The race car flashed past, arriving before turn two with no change in position. Rains's slipstream behind the Rainsna racing car was also a slipstream for nothing.
"Watch this corner carefully, will Rains make a move?"
This corner was also a good opportunity for Rains to brake late and overtake Rainsna, but he had a concern: he was afraid that the KTM rider behind him could replicate Rainsna's previous move. Although the probability was very small, even almost impossible, he still didn't want to gamble.
The handlebars were slightly adjusted, and Rains positioned the car close to the middle of the track, then braked, preparing to enter the corner.
Positioning the car in the middle of the track, the intention was obvious.
"Rains isn't planning to attack, he's going to defend!"
With three V4 engine racing cars, if Rains made a move, the KTM rider behind him would likely try it, regardless of whether it succeeded.
Anyway, the KTM rider was in last place, so trying wouldn't hurt. His mind raced, and Rains adopted a standard defensive posture.
Just as the three cars entered the corner in succession, another piece of news suddenly came from the track.
To be precise, this news was a disaster for Ducati.
"Damn it, Ren Fei crashed! The GP23 is completely destroyed. I wonder if Fei Ge is okay!"
Behind Rains and the other two, at turn one, Qionghai and Ren Fei behind him entered the corner in succession. It seemed that Ren Fei was too eager to catch up to Qionghai in front. When he braked hard, he applied too much force, and the car lost control, sliding into the runoff area.
Ren Fei's crash caused a sigh from the Chinese audience.
The runoff area before the finish line was very large, and Ren Fei was fine. After tumbling a few times, he slowly got up. As for the racing car, it was completely destroyed and covered in flames. The marshals and staff on site immediately responded, grabbing emergency equipment and fire extinguishers and climbing over the wall to enter the scene.
Okay, Ren Fei clocked out early. Judging from his angry expression after crashing, it was clear that he was also very upset. Unfortunately, this is how races are. To win, you have to fight, and if you fight, you have to bear the risks.
The race was halfway through, and nine riders had already retired due to crashes. This was extremely rare in GP history, which shows how much the rain had increased the danger of the race.
Lin Yan was still leading the way, his speed increasing. He braked into the corner, extremely smooth and fluid. The GP23 under Lin Yan was like a divine steed under a general's command, going wherever it was pointed, handled with extreme agility.
After eleven laps, he had already gained a lead of nearly ten seconds over Gena behind him.
This degree of lead finally allowed Tesu to see Lin Yan's true strength.
In the Honda pit, looking at the data presented by his subordinate, Tesu's brows were tightly furrowed. He finally understood why this kid had made the previous old man so flustered; he was truly terrifyingly strong.
Rains and Rainsna were now locked in a battle. Gena had been running alone for the past few laps. This was a good thing for Gena, as solo racing was his strong suit, and in the rain, it was like having a buff.
With double buffs, Gena should have been in his best form since entering the top category.
But even so, to Gena's shock, even with solo racing and the rain, Gena's lap times couldn't match Lin Yan's.
When his own rider was at his best, he still couldn't compete with that Ducati kid. Tesu was truly shocked.
Lin Yan had been in GP for a year, and Honda had some information about him. Tesu learned from the data that Lin Yan's performance in the rain wasn't particularly outstanding; he wasn't a rider who excelled in wet conditions. But what was terrifying was precisely this.
A rider who wasn't good at racing in the rain was faster than those who were, and not just a little bit faster. This was almost unbelievable for Tesu.
Tesu had initially thought that with Gena racing solo and the advantage of the rain, even if he couldn't catch up to Lin Yan, he could at least be faster on the lap times. He didn't expect that even this wasn't enough.
If he was beaten so badly in his preferred wet conditions, would they have a chance in dry races? Would they have a chance in the future?
Tesu fell into a brief period of contemplation.
He suddenly realized that his promotion to lead the factory team in GP might not be a good thing.
It was a hot potato.
Although the team leader position in WSBK was not as high as in GP, the difference was significant. Kawasaki had dominated WSBK for a long time, and Honda's focus was not there. If they couldn't win the championship, it wouldn't matter, and headquarters wouldn't say anything.
But given the current situation, it would be very difficult for their team to surpass that Ducati kid. No, it was almost impossible.
Honda had dominated GP for so many years. If they were defeated by him for the next ten years...
Tesu suddenly realized this point, and it was not a good thing for him.
The reason Kawasaki dominated WSBK was essentially that the six major manufacturers did not focus their efforts there.
................................................................
In the blink of an eye, the race entered its twelfth lap. Starting from lap twelve, the battle between Rains, Rainsna, and the other two continued. Their positions had changed. Rainsna was still in the lead, but the rider in the middle was now the KTM rider. On the previous lap, the KTM rider had overtaken Rains.
At turn one this time, Rains planned to repeat his previous move to regain his position.
"These two finally reached a unified strategy."
From standing for so long, Viñales's legs were a bit sore, so he swayed his body and found a chair to sit down.
He was getting older, and his body wasn't as good as it used to be, especially his leg, which had been injured before. It bothered him whenever it rained.
Based on his observation, Rainsna and Rains had now unified their strategy, which was to contain the KTM rider.
If they were not united, they would not be able to stop the KTM rider, given his ability in the rain.
The racing car roared past the finish line. Seeing Lin Yan's car zoom past the pit lane entrance, Su Mojin was finally a bit tired and found a chair to sit down.
The weather was very humid today, so she was wearing more clothes and wasn't too cold.
"Madam, do you need me to get you a blanket?"
"Hmm? No."
"Yes, Madam."
"Never mind, get me one."
......
The race continued. Before turn one, Rains, as usual, braked late, preparing to overtake the KTM rider in front.
After several laps of battling, he and Rainsna had implicitly reached a consensus: if they were separated, it would be easy for the KTM rider to pick them off one by one. Therefore, they decided to join forces, with the simple goal of keeping the last podium spot for their team.
The top two positions were basically decided, and they had to fight for the remaining third place.
Regardless of the outcome, as long as the final podium was not taken by the KTM rider, it would be fine. As for who between them would get it, they could only leave it to fate.
Braking hard and entering the inside line, the KTM rider crossed the line to regain his position. The overtaking trick at turn one no longer had much effect between the three of them. No matter who it was, this corner could be defended easily.
Failing to overtake, Rains did not get discouraged. He adjusted his state, then accelerated out of the corner, preparing for the straight before turn two.
The Thai audience watching this scene expressed slight dissatisfaction, but within the rules, no one could say anything. At most, they could only complain.
Of course, the specific reason was that their fan base was too small. Given the proportion of Lin Yan's fans at the scene, if someone treated him like this, Lin Yan's fans would directly curse that rider to death.
For the next few laps, the three continued in this state until the race entered the last third of the laps, when a new change occurred.
Because of the battle between the three, Qionghai, who was fighting alone behind them, caught up. After Qionghai caught up, the alliance between Rains and Rainsna was broken.
It entered a period of four-way melee.
However, despite the melee, the Yamaha's disadvantage when battling with three V4-powered cars was more than just a little bit.
Originally, none of the three had an advantage on the straights, but since Qionghai joined, the two straights truly gave the three of them a bit of joy.
The Yamaha's straight was easy for the three of them to bully. After bullying on the straights, Qionghai could only regain his position through the corners after turn two.
This feeling was the same as Rains had described before: no matter how fierce your cornering was, how sharp and decisive your overtaking was, you were strong, but with one straight, I could easily deal with you.
Watching Qionghai being blown away by the three cars back and forth, the Yamaha's chief engineer was having a headache.