The remaining two laps were left by Lin Yan for Gena and Reisner.
Reisner had run a bit far, about four seconds behind Gena. Overtaking Gena in two laps and then making up four seconds was, in Lin Yan's estimation, impossible. However, securing second place was still good, and Lin Yan was feeling quite zen about it.
Gena was about half a second ahead of Lin Yan.
With his new tires, it was easy for Lin Yan to close the gap. Within two corners, Lin Yan had reduced the distance between them.
Gena had already received instructions from the Honda team and knew that Lin Yan was not far behind him. While surprised, he defended with all his might, taking a full defensive line, absolutely not allowing Lin Yan to pass easily. He was determined to get on the podium today.
For a rookie to reach the podium in only his second GP main race was an absolutely glorious achievement. Gena intended to use this event to build his reputation.
Luns, using Lin Yan's slipstream, followed behind, preparing to attack Gena after Lin Yan made his move.
He was determined to secure third place.
The two cars, one in front and one behind, were slowly approaching Gena, who was riding a Honda, on the track.
Gena ahead had very little tire wear left, and further acceleration would be impossible. He could only defend his line with all his might.
"Luns and Lin Shen have caught up. This battle for the podium in the final lap is getting exciting," Hao Dong said, his voice spraying saliva into the microphone from the spectator stands.
In the Honda pit, seeing Reisner pulling further ahead, Tesu's face broke into a smile. No matter what, the race win was theirs. With a four-second lead, no matter how strong that Ducati kid was, he couldn't possibly catch up. As for Gena, even if he couldn't hold off that Ducati kid for two laps, securing third place should be no problem.
If two Honda drivers were on the podium simultaneously, he would have more glory at headquarters.
After all, this was the feat that old man had failed to achieve last year.
The cars were moving at high speed, the roaring engines flashing past the spectators. Lin Yan, after catching up to Gena, did not make a move immediately. Instead, he chose a corner that was relatively easy to overtake. He could pass him alone eventually, and if he wanted to make a move, he would have done so earlier. What he wanted was to bring Luns along and push Gena off the podium entirely.
Braking, extending his leg, Lin Yan's car tilted slowly downwards. Just as it was about to touch the ground, his knee pushed out, and the race car flew past the edge of the track. Directly in Lin Yan's field of vision was Gena's car tail.
With a four-second gap, Lin Yan had long since given up on fighting for the race win. A true man knows when to bend and when to stand firm. He wasn't someone who *had* to win.
"Corner three, corner four, Lin Shen still hasn't made a move. Is Lin Shen waiting for something?"
"I don't know, but Luns behind Lin Shen is following so closely. I'm so afraid he'll crash into him."
"No, in races of this caliber, drivers have excellent control over their speed."
"..."
"Alright, everyone, guess, in which corner will Lin Shen make his move?"
Seeing Lin Yan catch up but not make a move, Hao Dong also began to murmur.
"Look, corner eight, Lin Shen is making his move!"
At corner eight, Lin Yan was confident that, as a first-time qualifier...
At corner eight, a downhill turn, Gena braked early as usual. He had to be extremely careful at this corner.
Conversely, Lin Yan had fewer concerns. Not only did he not brake early, but he also extended his braking point slightly compared to usual. He downshifted, gripped the brake firmly with his right hand, and extended his right leg out, suspended.
In the downhill section of corner eight, a right turn, a super heavy late brake allowed for an easy overtake. Lin Yan's car was shaking violently, but for Lin Yan with new tires, controlling this shaking was as easy as pie.
At this point, Lin Yan could have passed even with normal braking, as Gena had braked too early, almost giving away the position for free. Lin Yan's late braking was to leave some space for Luns behind him. With normal braking, he could pass, but Luns wouldn't have enough room. What he wanted was for Luns, following closely behind him, to perfectly slot into the inside line after he passed.
As for how Lin Yan knew Luns would be following him closely, it was due to the tacit understanding developed during training.
When Luns saw Lin Yan not overtaking in the previous few corners, he understood Lin Yan's intentions. Among fellow drivers, a slight hint was enough for the other to guess the general idea, let alone when they were teammates.
Entering the corner, late braking, Luns's car front followed Lin Yan's car tail into the corner, one in front and one behind.
The two cars tilted down into the corner simultaneously, like a red lion, directly cutting through the inside line of Gena's race car.
Gena saw Lin Yan charging from the side and was initially calm, planning to enter the corner after Lin Yan passed. However, Luns, following closely behind, made him uneasy.
Damn it, one person comes, and you guys team up?
The two cars were very close, completely blocking the gap between them. Lin Yan was to Gena's front left, and Luns was behind Lin Yan. In the corner, the other car was level with him, having occupied the inside line early, forcing him to take the outside line.
"After the right turn, a flip into the left turn. Wow, Luns and Gena are so close, fighting fiercely. This is the battle for third place on the podium."
Exiting corner eight and flipping into corner nine, Luns was determined, showing even more ferocity than usual to fight for this exit. With the help of the front suspension device on the GP23 before exiting the corner, Luns's exit was extremely fast, not only due to skill but also the car's superiority.
As the two cars exited corner nine, Luns's car was ahead of Gena by a car's length.
Gena desperately twisted the throttle, his front wheels lifting off the ground, but he still couldn't catch up. Just as the ECU was about to intervene, Gena accepted reality and eased off the throttle.
If the ECU intervened and cut off power at this moment, his chances in the following corners would be even slimmer.
"Fuck, this piece of trash."
Below, seeing Gena being overtaken by two cars in one corner, Tesu cursed for the first time in a long time.
It was truly rare for a Honda car to be overtaken by two cars in one corner.
His chest heaving for a moment, Tesu tried hard to calm himself down.
Third place was still uncertain, but the first place was secured.
With just over one lap remaining, and a gap of only over four seconds, if Lin Yan could catch up, Tesu vowed to eat the repair wrench on the spot.
The next few corners were for Gena and Luns, while Lin Yan would go all out to chase down Reisner ahead.