CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 84: I WANT TO FORM A RACING TEAM

"Surprised? Unexpected?"

Qin Lianjie smiled and asked as he watched Chen Xiangbei standing dumbfounded.

"Why are you guys here?"

Chen Xiangbei was indeed pleasantly surprised. He had only told Liang Chi the schedule for his Renault Winter Tour without mentioning for him to come to Japan and watch the race.

The reason was simple. Chen Xiangbei wasn’t fond of making a fuss over things, feeling no need for a full entourage of friends and family at every race. Moreover, he thought it was too troublesome to travel abroad for this kind of small selection competition.

"Are you kidding? This is the ticket race for Europe. Of course, we have to witness it."

Qin Lianjie replied. Chen Xiangbei always acted nonchalantly, but they didn’t see this as a small race at all.

You have to know, there are very few who can even make it to Japanese competitions from China. Huasi Sports has cooperated with Honda for three or four years, yet apart from Chen Xiangbei, they haven’t been able to send a single driver to the Honda Racing Academy.

As for the European Formula Series, there’s no need to mention that—after more than ten years, only Cheng Congfu and Ma Qingye have made it, and there’s no third person who’s been able to race at Renault-level competitions.

Overseas, the "No.1" title in recent years, only Chen Xiangbei has managed to take it in such stride!

"Originally, Old Zhang and Xiaoman also planned to come, but the contract with Huasi is expiring at the end of the year, and many things need Old Zhang to handle and coordinate. Xiaoman’s dad is one of the investors, so she also had to stay at Huasi to assist with things. They just couldn’t make it."

Liang Chi took the opportunity to explain that Zhang Zhicong and Lu Xiaoman weren’t avoiding coming; they were just genuinely tied up.

"I understand."

Chen Xiangbei nodded.

After a brief exchange at the entrance, the three of them went back inside and caught up on recent happenings.

Chen Xiangbei then spoke up: "Uncle Liang, after Huasi disbands, do the team members have somewhere to go?"

Upon hearing this question, Liang Chi’s expression turned somewhat somber.

"Old Zhang plans to retire completely. He’ll return to Hong Kong Island to go back to his old business as a manager, and Miyamoto and the rest of the Japanese technical staff will withdraw, depending on how Honda Racing Corporation chooses to arrange them."

"As for Feng Yong and Zhao Lei, it depends on whether they want to continue working as race technicians or if they’re planning to change careers. But Xiaoman’s family background is there, so there’s no need to worry about her too much."

With this last group from Huasi Sports settled, it will mean the company that carried China’s initial Formula dreams will vanish into history.

"What about you, Uncle Liang?"

"Me?"

"Guangshen Car Repair Shop is my old turf, so I can’t be without a place to go, can I?"

Liang Chi responded with a seemingly nonchalant remark, but inside, he felt a deep sense of unease.

After all, Huasi Sports was also his dream and dedication, and now he can only watch as it closes its curtains, with the team members going their separate ways.

"Uncle Liang, the truth is I’ve had an idea for a long time, but it’s very difficult to realize."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to build a private racing team."

Ever since Chen Xiangbei first got involved in racing, he shared the same dream as Liang Chi and Zhang Zhicong.

To have a Formula team and race team that belong to China.

But in his past life, after Liberty Media Corporation took over F1, the technology and value of the teams exploded. It’s not just weak racing countries like China struggling; even the traditional private powerhouses in Europe and the United States are finding it hard to keep up.

Much like the once-dominant Williams team, struggling at the back of the grid most of the time. If it weren’t for the R&D budget cap and the significant increase in points and post-race bonuses, it might not have been sustainable.

The entry fees for new teams are staggeringly high, deterring many deep-pocketed investors at the inquiry phase. Only traditional factory team powerhouses like Audi and Cadillac dare to invest in and play around.

In such a situation, building a Chinese racing team or race team with a driver’s edge outside of F1 is nothing short of a pipe dream.

However, the reality today is different. The 2008 financial crisis caused F1 teams operational difficulties, leading to the exit of numerous teams like BMW, Honda, Toyota, and Super Aguri. The costs of taking over dropped to surprisingly low levels.

Of course, the cost of acquisition doesn’t equal operating costs. Transfer agreements often include team debt and investment commitments.

Still, even with that, the investment entry barriers were substantially lowered, so much so that even India could form an F1 team, differing only in team structure and performance.

While in China, Chen Xiangbei had already considered potential investors and sponsors. Now with Huasi Sports dissolved, and team members forced to disband, it’s time to take a substantive step forward.

"Xiangbei, that’s not likely."

Qin Lianjie shook his head on the spot. He didn’t want to undermine Chen Xiangbei’s confidence, but the hopes of this happening were slim.

Having lived in Japan for years and with a love for racing, Qin Lianjie was acutely aware of how much Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, those powerful Japanese automobile giants, have invested in building a systematic foundation for racing events.

Racing technology and team talent aren’t created out of thin air; they require massive financial input behind the scenes. While saying Chen Xiangbei has nothing might be an exaggeration, compared to the automotive industry behemoths, the gap is enormous.

If you absolutely have to come up with some kind of racing team, off-road might have some possibility, but Formula racing demands too high a level of technology and quality.

"I understand. Start with the most basic team of maintenance technicians first."

Of course, Chen Xiangbei wouldn’t daydream that recruiting a few people from Huasi Sports could develop and operate a Formula team.

His goal is just the most basic team of maintenance technicians!