CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 83: A NEW TRACK RECORD (6K)_4

To be honest, many drivers have habitual flaws that are hard to correct even if they are aware of them, or they require long-term repetition and practice to change their instincts and muscle memory.

However, during this period, Chen Xiangbei corrected many braking point habits and cornering techniques, achieving astonishing consistency in lap speed.

As long as the track conditions are good, breaking the record again and making improvements are normal occurrences.

Normal?

The expression on the faces of the other team members was quite impressive upon hearing this.

It’s been almost five years since Kobayashi Kamui set the track record, and no one has broken it before Chen Xiangbei...

As the final turn roared past, Chen Xiangbei’s lap time was revealed.

minutes 05 seconds 135, compared to Kobayashi Kamui’s original lap record, forcibly improved by 0.5 seconds!

This staggering number caused even the experienced academy team members in the pit house to gasp involuntarily.

With no substantial change in Renault’s car performance, will anyone be able to break the track record Xiangbei set in the next five years?

"Xiangbei, bring the car back, you’ve clocked a lap time of 2 minutes 05 seconds 135."

Sawano Hiroyuki informed him via team radio, and you could feel him trying hard to suppress the excitement in his voice.

Upon hearing this number, Chen Xiangbei’s emotions also rarely fluctuated.

Kobayashi Kamui, within F1, is considered a lower-tier driver, with his best performance ranked twelfth on the driver standings. Furthermore, his previous GP2 performance was worse, almost bottomed out, ranking sixteenth.

Imagining that even an F2 champion in the future cannot guarantee an F1 seat, someone with results like Kobayashi Kamui, without the backing of Japanese car manufacturers pushing hard behind, would probably never make it to F1 in a lifetime.

But he is still an F1 driver; he’s only considered weak relative to those top-talent monsters within the paddock, but in other competitions, he would dominate effortlessly.

To surpass the track record by as much as 0.5 seconds, this result is enough to ensure that Chen Xiangbei has the strength to compete in Europe against that group of potential F1 drivers.

Driving the car back to the pit lane, in a short time, Chen Xiangbei had already adjusted his emotions and returned to his usual calm demeanor.

Sawano Hiroyuki approached the car, helping to unfasten the seat belts, and said, "Xiangbei, well done, today’s training ends here."

"Go back and have a good rest, prepare to welcome tomorrow’s Renault Winter Tour."

To be honest, breaking the track record on the last day of training is enough to highlight Chen Xiangbei’s strong psychological resilience.

If it were other students of the same age, they wouldn’t train to such extremes; instead, they would leave room for relaxation and mental adjustment.

For this reason, Sawano Hiroyuki did not conduct a post-race analysis with Chen Xiangbei this time, directly letting him go home to rest.

"Okay."

Chen Xiangbei took off his racing helmet, nodded in response, then headed to the driver’s lounge to change out of his racing suit.

Watching Chen Xiangbei’s receding figure, Mizutani Sho then spoke to Sawano Hiroyuki: "Xiangbei’s only drawback now is his lack of race experience. Looking at the competition list, the only threats to him are Yamamoto Naoki from the Guoguang Team and Ishihara Hiromi from the Toyota Team."

Mizutani Sho had no worries about Chen Xiangbei’s raw talent, along with the home advantage at the Suzuka Circuit, his single-lap speed was already at an unbeatable level.

But racing isn’t about competing with the track, it’s about competing with people.

With Chen Xiangbei’s blank competition history, participating in such a high-level Renault class tour for the first time, it remains a question how much of his single-lap strength he can actually display.

"We’ll find out tomorrow."

Sawano Hiroyuki said no more; he had a feeling that this kid seemed like an old hand on the track.

On the other side, Chen Xiangbei took a bus back to his apartment in Suzuka City. Since it was still early, he took the chance to buy some things to cook lunch for himself.

Entering the door code to open the door, the scene before him left him frozen in place; Liang Chi and Qin Lianjie stood in the doorway, looking at him with mischievous smiles on their faces.