Car Racing without Money

Chapter 787 - 320: Clash of Driving Styles_2

"I will."After saying this, Chen Xiangbei put down his helmet visor, pressed the accelerator, and the No. 13 car drove out of the garage to arrive at the Monte Carlo main circuit in Monaco.

To be honest, street races are not unfamiliar to Chen Xiangbei. Whether it’s the East Bay Circuit during the F3 period or experiencing races like Singapore and Baku during the F1 period, he can no longer be considered an absolute newbie.

But Monte Carlo is different in one aspect — its streets are too pure. Only Australia’s East Ocean can compare.

Other street circuits have somewhat modern modifications, leaving some buffer space. For example, the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore, where many corners are as wide as traditional professional circuits, making overtaking much easier.

Monte Carlo, due to its long history, is surrounded by buildings that can be called "historical sites," leaving no space for demolition or expansion. The East Ocean Circuit in Macau is similar.

However, East Ocean only hosts F3 events, and the speed or size has a qualitative difference compared to F1 cars. It’s like trying to navigate a Wuling Hongguang MIMI through tight streets compared to a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

The Hongguang MINI can easily weave through, parking in every nook and cranny, while the Mercedes S might not even be able to make a turn in an alley.

During the East Ocean events, Chen Xiangbei was a no-name. He could familiarize himself with the track during closed roads, even running a couple of laps without issue.

Monte Carlo’s main circuit in Monaco is a world-class tourist port. Now, Chen Xiangbei can be considered one of the most famous athletes in China and even Asia, eliminating the possibility of casually driving two laps before the race, not to mention the traditional "walk the track" session, which has been canceled.

This means everything about the Monte Carlo circuit is like starting from scratch for Chen Xiangbei!

Listening to the roar of the engines in his ears, Chen Xiangbei discarded all distracting thoughts and concentrated on memorizing every corner characteristic, every key landmark, and even the position of every manhole on the Monte Carlo circuit.

In the HRT Team’s P room, Mizutani Sho, equally focused, watched the circular screen showing the footage transmitted back from Chen Xiangbei’s onboard camera.

He was recording control data for Chen Xiangbei on the tactical board, including but not limited to gear, throttle, brake, and steering angle. Mizutani Sho knew his driver was unfamiliar with the Monaco circuit.

A lack of proficiency must be compensated for with data!

On the screen, Chen Xiangbei’s driving speed wasn’t very fast. Compared to his earlier flying style, it could be described as "turtle-like."

However, ever since the team’s strategy shifted comprehensively to conservative, both Chen Xiangbei and Perez primarily focused on long-distance tests during practice sessions, no longer pursuing the kind of extreme PUSH seen in qualifying sessions.

On-site fans and car enthusiasts were also aware of the HRT Team’s practice session routine, often waiting until the second or third practice before Chen Xiangbei attempted to push the speed limits for a couple of laps.

As time retired, Chen Xiangbei’s first complete lap time quickly appeared on the monitoring screen.

Odetto casually asked, "Mizutani, what’s North’s technical test lap time?"

"1 minute 19 seconds 042."

"Perez’s time?"

"1 minute 16 seconds 701."

"How much?"

Listening to Mizutani Sho’s answer, Odetto asked again, doubting his ears.

Could Chen Xiangbei’s technical test lap be 3 seconds slower than Perez?

"North’s lap was very slow, it seems there is a significant difference between the simulator and the real track."

"Additionally, Perez has raced on the Monaco circuit in A1 Grand Prix and GP2 events, so he’s relatively more familiar, which is reflected in the simulator results."

Mizutani Sho knew what Odetto was surprised about, so he simply gave an explanation.

Although A1 Grand Prix and GP2 cars differ from F1 in some ways, it’s fundamentally different from never having raced there.

Perez holds a significant advantage; it’s normal for Chen Xiangbei’s technical test lap to be slower.

"Too slow."

Odetto shook his head. He could accept Chen Xiangbei being a bit slow but not this slow.

