After a lap to get accustomed, the second lap began. Ma Wang gave Lin Yan no quarter, drafting behind Lin Yan on the straight and making his move in turn one.
With heavy braking, the car was thrown into the inside line.
Shifting down two gears, the brake lever was squeezed from heavy to light, leg extended, the car’s rear wheel lifted slightly, easily executing a super hard brake that would be top-tier even in GP.
Even after retiring, Ma Wang’s skill hadn’t fallen much from his prime, a perfect description of a sharp blade that hasn’t dulled.
Lin Yan felt a gust of wind blow past his ear, the handlebars nudged slightly to the right, avoiding a potential collision, then he braked and slid into the corner. The rear wheel wobbled slightly. Judging by the details, their heavy braking was almost identical.
Having made his move, Lin Yan extended his leg to lean into the turn. His master’s late braking was almost flawless. As Lin Yan’s car tilted, his master was already beside him, successfully blocking his line in the corner.
Whether overtaking or defending, the principle is simple: it depends on whose line is faster. Lin Yan’s line was completely blocked by his master.
The car reached the cornering speed, but Ma Wang was beside him. If his master didn’t go in, he couldn’t either.
Lin Yan hadn’t anticipated this corner and was successfully overtaken.
The two cars brushed slightly in the corner, Ma Wang’s racing car moved ahead, and Lin Yan was left in his slipstream.
Accelerate, exit the corner!
In a sparring match of this level, it was very difficult to easily pull away. Lin Yan floored the accelerator, shifted up quickly, and tucked himself onto the fuel tank, steadily following Ma Wang, drafting behind him.
Lin Yan was 1.82 meters tall, while Ma Wang was 1.68 meters. In terms of weight and wind resistance, Lin Yan had a significant disadvantage, with a weight difference of nearly ten kilograms.
In the short term, combined with his unfamiliarity with the track and car, the disadvantage was expected to be quite noticeable.
Both cars exited the corner together. Turn one had a large radius, while turn two was a low-angle, high-speed corner with a gap between it and turn one. Their GP22 cars were the same, with similar performance on both straights and corners. The low-angle, high-speed corner was not suitable for overtaking, so Lin Yan didn’t make a move, lightly braking into the corner, following closely behind.
One red and one black, two racing cars, one in front and one behind, sped along the track, the roar of their engines creating an echo in the air.
Lin Yan’s racing car livery was black, while Ma Wang’s was red.
Turn three was a hairpin. Both cars downshifted together, taking a crossing line, and Lin Yan overtook on the inside.
Similar to Ma Wang’s move in turn one, he blocked the inside line and forced his way through.
However, Ma Wang had anticipated Lin Yan’s overtake in turn three very well. He counter-pressed on the crossing line and regained his position. This was the advantage of knowing the track well; he knew exactly how to defend in every corner.
The overtake in turn three failed. In the subsequent turn four, Lin Yan kept close, and in the consecutive turns of turn five, he made another move and regained the lead.
Overtaking in consecutive turns was something even Ma Wang couldn’t defend against; it was simply unsolvable.
The deafening roar of the engines echoed around the track. Su Mo Jin, in the spectator stands below, was holding her phone and recording a video of Lin Yan.
Being alone in the stands was a bit boring for her, so this was the only way she could document their good times.
After turn five, Lin Yan led for a while, but it wasn’t long before Ma Wang overtook him again.
With an extreme lean angle almost identical to Lin Yan’s, he overtook on the outside.
This extremely low lean angle was precisely Ma Wang’s signature move. However, if it came to a contest of lean angles, Lin Yan was not inferior at all; one could even say he surpassed his master.
The two cars navigated the corners with extremely low lean angles. The technicians in the pit garage frowned frequently as they looked at the data on their instruments.
This lean angle of nearly sixty-six degrees, besides Ma Wang, was the first time they had seen anyone else achieve it. Although the RC213VS was close to a factory bike, there was still a significant gap compared to a genuine factory bike, so sixty-six degrees was almost the limit.
If he went all out, Lin Yan could achieve sixty-seven degrees, but this was a friendly spar, no need to push too hard. What if they crashed and both went off the track?
The two cars began to battle fiercely on the track. Initially, they were evenly matched, but after three laps, Lin Yan had completely dominated. Ma Wang had already prepared himself mentally for this.
With Lin Yan’s skill, once he became fully familiar with the car, he was indeed no match for him.
“Impressive. Although I was mentally prepared, trying it today, you are as monstrous as ever. Alas, I am getting old! I can’t compare to you youngsters.”
Back in the pit garage, they both took off their helmets. Ma Wang took a towel and wiped the sweat from his brow, then handed one to Lin Yan. The difference in their physical condition was evident from the moment they got off the bikes. After ten laps, Lin Yan showed little reaction, but Ma Wang was already drenched in sweat.
Ultimately, age was catching up to him.
Seeing his master’s somewhat dejected tone, Lin Yan didn’t know how to comfort him, as in his previous life, his master had never been in this state.
“Sometimes I really suspect you’re a transmigrator, kid. You know so many things.”
After resting for a while and changing clothes, they sat in the spectator stands and chatted idly. Su Mo Jin sat beside them, behaving herself and not interrupting.
“Perhaps. Maybe I really did transmigrate.”
Lin Yan smiled calmly and took a gulp of the mineral water in his hand. He said this naturally because no one would believe him even if he said it.
“If I didn’t believe in God, I might actually believe your story.”
Hearing this, Ma Wang patted his shoulder with a smile, clearly not taking Lin Yan’s words seriously. Transmigration? He didn’t believe it at all.
The sky gradually darkened. Lin Yan and Su Mo Jin said goodbye to Ma Wang. They were flying back to China the next day.
“Alright then, be careful on your way. Let’s have a drink together another day.”
Ma Wang waved towards the car window, and Lin Yan drove the car out of the racetrack.
It was late at night, yet there were still so many people queuing. It seemed business was quite good.
As the car passed the entrance, Lin Yan noticed many people queuing and muttered softly.
The racetrack was closed in the afternoon and had only just reopened, yet the queue had already formed.
“Cover yourself up a bit, don’t catch a cold.”
In the city of Dongya, neon lights flickered. While stopped at a traffic light, Lin Yan draped a jacket over Su Mo Jin in the passenger seat. He was still driving the old car he had rented. He originally liked the retro style, but unfortunately, the air conditioning in this old car had broken down today.
“Honey, I’m a little sleepy…”
In the passenger seat, Su Mo Jin curled up like a kitten. The flight and the activities had kept her mind highly tense all day, and now that she was relaxed, she was indeed feeling sleepy.
“Okay, then you sleep. I’ll wake you when we get home.”
Lin Yan didn’t disturb her, replied softly, and continued driving.