The race continued, and after resolving the issue with the "Mi Feng," Lin Yan's speed surged again. His hands expertly controlled the racing car, and his lap times climbed rapidly.
Soon, the race entered its twentieth lap. More than half an hour had passed since the start. The persistent high temperatures had caused many drivers' tires to wear out excessively, and their overall lap times began to slow down. Lin Yan's lap time was also slower than the previous lap, officially marking the race's late stage.
Overtakes among the drivers gradually decreased as they began to conserve their tires.
There was a minor incident during this period. Just as the twentieth lap began, Ren Fei's car suffered an engine failure and retired. Ren Fei had just crossed the finish line when his car broke down and lost power.
In such a situation, there was no point in continuing. By the time Ren Fei pushed or walked his car back to the pit and changed cars, he would likely have been lapped. While being lapped once could be overcome, being lapped multiple times meant no hope of catching up.
Ren Fei was a bit frustrated by his retirement but could do nothing about it; it was an unavoidable situation. When Ren Fei returned, a round of applause erupted from the Ducati pit, offering encouragement.
Following Ren Fei's retirement, Zhang Mingzhi became even more worried. At this moment, Zhang Mingzhi stood at the pit entrance, constantly praying that Lin Yan's car would not encounter any problems.
If the young master retired again, it would be a huge loss for them.
Time continued to tick by. The fans in the stands, sweating profusely under the scorching heat, still watched the race with keen eyes, afraid of missing any exciting details.
The race reached the twenty-second lap, and the gap between Lin Yan and Reisner had widened to eleven seconds. However, at this very moment, an accident occurred. Long plumes of smoke billowed from the rear of Lin Yan's car; the engine had overheated and blown.
Zhang Mingzhi's worst fear had come true. Lin Yan was the driver who pushed his engine to the absolute limit among this group, which was precisely why Zhang Mingzhi was so concerned.
Especially with the GP23 equipped with the front suspension compression function, the acceleration out of corners was more violent than with other cars.
Such extreme engine operation was highly prone to problems in such hot weather.
"Oh my god, the worst fear has happened, Lin Shen's car blew its engine."
"See the thermometer? I estimate the track temperature is close to eighty degrees. In this heat, let alone the machine, I feel like I'm about to break down."
As Lin Yan's car began to smoke, a wave of uproar swept through the stands. At least half of the spectators in this section did not want Lin Yan's car to have any issues.
The track temperature was currently seventy-eight degrees, and the racing line, repeatedly traversed by the drivers, had reached nearly one hundred degrees due to constant tire friction. Under such extreme heat, tire wear was almost double that of the previous night race.
Fortunately, the blown engine was detected by Lin Yan immediately, and he managed to drive the car back to the pit in time.
He drove slowly through the runoff area at sixty kilometers per hour. Lin Yan stood up in the car and looked at the rear of his racing machine. Honestly, he had been riding very cautiously in the latter half, fearing that the car might have problems, but he hadn't expected it to happen.
A blown engine was caused by excessive engine heat, leading to internal piston expansion and jamming within the cylinder. A failure in even one of the four cylinders would result in a power drop.
Lin Yan's car not only smoked but also spewed flames; this engine was likely ruined.
Lin Yan was not overly concerned about the points, so he took it in stride and didn't feel annoyed. If the car broke, he would simply switch to another one.
The Ducati pit crew was on standby and quickly pushed out the spare car, bringing it to the pit entrance. After braking, Lin Yan flipped himself over and mounted another factory car with brand-new tires. His height was also an advantage; with longer legs, he could switch cars half a second faster than his opponents.
When Lin Yan rejoined the track, his ranking had dropped to fourteenth place. This position brought some relief to Zhang Mingzhi. With seven laps remaining, this ranking still offered Lin Yan some opportunities.
With new tires, Lin Yan's performance on the track completely transformed; he was astonishingly fast.
He had to be fast; at fourteenth place, he was perilously close to falling out of the points zone if he didn't push harder.
The driver in fifteenth place looked somewhat flattered to see Lin Yan suddenly ahead of him. This was the first time he had been so close to Lin Yan's ranking.
His initial thought of overtaking also diminished somewhat; one did not dare to provoke a tiger.
Of course, once Lin Yan's speed picked up, he quickly shook off the driver behind him. With new tires and new power, Lin Yan was within striking distance of the thirteenth-placed car in less than half a lap.
A late brake was all it took to resolve the situation. With new tires, this was no longer a matter of skill but a suppression of grip.
Even the old-tire Lin Yan would have found it difficult to defend against the new-tire Gna, let alone the other way around.
After easily overtaking, Lin Yan acted swiftly, without any hesitation, quickly closing in on the twelfth-placed car. With seven laps remaining, Lin Yan had no time to waste.
"Good heavens, I suddenly feel like Lin Shen's car breaking down was a good thing."
"I feel the same way. If the car hadn't broken down, where else would we get to witness Lin Shen's overtaking feast?"
"I feel like Lin Shen still has a chance to get into the top three this race."
After overtaking the twelfth-placed car, he managed to overtake two cars in a single lap, with a rare sixty-eight-degree lean angle making a reappearance.
His elbow scraped the ground, and his helmet was only a dozen centimeters from the surface.
This cornering angle hadn't been seen from Lin Yan in many races. Some of the new fans this year were seeing this angle of cornering for the first time.
With six laps remaining, after finishing his overtakes, Lin Yan spent a bit more time closing in on the eleventh-placed car. They battled for two corners before Lin Yan easily overpowered him. The tenth and eleventh-placed cars were running side-by-side, and Lin Yan had no intention of letting them go.
At the next corner, Lin Yan executed another late brake and overtook to move into tenth place, the overtakes being simple and casual.
Lin Yan's overtakes were devoid of any unnecessary movements; they were clean and fluid. This seamless execution was something other drivers couldn't provide.
Once he reached the top ten, overtaking the front runners became more challenging. Lin Yan took a bit more time, but in terms of GP dominance, Lin Yan was absolute. For him, it was merely a matter of time, not impossibility.
After four laps, Lin Yan found himself behind Rins. In those four laps, Lin Yan had overtaken six people.
Rins had already received instructions from his team and, upon learning that Lin Yan was behind him, immediately yielded his position. Lin Yan moved up to third.
In five laps, Lin Yan had climbed from fourteenth to third, a feat no other driver on the track could accomplish.
"Damn it, Lin Shen is still Lin Shen, invincible!"
"YYDS! Lin Yan is forever the god!"