Yet Odetto’s dissatisfaction was limited to this; such situations had happened before, and the Chinese Kid had always delivered astonishing performance in the end, perhaps a "slow burn" as the legend suggests.

The results of the second and third laps followed, with Chen Xiangbei’s lap times improving, quickly reaching a 1 minute 17 seconds pace. But when attempting to push further on the fourth lap, a clear mistake in cornering lines nearly resulted in a collision with the perimeter guardrail.

At this, Odetto couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, "North, what’s happening?"

"The vehicle calibration scheme doesn’t quite suit, and the feeling of the Monaco circuit differs greatly from the simulator."

Monaco’s conventional calibration scheme often opts for extremely high downforce settings with extremely soft springs for suspension to counter pitch and roll in initial setups.

On one hand, Monaco’s road surface is not smooth, a common ailment of street races; soft suspensions better absorb bumps.

On the other hand, soft suspension allows maximum contact between tires and ground, enhancing mechanical grip.

It’s similar to the principle of deflating tires to lower pressure, increasing contact area to gain grip during off-road with civilian cars.

But the issue is such extreme high downforce and soft suspension setups lead to significant understeer, commonly known as push-head.

Chen Xiangbei is used to driving vehicles with oversteer, and confronting such an extreme setup style, along with unfamiliarity with the corners, left him lacking confidence and struggling.

"OK, pit for adjustment."

Odetto issued the pit entry command very calmly after hearing.

For the team, it’s not frightening for the driver to report issues; it’s frightening if the cause is unknown.

Practices are all about continuously adjusting setups; since Chen Xiangbei can’t adapt, then changes are made.

Soon, Chen Xiangbei’s No. 13 car drove into the pit station, accompanied by Liang Chi and a group of team technicians, adjusting the setup based on track feedback.

"Lower the rear downforce slightly; I’m used to the sliding caused by a stalled rear wing."

"Adjust vehicle balance to favor the rear; the agile front end will make cornering faster."

Upon hearing Chen Xiangbei’s second feedback, Sawano Hiroyuki immediately reminded him.

"Mr. Xiangbei, the consequences of oversteer between narrow guardrails are catastrophic; are you sure you want to do this?"

Any team’s setup scheme for the Monaco circuit usually leans slightly towards understeer.

The reason is simple, understeer generally only loses cornering time, but oversteer can easily lead to crashing into the wall with catastrophic consequences!

"I’m sure."

"OK, do as you say."

Sawano Hiroyuki did not insist, and whether it’s correct will be verified by the track.

"Shorten the forming gear for second and third, optimizing acceleration out of the corner."

"Increase steering ratio to improve cornering sensitivity."

"Widen the tire camber angle to increase mechanical grip."

Chen Xiangbei listed adjustment changes one by one. Around a year’s professional career and study in vehicular engineering has equipped him with very seasoned setup capabilities.

Faced with so many modification items, the team of technicians completed the setup adjustments for the vehicle within minutes.

Watching Chen Xiangbei driving out of the pit station by accelerating, Sawano Hiroyuki’s face finally showed a worried expression, speaking to Odetto, "North’s setup scheme is tailored to himself, not to the Monaco circuit. I’m not sure if it’s right."

Adapting to oneself versus adapting to the circuit is inherently filled with contradictions.

However, in most cases, teams and drivers find a balance point within. Exclusively in the case of the Monaco circuit and Chen Xiangbei’s driving style, they are almost completely on opposite sides.

Chen Xiangbei essentially overhauled the conventional initial setup scheme suited for the circuit, completely changing it to fit his familiar driving style.

Those drivers who’ve "underestimated" the Monaco circuit often paid the price for their arrogance. Can Chen Xiangbei be the exception?

Frankly speaking, Sawano Hiroyuki didn’t have much confidence.

"Trust North."

Odetto casually uttered these three words.

The Chinese kid has never disappointed, not before, and Odetto believes he won’t in the future!