Su Mojin leaned on the railing, watching outside, praying for Lin Yan in her heart.
At such extreme speeds, the car couldn't brake, and even for professional drivers, such a situation was extremely dangerous.
No matter what, two-wheeled racing was still flesh against iron.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Yan remained calm, but the Chinese audience had already started to panic. The male fans were mostly fine, just worried inwardly.
However, the female fans were far from calm. Screams echoed throughout the stands, rising and falling, even faintly drowning out the roar of the engines on the track.
As the driver with the most female fans on the track, the entire Chinese spectator area was in chaos. This not only affected the Chinese audience but also the spectators from other countries. Such a situation, endangering a driver's safety, concerned every racing fan on Blue Star.
They all had one question: how did the race car suddenly lose its brakes?
Compared to the audience, Lin Yan appeared very calm at this moment, and indeed, he had to be.
His eyes were fixed on the track ahead as he contemplated a solution.
The moment he realized the car wouldn't slow down, his years of training kicked in. Without any hesitation, he immediately began downshifting, dropping from sixth gear to first in an instant. The speed was several times faster than usual, using engine braking to decelerate.
This rapid downshifting had a high probability of locking the rear wheels, but Lin Yan had excellent timing.
Coupled with the factory car's top-tier electronic controls, he managed to keep the speed precisely on the verge of the rear wheels locking up. A sudden lock-up of the rear wheels at high speed would be no better than hitting a wall.
Of course, without brakes, relying solely on engine braking to slow down quickly was impossible. It was slow, but it couldn't change anything. Lin Yan needed to find other solutions.
Damn it, just moments ago, to set a fast lap, Lin Yan had braked very late into this corner. Now, it had turned into a disadvantage, significantly increasing the speed at which he would hit the wall.
The GP22 shot off the track like a furious beast, heading towards the barrier outside the runoff area.
The barrier was lined with a layer of tires for secondary cushioning, but it was of no use to Lin Yan.
Seeing the wall rapidly approaching, Lin Yan made a decisive move: to bail out.
Lin Yan's bail-out wasn't a simple jump from the car. It was more like sliding off the seat, or rolling off, to minimize the impact.
"Lin Shen is bailing out!"
Sensing Lin Yan's movement, Hao Dong exclaimed.
At this moment, after engine braking, the speed was still 270k.
With a loud "Bang!", the GP22 factory car shot through the runoff area and slammed into the barrier outside the track.
Just before the car hit the barrier, Lin Yan rolled off, making standard protective motions with his hands, tumbling wildly on the ground.
Bailing out at over 200 kilometers per hour, protected by airbags, Lin Yan rolled a few times and suffered virtually no injuries.
The audience on the track breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, the reason he wasn't seriously injured was largely due to the way Lin Yan bailed out and the protective actions he took afterward.
These protective actions were something drivers trained for from a young age, ingrained in their minds over time, becoming completely instinctive.
"Damn, that was too scary. Luckily, nothing happened."
"But how did the brakes suddenly fail?"
"Could it be a mechanical failure?"
"Mechanical failure my foot! Do you think this is Yamaha, the king of mechanical failures? Mechanical failures don't cause brakes to have no reaction at all."
...
The audience erupted in discussions, analyzing the accident.
Getting up from the ground, Lin Yan didn't hesitate. He ignored his burning race car and turned to sprint towards the pit lane.
Behind him, track marshals rushed towards Lin Yan's car with fire extinguishers, ready to deal with the wreckage and prevent a secondary explosion.
"Hurry up and prepare the spare car!"
In the pit lane, Zhang Mingzhi ordered his subordinates. This situation undoubtedly indicated an inside job within the team, but now was not the time to dwell on who the mole was.
Half of the qualifying session had already passed, and they had to make up for lost time.
The entire pit lane became busy again, with Zhang Mingzhi personally pushing out the car.
On the edge of the track, Lin Yan swung his arms back and forth forcefully, trying to increase his running speed. However, the pit lane was still too far away, and at the current pace, time was likely running out.
Lin Yan wasn't entirely unharmed from the bail-out; his arm still felt a slight pain. However, Lin Yan considered it a minor issue, likely a lingering injury from his previous fall in Country A that hadn't fully healed. This injury was almost negligible to him.
The immediate priority was to get back, switch cars, and continue setting lap times. His previous lap times affected his starting grid position, which was a concern for Lin Yan.
However, running in a leather suit was exhausting and slow. He doubted he had enough time...
A sharp squeal of brakes echoed. Directly in Lin Yan's line of sight, a scooter executed a beautiful drift.
"Get on quickly!"
Vinarres' voice called out. Lin Yan didn't hesitate, taking two steps forward and straddling the back seat of the scooter.
Once Lin Yan was settled, Vinarres twisted the throttle, and the scooter sped towards the Ducati pit lane.
Rushing against time, they finally made it. By the time Lin Yan changed into the spare car and exited the pit lane, less than two minutes remained in the session, just enough time for one more lap.
Under the new qualifying rules, crashes were not uncommon. In the eight-minute session, at least six drivers had already crashed.
Previously, fearing crashes and not setting a time, many drivers played it safe and didn't go all out. Now, this gave them an opportunity; as long as they could push harder for a faster lap, they were willing to risk a crash.
Most drivers had already broken their personal best lap times from last year's qualifying here.
In this highly competitive environment, Lin Yan's second lap time had already dropped to tenth place.
Fortunately, there was still time, and Lin Yan could set another lap.
Even if he couldn't take first place, his position would definitely improve. Lin Yan was confident he could at least break into the top three.
Mounting the new factory car, Lin Yan immediately pushed it to its limits.
The performance of this GP22 was fully unleashed under Lin Yan's pressure.
Turn 1, a hard brake with a rear-wheel lift, entering the corner with a slide.
"Sixty-eight degrees! Sixty-eight degrees again!"
The extreme lean angle of sixty-eight degrees, despite Lin Yan's slight panting from running, was achieved.
"Damn, as expected of Lin Shen, he's amazing!"
An old man in the audience remarked.
His elbow scraped the edge of the track with a rustling sound. Lin Yan's gaze, peering through his visor, was fixed on the track ahead. He then flipped his body into Turn 2, braking as he entered.
Lin Yan knew clearly that he had only one chance, and he had to do everything perfectly.
"Exiting Turn 4, a section of red [indicating a fast sector]! Lin Shen still has a chance! Let's see if he can push for a better position!"
Lin Yan's original lap time had dropped to tenth, putting him on the fourth row, which was not an ideal starting position for a championship contender. Hao Dong was very nervous, but Lin Yan's renewed effort gave him confidence.
However, a bucket of cold water was quickly poured over his head.
"Oh no, there are two slow cars ahead."
Lin Yan's speed was incredible. Based on his speed in the first sector, he could definitely improve his position further. But looking ahead, Hao Dong noticed two slow cars in front of Lin Yan.
Lin Yan also saw the KTM factory team riders and Rins setting laps ahead of him.