conditions, and racing lines in just a few days.

"Let's drive it around a couple of times and see how it goes."

Qin Lianjie said no more. For a driver of Chen Xiangbei's caliber, all the talk was less effective than letting him drive himself.

With the engine ignited, Chen Xiangbei began driving along the Guia Circuit.

Macau Island is already small and has narrow streets. Now, with the upcoming Grand Prix and the influx of racing fans and tourists from all over the world, Guia Road is just like a busy street in the city center. Chen Xiangbei can only maintain a speed of about 20 to 30 kilometers per hour.

Even more absurdly, many vehicles were temporarily parked on both sides of the road, even at the bends, making it difficult for Chen Xiangbei to see the specific details of the road.

To be honest, Chen Xiangbei had anticipated that the Guia Circuit would be very complicated.

But he didn't expect it to be this complicated, even "walking" the track was full of trouble.

No wonder Leclerc, who won the Monaco Grand Prix and is known as "Extreme Guy," was outmaneuvered by the locals at the Guia Circuit in the future. He was completely bewildered by the traffic situation!
"Qin Lianjie, there are too many vehicles and pedestrians, it's getting a bit difficult."

Chen Xiangbei couldn't help but mutter to himself, wondering if he had come at the wrong time, perhaps during rush hour.

"How about we head north like this, and I'll explain the track features and things to watch out for?"

Qin Lianjie asked a question tentatively.

Actually, back when he was at the top of Nanyun Mountain, his initial idea was to see if he could offer some experience and advice while accompanying Chen Xiangbei to familiarize himself with the track.

However, after sitting in the passenger seat and experiencing Chen Xiangbei's control as they descended the mountain, Qin Lianjie temporarily abandoned the idea.

The reason is that he realized the gap between himself and Chen Xiangbei had far exceeded his initial expectations. This kid's driving skills improved too quickly on the European track, almost like an evolution.

With such a qualitative change, it's difficult for amateur street racers to offer any constructive advice to professional racers.

"No problem, go ahead."

Chen Xiangbei didn't share this view, believing that Qin Lianjie was unworthy of "teaching" him.

On the contrary, as the ancients said, "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me," especially in a special street race like Guia.

Even if you're a dragon crossing the river, you still have to obediently coil up first!

"Heading north, starting from Avenida da Amizade, the T1 bend is called Reservoir Bend. It is less than ten meters wide and has a relatively high turning speed, which means that after the start, you must use the full width of the track to complete the high-speed cornering cut."

"It is very important to seize the line when entering a corner. The difference in cornering speed between the outside and inside can directly widen the gap by several car lengths."

"This is why the accident rate at T1 Reservoir Bend is extremely high; even street racing with several cars can hardly avoid rear-end collisions."

Chen Xiangbei nodded seriously at Qin Lianjie's explanation of the starting characteristics.

Street racing is not only difficult because it demands high levels of skill, but sometimes luck and timing are equally important.

The Australian Grand Prix is ​​also known as the "Grand Prix Crash Track." It's not just the starting corner that causes crashes; the accident rate at almost every corner far exceeds that of any other F3 circuit.

Not only in Formula racing, but also in GT and motorcycle racing, there have been many tragic accidents.

The most famous of these was the 2017 GT World Cup, where a series of rear-end collisions on a bend caused more than $30 million in damages, with more than a dozen top-of-the-line GT supercars totaled.

"T2 corner is the Oriental Mandarin Corner. It has the highest cornering speed on the entire track. This corner is a great test of a driver's skill and courage. If you are confident enough in your vehicle's precise control, you can try to take the corner with full throttle."

After saying that, Qin Lianjie frankly added, "However, I haven't tried it myself. The information comes from top F3 drivers who have driven there; they said in their post-race interviews that it's possible."

Regardless of the type of race car, the cornering speed at full throttle in the Grand Prix is ​​at least 250 km/h.

At this speed, in a street environment, the surrounding spectators and scenery would flash by like a slideshow, not to mention the need to control a race car with centimeter or millimeter-level precision, speeding past the track barriers.

