Mixed In the United States As a Local Tyrant

  Chapter 342 The first race starts

  A few decisions by An Feng changed the future of the island.

If the idea of ​​"Holiday Xanadu" is to be realized, it will definitely have a new look, and then open to the public, it will definitely become a top tourist destination, after all, it is sandwiched between French Corsica and Sardinia, surrounded by They are all scenic spots with unique geographical location.

  The only thing is money. A comprehensive renovation will cost at least 30 million or more, and 50 million more. Others would probably consider the cost carefully, but what happened was An Feng, he always only wanted to like himself, and didn't consider the cost. It was decided to carry out the case.

   After staying on the yacht and the island for two days, all the plans were implemented.

  An Feng paid the first payment and returned to California after confirming that everything was perfect. It was late April and the car race was coming up. It was time for him, an unreliable racer, to show his face and run a few laps. But before that, one thing had to be done: a racing license.

  Although it is not an FIA-certified event, it is only held in the United States, but there are also laws and regulations. For such a transcontinental event, drivers must be professional, that is, they must obtain a racing license. This aspect is also easy to handle, Maserati has teaching and assessment qualifications.

  An Feng took a few days of classes honestly, learning theories, mainly the basic knowledge of racing, racing driver equipment, key points of vehicle modification, etc. After five minutes of lectures, he spent three hours learning racing semaphore. This is very important, even the boss must treat it strictly.

  After the theoretical assessment is completed, it is the actual vehicle assessment. An Feng is familiar with the road and passes the test in one day. Maserati handled the racing driver's license for him. So far, he can officially participate in the "MC Challenge" as a driver of the GP team, otherwise, no matter how good his skills are, it will be useless.

  …

  The rest is to practice frequently.

  The racing car is not only about being able to drive, it is also necessary to establish a communication mechanism with the team engineers, to give feedback on one's own feelings and ideas in a timely manner, and to accept the engineers' strategies at the same time. In addition, from the pit stop of the car, changing the tire, changing the battery, to other possible maintenance, you have to hurry up.

  The team is a whole, and the driver is a key part, but it cannot be separated from the whole.

Recently, An Feng's training has also become more frequent. He doesn't want to fall behind too much, especially in the case of "home games". The eyes can go all the way, and if you don't get a good ranking, you won't be able to hang on your face.

   As for the rest...whatever.

  The competition arrangement has been released, and the top five points system will be adopted for the five races. The first stop is Amoeba Speedway, followed by Las Vegas, Austin, Indianapolis, and the final stop in Florida. The competition takes place across the United States from the west to the center of the United States, and then to the east coast.

  The interval between races is one week, held on weekends, open practice on Saturday, qualifying on Sunday morning, and race in the afternoon.

  An Feng has a question: "Qualify in the morning, race in the afternoon, can the consumption keep up?"

Howard said: "It should be possible. Each driver will play no more than 15 minutes in the qualifying race. The afternoon race is only 45-50 minutes. The physical strength can fully keep up. After all, it is not F1. Of course, there are also some requirements for the physical fitness of the drivers. Think of it as a challenge factor."

   "How many teams are there?" An Feng asked.

Howard said: "There are eight teams and 15 cars. Red Bull, Ford and Chevrolet are all participating. In addition, there are some private teams. Overall, the big teams have a big advantage. Chevrolet transfers drivers from WTCC, and others also have royal drivers. , the overall level is very high.”

  An Feng was speechless: "Maybe Red Bull also transfer the F1 driver."

  Howard smiled: "F1 drivers are used to the fast pace, not necessarily adapted to touring cars. This time they are all masters in touring car racing. You should try to get points."

  An Feng felt pessimistic. With points, he would be in the top five, but with so many professional drivers, his driving skills are not for bragging rights.

Facts have proved that the level of the big teams is very high. Perhaps it is the professional electric car competition that attracts them. It is very fresh. In addition, the amount of rewards is not capped. There are only five races, so there is plenty of time to adjust other events... A combination of various factors , the top drivers are present.

  The level of this car race is improving, and the competition is fierce. An Feng can only hurry up and practice.

  …

  After a long preparation, the time came to the second weekend in May. The team and drivers had arrived on Friday, and they used the whole day of Saturday to practice and familiarize themselves with the track. It was free and open on Saturday, and many spectators came to watch the race. An Feng also went for a few laps to maintain the feeling of the car.

   Then the car was sent for testing, and he went to the auditorium to experience the atmosphere of the scene.

