Moto3 bikes roared past the finish line as Yan Xiaoqiang crossed it smoothly. At the same time, others on the track also refreshed their lap times, but he wasn't the only one.
The rankings shifted, and Yan Xiaoqiang remained firmly in third place, unable to match Rysk's lap time.
Lin Yan watched clearly from below. There was still a gap between them, but Lin Yan felt Yan Xiaoqiang could gradually close it with time.
The speed was incredibly fast. At the end of the straight, Yan Xiaoqiang saw the rankings on the screen at the edge of the track. He didn't dare to be careless and continued to push. At the end of the first corner, he tried a late brake again.
The Moto3 bikes reached speeds exceeding two hundred kilometers per hour on this straight. He braked, downshifted, extended his leg, and used both hands to stabilize the bike.
Yan Xiaoqiang followed Lin Yan's method step by step, pushing his braking and bike control to his limit. However, his control was still a little lacking, causing the bike to wobble slightly.
These wobbles would affect his lap times.
Entering the corner, knee touching the ground, body dipping low, he looked towards the exit point. The bike traced an arc and smoothly navigated the first corner.
Below, Lin Yan and Rysk's gazes were fixed on the screen. Rysk was coached by Ryskna, and Yan Xiaoqiang by Lin Yan. There was indeed a difference.
Exiting the corner and upshifting, he turned into the second corner.
Gear changes were frequent in the small displacement category, but neither Yan Xiaoqiang nor Rysk made any mistakes; their shift timing was perfect.
He shifted up four gears consecutively and then down three.
Exiting the corner, he decelerated into the next, then leaned over to navigate the turn. Through the high-speed corner, both Yan Xiaoqiang and Rysk used sixth gear.
There was no other way. The limit for small displacement factory bikes was just that. At the same speed, a GP bike would use third or fourth gear, while Yan Xiaoqiang and the others needed sixth.
Exiting consecutive corners and entering the sixth corner, the sector times for the top three on the leaderboard were already out, all in red.
Clearly, the battle for pole position today had entered a white-hot stage.
"Honey, who do you think will get the final pole position?"
Su Mojin massaged Lin Yan's shoulders while watching the race. She couldn't guess who among these three would ultimately secure pole position, especially Rysk and this second-place Yamaha rider.
Who would get pole position?
Lin Yan stroked his chin. Honestly, he found it hard to guess too, but he felt the second-place Yamaha rider had a higher probability.
"Yamaha, perhaps. After all, this is the rider's home turf."
Home turf always gave an advantage, just like Lin Yan. Even in his previous life when he was still in Moto3, he never feared anyone at the Shanghai race.
The race on the track continued. Three sectors of red, the final straight, and crossing the line.
Yan Xiaoqiang pushed the throttle to the floor. His goal was to improve his ranking further. As for the other two, they were fighting for pole position.
The three bikes crossed the line in succession, front, middle, and rear, and the times were refreshed again.
Unlike the previous lap, this time Rysk's time actually crushed the Yamaha rider's, securing first place by a margin of microseconds.
However, there were still less than two minutes left, allowing for one more lap time.
It was now practically impossible for Yan Xiaoqiang to threaten the top two. Although Yan Xiaoqiang's skill was quite good, Rysk and the Yamaha rider were clearly stronger here.
He remained in third place with a considerable gap. As for Zhang Ningyu, he was in fifth, showing improvement compared to last time.
"Guys, this Lin Shen's team is really full of hidden talents. I thought Yan Xiaoqiang was going to break out last race, and I didn't expect him to be this fierce this race."
"Yeah, and that Zhang Ningyu is also quite impressive. The way he controlled the bike just now, I actually saw a trace of Lin Shen's style."
"Hmph, you two are just blowing smoke. Lin Shen's style? If you can see that, I'll eat the stool I'm sitting on. It's clearly just that Lin Shen's team doesn't have any weak riders." A young man in the audience snorted indignantly at the boasting of two middle-aged men.
The race on the track continued. The riders from various teams began to fight for their final lap times. Zhang Ningyu and Yan Xiaoqiang were no exception, though the focus remained on the Yamaha rider and Rysk.
Dozens of racing bikes entered the corners one after another, forming a long snake, but this snake was somewhat loose, not as compact as in the actual race.
Cars sped past on the track, and soon the first sector times were released.
Zhang Ningyu's first sector was gray, while Yan Xiaoqiang and the other two were red. Gray essentially meant Zhang Ningyu had lost his chance to compete further. His first sector time was not as fast as the previous lap. Unless he could make up time in the later sectors, he wouldn't achieve a faster lap time this lap.
Yan Xiaoqiang's first sector time was slightly faster than before, but the gap was far less significant than that of the Yamaha rider and Rysk.
At turn eight, Rysk pushed the bike to its limit, appearing to be risking everything.