If there is even the slightest flaw in driving skills or mental fortitude, crashing into the guardrail without a buffer zone will result in a fatal accident.

The Australian Grand Prix has claimed the lives of fifteen drivers in Formula racing alone, and the number is even more staggering when touring cars and motorcycles are included. It is therefore known as the most dangerous track in Asia, bar none!

Qin Lianjie is just an amateur underground racer. Why would he risk his life by going full throttle all the time?

"Well, I see."

Chen Xiangbei's response to this was rather indifferent.

Professional drivers are destined to risk their lives to challenge the limits of racing cars and tracks.

The moment you become afraid, you've already lost, and you're destined to be unsuitable to be a professional racer.

Fear can make you slow down without realizing it, and if you're racing while watching other cars' taillights, what's the point of continuing?

Seeing Chen Xiangbei's calm expression, Qin Lianjie understood why the kid's driving skills had improved so dramatically.

Damn it, this kid's got a death wish!
Of course, Qin Lianjie wouldn't say what was on his mind; he continued to explain the curves earnestly.

"After T2 Wen Hua, there's the straight with the highest speed in the entire Guia track, where everyone accelerates at full throttle. Most GT3 cars have a top speed of around 280 km/h, but I haven't paid much attention to the top speed of Formula 3 cars."

"At the end of the straight is the famous Lisboa Bend. The extremely high top speed requires drivers to have a very high level of judgment on braking distance, which makes it the best overtaking point for offense and defense over the years. You have to pay more attention to the road grip."

Although Qin Lianjie is not a professional racer, he is indeed very familiar with the Guia Circuit and explained it very thoroughly.

Chen Xiangbei also discovered a unique feature: unlike the corners in Europe that are named after people, the corners of the Guia Circuit in Macau are all named after famous local casinos and hotels.

In particular, even Chen Xiangbei was quite familiar with the name "Macau Palace".

After all, many online videos in later years often start with a line like: "Australia's first online casino launches..."

Whether it's really the "Macau Palace" is unclear, but that's the name it uses. As the Volkswagen R36 drove forward, Chen Xiangbei also noticed that the Guia Circuit had significant elevation changes, almost reaching the level of mountain roads in many hilly areas of southern China.

Furthermore, the entire course was not in a bustling, noisy area like Singapore, as Chen Xiangbei had imagined. Some sections even had reservoirs and "cliffs" alongside it, with elevation differences that could be as exaggerated as two or three stories.

This means that the dangers of the Guia Circuit come not only from the narrow streets, but also from the inherent risks of the terrain, just like some rally circuits!
Furthermore, due to limitations in time, technology, and cost in this era, many aspects of safety measures for events were far inferior to those of later generations; Chen Xiangbei discovered that some sections of the road were protected by concrete blocks.

Compared to tire walls and metal mesh, concrete blocks offer absolutely no elasticity or cushioning. Chen Xiangbei couldn't imagine what it would look like if a Formula One car traveling at over 100 kilometers per hour crashed into them.
The 6.2-kilometer track is not short, but it's not long for a vehicle. Even though Chen Xiangbei's speed was very low, he still completed the entire course in just over ten minutes.

Qin Lianjie, who was normally giving a commentary, suddenly felt a bit thirsty. He looked at Chen Xiangbei, who had no expression on his face, and asked, "How is it? Can you remember it?"

"No."

Chen Xiangbei answered very frankly. The Guia Circuit has 22 turns and weaves through various crowds and traffic. If someone could remember all of its characteristics, it would be beyond what you would call a racing machine.

It's basically a scanner!

"It's normal not to remember. With its complex terrain and densely populated streets, the Guia Circuit is known as the most dangerous circuit in Asia, and there's a reason for that."

Qin Lianjie chimed in, "There's no such thing as a genius who can memorize the characteristics of a race track after just one lap."

Even if Schumacher were in charge, he couldn't do it!

"The terrain here is a combination of mountain roads and streets, and it feels even more complicated than a similar track like Monaco. I'm afraid you'll have to do a couple more laps."

"Damn, why are you telling me all this?"