In the past, the feeling of electric car racing is very different from that of cars. Without the sound of gear shifting and engine roaring in the past, it is quiet. The only thing is the sound of motor rotation and current. Arouse the blood of the audience in sound.

  But after An Feng's last proposal, Maserati made a small modification.

Now the sound is coming. I used to watch electric car races without using earplugs, but now some spectators use them. The reason is that when the speed of the car increases to around 250, the noise will be amplified to about 100 decibels, and it is the sharp sound of an airplane taking off. , more harshly.

  Although it is not as loud as a gasoline engine, it is full of futuristic sense.

The disadvantage of the sound made up for it a lot, and the skills and speed were not lost. The excellent acceleration performance is easy to stage overtaking, and this aspect may regain the advantage... After the practice session on Saturday, An Feng continued to live according to the requirements of the team. Diet and work and rest have to be controlled.

  On Sunday morning, after receiving blessings from relatives and friends, the helicopter departed.

   From this point of view, he is the most handsome driver. After arriving in the morning, start to prepare clothes. The racing driver's clothing is all specified, from underwear to jacket, you have to put on a mask and neck protection system, and then wear a large but extremely lightweight helmet for all-round protection.

  The arrangement of qualifying in the morning is very tight. The organizers try to leave enough rest time for the afternoon competition, so the qualifying starts early. An Feng chose an earlier time slot, and drove the car on the field very low-key, recalling the distribution of the entire track in his mind.

An Feng's car feels very good, coupled with the recent intensive training, after 15 minutes, he locked the fastest lap time at 1 minute and 28 seconds, ranking among the best, and some outstanding performers can reach 1 minute and 26 seconds, An Feng I feel that running 1:28 is already the limit of my strength, but there are too many masters.

   After qualifying, the racers rest in the background.

  An Feng needs to weigh himself, report the performance of the car to the engineer, and then have a delicious lunch at the racing track. Joanna specially asked the chef to make it at home and delivered it by helicopter. Cooper, another driver of the team, was also honored to enjoy the meal benefits brought by the proprietress.

  Joanna gave encouragement as a wife, kisses and wishes.

  An Feng said: "Look at my good grades!"

  Joanna said: "You will, I believe in you!"

  Although she said so, she still prayed in her heart, hoping that he could finish the race safely. After all, car racing is a dangerous racing sport. At a speed of two to three hundred per hour, even the best protection will have accidents... She didn't show her worry, and she couldn't affect his state.

  At one o'clock in the afternoon, An Feng attended the tactical meeting. Engineers will develop a strategy based on weather conditions, qualifying conditions, and tire wear. The weather is fine in the afternoon, all cars will use slick tires, and the performance of the cars will be brought into full play. The qualifying is also good, with An Feng in fourth and Cooper in second. The unfamiliar name of the GP team has achieved good results at the beginning and attracted a lot of attention.

   Then there was the team's press conference, but it had nothing to do with An Feng.

At two o'clock is the car parade around the field, mainly to let the team's cars make their debut, then the pit lane will be officially opened, the team will move in, the team staff will push the fully charged cars to the grid on the track, and at the same time the beautiful racing baby will start Come on stage, hold a sign next to the car.

  Although the scale of the event is not large, as a pure electric car race, it is very fresh and attracts much attention. There are a lot of spectators who came to try the early adopters in the first race. The main auditorium is full, and there are also people in the open-air area or the corner area next to it.

   Some of them are fans attracted by the drivers, such as Chevrolet, Red Bull and other teams who cultivated the stars of tomorrow.

  An Feng also has a lot of relatives and friends. They reserved the main auditorium area, which has a good view. There are several huge LCD screens on the opposite side, which can display the racing scene in real time. The seats dedicated to the news media are also full. The publicity of the electric car race was appropriate and attracted the attention of all walks of life.

  From this point of view, Maserati has succeeded in a small part.

  An Feng and Cooper have put on their racing suits and accepted the engineer's final instructions.

  The racers came on stage one after another. An Feng came to the No. 2 car, picked up his mobile phone and stood in front of it, and took a selfie with the racing baby and the racing car. Duke quickly asked for his mobile phone to be taken away. The cameras were all focused on An Feng, and the beautiful woman and the driver beside him smiled brightly, which was also displayed on the big screen.

  Although An Feng is wearing a mask, all the relatives and friends know him. He shrugged at the camera, and before getting in the car, the racing babe blew him a kiss.

  Wang Le smiled: "This guy is never serious!"

  Joanna's lips curled up, and Roger gloated when he saw it: "Someone is going to sleep on the sofa tonight."

