The simple initial screening concluded without any major issues; everything was normal, and the qualifying session began. Ren Fei and Lin Yan mounted their racing bikes and drove out of the pit lane.
With the new rules in place, all teams had devised cooperative strategies for slipstreaming, and Lin Yan was no exception. He was guiding Ren Fei around the track at the Os station, preparing to set lap times.
On the first lap, Lin Yan was merely helping Ren Fei set lap times, not pushing too hard or extracting the full potential of the GP22. His lean angle was also not very pronounced.
Ren Fei followed closely behind Lin Yan. Without a close look, their cornering actions were almost identical, and their braking points were exactly the same.
"Lin Shen is helping Brother Fei set lap times, and over here, Reisner is also helping his teammate set lap times."
Hao Dong had also arrived at the race venue, in a corner of the Chinese audience stands.
"No, why are all these big shots helping their own drivers set lap times?"
Seeing that all the teams were doing this, some people in the comments section didn't quite understand. What was the point of helping a teammate? They couldn't win the championship anyway, so it was better to quickly secure a good starting position for themselves.
As soon as this question was raised, someone in the comments quickly explained.
"You don't understand this, do you? Besides the driver's standings, there's also a team standings, which is the sum of points for all drivers from a factory team, and it's also used for ranking. Its significance is second only to the driver's standings. So, besides the main drivers, the other drivers for the factory team are also quite important."
The factory bikes roared past on the track. As the top drivers on Blue Star, the operational details of these racers were flawless.
If you were to take a photo of them entering a corner, you would find that the angles of their racing bikes were almost identical, precise to the extreme. They achieved a mechanical level of skill with their human bodies.
"Damn, they're all entering corners under braking, so awesome!"
"Of course, the top people in the world are all here."
After helping Ren Fei for one lap, Lin Yan began his own lap time attempt on the second lap, without holding back. On the second lap, the rankings started to update, and various gods began to showcase their abilities.
Reisner was the first to set the fastest lap, with a time of one minute and forty-seven seconds and seven hundred sixty-six milliseconds. The Ben Tian factory bike crossed the finish line, and Reisner's fans erupted in cheers.
However, their joy was short-lived, as this lap time was immediately surpassed by Lin Yan.
As Reisner crossed the finish line, Lin Yan followed closely behind him, refreshing the lap time.
The current fastest lap was held by Lin Yan with a time of one minute and forty-seven seconds and seven hundred fifty-five milliseconds.
This was a good result, but the qualifying session had just begun, and this lap time was definitely not going to hold the first position. It would be surpassed before long, and Lin Yan needed to set even faster lap times.
"Two red sectors, three red sectors, let's see if the last sector is good."
On the third lap, both Lin Yan and Reisner achieved three red sectors, meaning all three previous sectors were faster than the previous lap. The outcome now depended on the last sector.
Judging by the tail speeds of their bikes in the second lap, the upgrades to Ben Tian's bike didn't seem to have a significant impact. Lin Yan's GP22 achieved a tail speed of 369 km/h on the longest straight at the finish line, while Reisner's bike could only reach 360 km/h. Although there was an improvement here last year, it wasn't substantial.
Horsepower dogs are still horsepower dogs. If you want to compete with me in corners, I'll come at you with straight-line speed.
The GP22 sped across the track. After a few corners, Lin Yan reached the final sector.
He extended his leg to lean into the corner, with a significant lean angle. The bike skimmed along the edge of the track, smoothly entering the final large straight before the start line.
At this point, Lin Yan had pushed the bike to its limit. A whooshing sound could be heard around the GP22.
Shifting up after exiting the corner, the GP22 once again showcased the terrifying acceleration capability of a Ducati racing bike.
The speed quickly surpassed 300 km/h.
"376 km/h, damn, 380 km/h, what's going on? No, there's a problem."
Hao Dong watched Lin Yan's tail speed continuously increase. He initially thought Lin Shen was just incredibly skilled, but when the speed became increasingly absurd, Hao Dong realized something was wrong.
The cheers from the crowd also stopped.
"Lin Shen's bike can't brake!!!"
Hao Dong exclaimed, his eyes wide open.
At the same moment, all the spectators also saw Lin Yan's situation on the big screen, and the same thought as Hao Dong crossed their minds.
Lin Shen's bike couldn't brake!
Lin Yan's bike speed continued to rise to 390 km/h before it began to decrease, but the rate of decrease was very slow.
Compared to Hao Dong and the others, Zhang Mingzhi and his team had a clearer view through the backend data. They could see every action Lin Yan took and the amount of throttle applied.
At the end of this straight, the instruments showed that Lin Yan had applied the brakes multiple times, but there was no response from the front or rear wheels.
Zhang Mingzhi and the others instantly became tense. The bike had a problem.
This situation clearly indicated brake failure. Heat fade? Impossible, it had only been two laps, the brake discs couldn't have heat faded. Moreover, heat fade wouldn't result in no braking response at all; it would only reduce braking performance. But Lin Yan's brakes were practically unresponsive.
What did it mean to have no brakes before a corner at a speed of over three hundred kilometers per hour?
This was not like the mindless marketing hype about riders not using brakes.
The angle at which the front wheels could turn before a corner was directly related to the vehicle's speed. A speed of three hundred kilometers per hour meant that Lin Yan's handlebars couldn't deviate even a millimeter. If the turning angle was slightly larger, the front wheels wouldn't be able to withstand the impact, and he would be instantly thrown off.
The thought of racing at three hundred kilometers per hour was terrifying.
However, if Lin Yan didn't turn, there was a runoff area ahead. Although the runoff area was very large, at this speed, he would likely hit the barriers outside the track in less than half a second.
Su Mojin stood up from her chair and walked outside. The straight before the finish line was right in front of the pit lane.