Qin Lianjie waved his hand, signaling Chen Xiangbei to continue.

The two of them circled the Guia Circuit again and again until night fell and the real rush hour and nightlife began. Traffic jams had formed in many parts of the streets, and it took half an hour to travel just a few kilometers.

At this speed, even a professional driver like Chen Xiangbei would have to focus his attention on pedestrians crossing the road and vehicles crawling along; there would be no point in continuing to "walk".

"Qin Lianjie, how about we call it a day?"

Chen Xiangbei spoke up, saying that he now understood why the street race had such a significant advantage.

Non-native riders or those who specialize in street racing don't even understand the most basic terrain!

"Hey north, how about this, we can go for a run around midnight sometime."

Qin Lianjie also realized that this familiarity was not very effective, especially since the Guia Circuit itself is a tourist attraction, and the entire route is dotted with hotels or casinos such as the Lisboa, Sands, and Mandarin Oriental.

To truly understand the track, you have to follow the underground racing model and come for a couple of laps during the midnight Cinderella time!
When do you think would be a good time?

"Next Mon."

Qin Lianjie gave a specific time.

Next week is the Grand Prix race week, at which time all the scaffolding and building materials used for road reconstruction will be removed, essentially making the road layout equivalent to that during the race.

Also, Mondays are not public holidays, so there are far fewer people around midnight.

Furthermore, this location is the latest possible start date for the Grand Prix race week, and as the race date approaches, even more fans and tourists will flock to the island.

This year's Grand Prix is ​​especially significant because it marks the first time a Formula One driver from mainland China will be participating, so the number of spectators is expected to exceed previous years.

Monday will be Chen Xiangbei's only chance to actually run this track!
"OK, Monday it is."

Chen Xiangbei nodded.

Given the current situation, without prior test runs, relying solely on a 30-minute practice session to master this track is nothing short of wishful thinking.

The Grand Prix results are very important to Chen Xiangbei. It can be said to be the most crucial step for him to skip a level and enter F1. He can only win and cannot lose!
"So where do you plan to go now?"

"Meet up with Uncle Liang and the others at the hotel."

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei say he was going to a hotel, Qin Lianjie pondered for a moment and replied, "I won't go back. I'll just stay at the same hotel as you guys."

Although Hong Kong Island is adjacent to Macau Island, commuting there and back still takes several hours.

In addition, Qin Lianjie was really curious about what Chen Xiangbei's professional life was like.

How could his driving skills improve like a monster in just six months!

"No problem, we'll be there now."

Chen Xiangbei nodded, then drove his Volkswagen R36 to lead the way, taking Qin Lianjie's Camry to the hotel where the crew members were staying.

This hotel isn't considered bustling by Macau standards, but it's clean and quiet, making it a great place for the crew to rest before the race.

When Chen Xiangbei arrived, A Yong was already standing at the hotel entrance to greet him. Upon seeing him, A Yong immediately came up and gave him a bear hug.

It's fortunate that Chen Xiangbei's shoulder muscle strain has recovered safely; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to withstand A Yong's blow.

"Brother Bei, I miss you so much! These past few days without you, the team has felt like it's lost its backbone!"

Ah Yong's tone was somewhat excited. Now the team members are in increasingly close contact with Chen Xiangbei, and they really don't know what to do if he's not around.

"Don't exaggerate, isn't Odysseus still here?"

Chen Xiangbei replied with a smile, "Odeto has also come to Australia this time. Nominally, the team leader should be the backbone."

“He’s been going out early and coming home late these past few days, I don’t know what he’s been doing.”

"Is Odette here now?"

"Yes, he's already waiting for you in the hotel conference room."

Upon hearing this, based on Chen Xiangbei's understanding of Odette, the old man must have been busy with pre-match preparations.

So he greeted Qin Lianjie and led him to the hotel conference room.

Inside the hotel conference room, the entire crew had gathered to wait after receiving news that Chen Xiangbei was coming.

Of course, they weren't doing this to give Chen Xiangbei a grand welcome back to the team.