  An Feng put on his helmet and got into the car. The special racing seat was very hard and uncomfortable, and he had to buckle the six-point seat belt like a spider web. Then there are technicians to check the condition of the car, whether the automatic fire extinguisher of the co-pilot is working normally and so on. One minute countdown, everyone evacuated.

   An Feng calmed himself down and entered the state.

  The race requires 35 laps, and the race distance is nearly 200 kilometers. According to the power consumption of the car, the battery can run up to 150 kilometers, which means that there must be a pit stop to replace the battery and replace the tires, and finally run the entire distance. But before that, you need to follow the safety car for a lap to warm up the field.

  The warm-up lap will be the last chance for the team to test the car.

  An Feng communicated with the team via radio that the racing car was in good condition and returned to the starting point and was ready.

  When all the cars returned to the starting area and took their positions, 5 red lights came on one by one.

   An Feng breathed calmly, and only the game was left in his mind.

According to the results of the qualifying race, the Chevrolet driver is in order. His strength is good, that is, he ran the fastest speed of 1:26.866, but the average lap time is not fast; the second is Cooper of the GP team , 1 minute 27 seconds 232, the average is around 1 minute 28 seconds, and everyone believes that he has the highest probability of winning.

The third is the Ford driver, 1:27.735, the time gap with An Feng is very small; the fourth is the GP team's An Feng, 1:28.037, but in terms of the average lap time, he is actually the second , only behind Cooper; the fifth is Red Bull Racing, 1 minute 28 seconds 264.

   The gap in qualifying can be said to be very small, with 1 minute and 30 seconds at the end. The level of professional competition is very high, and it is difficult to define who is strong and who is weak.

  When the five lights go out at the same time, the fifteen racing cars start off immediately!

  An Feng stepped on the switch, got hit on the back, and followed the car in front. In professional races where there is little difference in the performance of the cars, it is almost impossible to overtake in a straight line. According to the team's strategy, first follow the third place's butt, walk a few laps, and slowly look for opportunities to overtake at the corners.

   On the Amoeba Circuit, An Feng has a strong overall strength and a stable performance. During qualifying, the time of each lap can be controlled at about 1 minute and 28 seconds. The track race is optimistic about this kind of stability, coupled with certain overtaking skills, he has a high probability of winning the top three at home.

  The calm start also aroused the cheers of the audience. No matter how deserted it is, people will like it. Just like a football game, the players are not as loud as F1 cars. Isn’t there a lot of people shouting? Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of pairs of eyes, the cars lined up end to end in a straight line.

The feeling of running a lap alone is different from that of an actual race. More than a dozen cars are crowded together, and the distance between the front and rear is only a few centimeters. , the racing car made a sound like an airplane taking off.

  The sound is very unique, close your eyes and feel the plane is approaching.

An Feng held the steering wheel tightly. When the speed of the racing car exceeded 300, a curve appeared ahead. This is a high-speed curve, spacious and has a good view. The probability of overtaking is not high. All vehicles pass in an orderly manner. An Feng is still tight Follow the Ford driver in front and go on another straight road.

Because An Feng's racing car tuning focused on the middle and front section, the acceleration at the start was very fast. He even let go of the switch when starting the car. There is a tendency to bump into the car in front of you.

Seeing the slightly cautious entry of Ford in the front, An Feng has a great grasp of the hairpin bend. As soon as his heart is crossed, the steering wheel cuts the inside line sharply. For better grip, switch the single-motor rear drive to produce a small drift.

The feeling inside the car was like an earthquake, rattling rattling rattling, the damage to the tires and car body was great, but the effect was very good. He simply surpassed Ford and took the third place. Feng=Sao wags its tail in front, quickly switches the dual motors, and walks away!

The spectators burst into cheers, and the game subverted the tradition. Less than 30 seconds after the start of the race, a driver staged such an awesome and exaggerated overtaking at the second corner, directly pressing the tires on the wave belt, and through a small drift The way to squeeze out the Ford driver, to achieve overtaking!

This scene was recorded by the overhead helicopter and the field camera, and broadcasted on the big screen. The details are extremely clear. The driver's performance is smooth and natural, with the overall situation in hand, and the confidence of not rushing, adding the first highlight to this competition , arouses enthusiasm.

  An Feng didn't know that he was very eye-catching. At that time, he felt that he could be faster in this corner, while the Ford in front was procrastinating, so he simply took the risk of overtaking it. After successfully winning the third place, the series of corners performed perfectly. After exiting the corner, he did not follow behind Cooper, but changed lanes and paralleled.

   It seems that he still wants to overtake his teammate's car!

  (end of this chapter)