Chapter 56 - 20: Dominating Strength

Chapter 56: Chapter 20: Dominating Strength

The La Conca track looked somewhat boxy, featuring several deceptive corners. Its characteristics were quite distinct; the stable lap time for an ordinary KF3-level go-kart here was around forty-nine or fifty seconds.

During practice sessions, if drivers were pushing to secure pole position for the qualifiers, they could go even faster, breaking into the forty-eights or even the forty-sevens.

Wu Shi’s car was still No. 398. Fortunately, no veteran drivers had claimed this number before, otherwise the KF3 rookie would have had to find another one.

That guy Verstappen’s number was quite arrogant, going straight for 301.

This competition also featured several formidable teams, such as I.D.P., Morsicani Racing S.A.S., and Sodi Racing Team.

While looking through the roster, Wu Shi spotted some familiar names—Lock from the Maranello Kart SRL team, Gasly from Sodi Racing Team, and O’connor from Ocon Laurent.

However, none of this had much to do with him. Out of the hundreds of drivers participating, most would eventually hit their ceiling in karting, a small fraction would advance to lower-tier formula racing, and only a select few would ever make it to F1.

Most of them were just passing acquaintances. Perhaps after this year’s competitions, their paths would never cross again.

Amidst the noisy background of the pit lane, the track broadcast sounded. The drivers climbed into their go-karts, preparing to start their valid practice runs.

Wu Shi was fairly familiar with this track; Seth had brought him here to race back in 2008. So, after testing the waters a bit, he found his rhythm and quickly set his first valid lap time.

49.416.

He didn’t know what his time was, but he definitely wasn’t satisfied with it. Instead of returning to the pit lane, he kept speeding on.

SWOOSH!

Just before him, Verstappen completed a valid flying lap.

48.326.

"Yeah! I knew it! Max can absolutely beat that guy!" Jos pumped his fist hard.

As soon as his voice fell, Wu Shi’s go-kart crossed the finish line again.

46.122.

"???" Jos froze.

"Jos, Max held the lead over Wu Shi for two whole seconds, which is pretty good," Rosa laughed from the sidelines. Since she followed Wu Shi around every day, and Wu Shi frequently interacted with Verstappen, she and Jos had also become fairly well-acquainted.

"Damn it, this guy is definitely using a smokescreen! He knew I’d be watching how Max drove, so he sneaked around behind him!" Jos said in frustration.

During past practice sessions, he usually had Max and Wu Shi run separately so he could observe both of their performances. He never expected to run into this situation in their very first official competition.

It was worth noting that last year, Wu Shi never did a second valid flying lap. This meant that the freakish driver usually only set one lap time, and that single lap was consistently enough to secure pole position.

Jos remembered asking Wu Shi after a race why he only did one flying lap, and if he could guarantee it was his fastest possible lap.

Wu Shi’s answer at the time was, "I don’t know if it’s my fastest lap, but I know this time definitely breaks the historical record for this track in this category. If someone can surpass me, I’ll let them have pole position and just overtake them in the main race."

To this day, he still remembered how casually that guy had said those words.

Yet today, why on earth did this guy run two laps?!

Wu Shi parked his go-kart steadily in the pit lane. He was quite satisfied with his last lap, believing he had left behind a speed memorable enough for posterity. Anyone who wanted to break this record would have to hurry up, because in just a few years, the KF3 category would be canceled!

"Hey! Wu Shi!" A sports reporter who had interviewed Wu Shi many times waved excitedly and asked, "Do you know what kind of lap time you just set?"

"It should be pretty good, right?" Wu Shi asked.

"More than just pretty good! You should know that even in the KF3 category of the WSK Master Series, no one has achieved a lap time like yours!" The reporter looked the young boy up and down, his eyes full of curiosity. "Your speed is so fast that it makes me feel like you could break the record on any track you race on."

"It probably won’t go that far," Wu Shi shook his head.

"Why? Don’t you have that confidence?" the reporter immediately pressed.

"No, it’s because F1 rules change every year. By the time I can drive in F1, even if I break records, it won’t mean anything. To use an old saying from Hua Country, a competition like ’Guan Gong fighting Qin Qiong’ across different eras doesn’t determine a real winner," Wu Shi explained, then turned and walked away.

"Hey!" The reporter tried to call out to him.

Wu Shi ignored him. He thought, "Want to ask about the meaning of the historical reference? Go look it up yourself!"

In truth, the reporter merely wanted to ask if he was that certain he could make it to F1. Many highly talented karting drivers failed to maintain their edge in higher-tier competitions. After all, go-karts were small vehicles, and the gap in difficulty between driving small cars and full-sized race cars was immense.

Verstappen was already waiting in the pit lane. He was talking to Jos, seemingly unable to understand why there was a two-second gap in their lap times.

"Turn one, turn two, and all the subsequent right-angle corners—this guy’s entry and exit speeds are terrifying! It’s not a matter of his racing line, it’s a question of how he manages to control the car in such an extreme window of stability!" Jos looked at the data from Rosa and only felt a sense of despair. This was simply too outrageous!

He believed it was a lap time a human could achieve, as there were quite a few drivers in the WSK Master Series who could break into the mid-forty-six-second range. Under perfect conditions, some could even hit the low forty-sixes. But how many years had those drivers been racing?

Many competitors in the Master Series specialized in a single category until they hit the age limit! The lap times they set often became the ultimate records for those tracks.

"Hey, Wu Shi, you’re here," Verstappen greeted him. His eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge and a strong desire to compete. It was highly likely that after the race, he would train like crazy on this track to challenge Wu Shi’s record.

Since both of them belonged to the CRG Team, some of their data could be shared. Furthermore, with Jos’s connections in the racing circle, he could easily fetch data from a few Master Series drivers. By analyzing it, he could guide Verstappen to at least improve his time to under forty-seven seconds, which wouldn’t be a problem.

Once Wu Shi set his fastest lap, the competition almost immediately lost its suspense.

Everyone knew that the driver from Hua Country was definitely going to dominate this track.

The results didn’t defy anyone’s expectations. During the heats, Wu Shi remained undefeated, securing pole position for the pre-final.

The outcome of the pre-final was also unsurprising. Spanning a total of sixteen laps, when the race concluded, he was ahead of the second-place Verstappen by a full sixteen seconds, with a fastest lap of 48.333.

Verstappen, in second place, had a fastest lap of 49.416. His total time was a mere 0.3 seconds ahead of the third-place driver, Spinelli Loris. Further down the pack, the total time gap between adjacent drivers generally stretched to two or four seconds.

Gasly ranked fifth, and O’connor ranked fourteenth.

With twenty points secured, the final race soon began.

Compared to the pre-final, the final awarded higher points, making every placement crucial. However, sitting in first place, Wu Shi didn’t care about any of that; he only needed to pocket the forty-five points awarded to the victor.

Drawing from his experience in the pre-final, he controlled his speed slightly to avoid excessive wear and tear on his vehicle, ultimately securing the forty-five points with ease.

His stellar performance drew the attention of many who hadn’t previously noticed him.

When Wu Shi stepped onto the podium and saw fans in the crowd below waving posters of his face and cheering for him, he couldn’t hold back a smile. He had genuinely felt the popularity the reporter had mentioned.