Instead, as Chen Xiangbei guessed, there was extremely important pre-match preparation work.

When Qin Lianjie followed Chen Xiangbei into the conference room, he was immediately stunned by the two rows of seats. He wondered if professional racing teams were this rigorous and formal even when they weren't competing.

Chen Xiangbei briefly introduced Qin Lianjie to everyone. Liang Chi and Lu Xiaoman already knew each other, and the Japanese technicians like Ze Ye also politely introduced themselves to each other.

Only old man Oddot maintained his usual aloofness, nodding as a greeting.

After Chen Xiangbei took his seat, Odeto asked directly, "Did you drive the Guia Circuit this afternoon?"

Just as Chen Xiangbei gradually became familiar with Odette's personality, Odette now has a similar understanding of this Chinese lad's character.

Since Chen Xiangbei arrived in Macau in the afternoon, he definitely wouldn't stay out until the evening before returning to the hotel.

There's only one possibility for him coming back so late: he went to the track early.

"Ah."

"Did you gain anything?"

"rare."

Chen Xiangbei spent the afternoon familiarizing himself with the track layout, but that was far from enough for Formula One racing.

He needs to achieve at least centimeter-level accuracy!

Upon hearing this reply, Odeto gestured towards Mizutani Sho.

The latter pressed the play button on the projector connected to the conference room, and a map of the Guia Circuit appeared on the screen. Then the image zoomed in to show the cornering trajectory of each individual corner.

Chen Xiangbei was stunned when he saw this scene. Before returning to China, he already knew that neither the Brawn GP team nor the Super Dream team had the data of the Guia Circuit in recent years.

The reason is simple: they are all F1 teams, so why would they collect F3 race information?
Just like a college student wouldn't specifically organize junior high school workbooks.

"Odette, don't we lack data for the Guia Circuit?"

Chen Xiangbei couldn't help but ask, surely Odeto wouldn't lie to him about something like this.

"Is there anything you can't do?"

"Or perhaps you wouldn't run away if you couldn't do it?"

Odeto gave a simple and blunt reply, leaving Chen Xiangbei speechless for a moment.

Standing behind him, Qin Lianjie felt an invisible pressure when he saw this scene.

Is this the team principal of an F1 team?

That's really assertive!

As for the crew members in the conference room, they were already used to this scene.

Compared to putting immense pressure on Chen Xiangbei on the track, this pre-race discussion was nothing more than a small appetizer.

"We don't have real-world data from past drivers, but that doesn't stop us from creating the theoretical perfect lap of the Guia Circuit."

"Just like creating a simulator map, over the past few days, Mizutani and I have obtained information about the Guia Circuit's road surface conditions, corner angles, shoulder height differences, and so on, through publicly available information from road administration departments and by conducting on-site measurements on the streets."

"Then, by using these data for computer simulations, we can derive the theoretical limit for cornering and the final perfect lap time."

Oddo described what he and Sho Mizutani did: simply put, just like the name "Formula" suggests, they recorded the cornering routes of various curves on the track, and through computer simulation and mathematical formulas, they could obtain the optimal APEX point and the "perfect lap".

Of course, just like the perfect lap on a racing simulator, it's only theoretical data.

In reality, due to limitations of the venue, weather, road surface, and even interference from opponents, the cornering line in a race cannot overlap with the theoretical tangent. How close to the "perfect lap" speed can be achieved depends entirely on the driver's own understanding and performance.

Just like in the 25th F1 Japanese Grand Prix, Renault's rookie Doohan directly applied his experience from the simulator to the practice session, using DRS at full speed to corner at a speed of up to 331 km/h.

Even F1 drivers, when they can go full throttle through corners to challenge the limits of the track, are already teetering on the edge of losing control.

This guy was driving the DRS at full throttle through a corner, he really brought the simulator "game" into reality. If he didn't have an accident, who would?

After saying all that, Odeto pointed directly at Chen Xiangbei and added.

"Before the game starts, memorize all of this data and make sure there are no mistakes."

"You need to understand that in streetball, there's no room for error!"

(End of this chapter)