Chapter 43: The Ultimate Battle (Part One)

Sunday, Qingcheng International Circuit.

“Dear viewers and racing fans, this is China National Television broadcasting live from the Qingcheng International Circuit for the 2017 GTCC Touring Car Championship. I am your host, Shao Peng, and sitting beside me is our nation’s esteemed pioneer in motorsports, a master of circuit design and modification—Mr. Jiang Xuan. Mr. Jiang, would you please greet everyone?”

“Hello, I am Jiang Xuan.” A kindly elder nodded slightly at the camera.

“Mr. Jiang, with a little time left before the race begins, I’d like to ask you for a brief analysis and prediction for our audience at home. Who do you personally think will seize the GTCC annual championship today?” Shao Peng asked.

“That’s an excellent question, Shao Peng. Allow me to share some personal views. As everyone knows, the suspense surrounding this year’s GTCC Grand Prix individual and team championships will undoubtedly be resolved between Kunsheng Racing Team and Star Racing Team. Judging by their current state, Star Racing Team has just clinched consecutive victories in the last two rounds. In terms of morale and competitive form, they hold considerable advantage.”

Jiang Xuan paused before continuing, “However, I believe the viewers at home are well aware of the heated acquisition saga between the two teams prior to the Qingcheng round. This is undoubtedly a devastating blow to Star Racing Team. If nothing unexpected happens, I suspect instability has already emerged within their ranks—an enormous obstacle to their championship ambitions.

Moreover, Kunsheng Racing Team was overnight acquired by the multinational Black Gold Petroleum Industry. In certain respects, this benefits Kunsheng. They may already be employing advanced Western racing technology in this event. As far as I know, Black Gold Petroleum has brought in top European circuit engineers for Kunsheng, who arrived overnight. As such, Kunsheng is now the first domestic team backed by Western cutting-edge technical support and may even be ready to compete internationally.

So objectively speaking, Kunsheng Racing Team has a slightly greater chance, though Star Racing Team cannot be discounted. After all, their lead driver, Mo Shu, has already demonstrated superb driving skills and remarkable mental fortitude. Personally, I am quite fond of Mo Shu; his driving style is wild and unpredictable—it often makes this old man worry about a heart attack, hahaha!”

Shao Peng glanced at the monitor as the countdown to the race began. He seized a pause in Jiang Xuan’s speech and interjected, “Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for your wonderful analysis and predictions. No matter what, we expect this finale to be thrilling and fiercely competitive. We’ve received signals from the venue—the race is about to begin. We’ll now hand over to the broadcast team at the track. Please stay tuned and let’s witness it together!”

As Shao Peng finished, the broadcast instantly switched to the race. Twenty cars from ten teams roared off the starting line, furious tongues of flame spitting from their exhausts—heralding the explosive start of this ultimate showdown.

“Whoa! Mo God with a super invincible start!” Before the audience could react, Mo Shu had already left the trailing cars far behind with a perfect launch.

Did the race really need to start this aggressively?! Not only Black Mirror, but all the drivers—including Wang Yining—were stunned. They hadn’t even shifted into third gear, yet Mo Shu was already barreling into the first corner.

Tire wear, engine temperature, fuel level—was Mo Shu disregarding it all?

And most importantly, the team skills. If Mo Shu left Wang Yining too far behind, their team skill halos would become completely ineffective!

“Mr. Jiang, it seems Star Racing Team’s Mo Shu has chosen a ferocious push right from the start. How should we interpret this?” Shao Peng quickly slipped into live commentary mode.

“Hmm…” Jiang Xuan pondered briefly. “Drivers in pole position often push hard in the first lap to widen their lead and reduce the possibility of being overtaken. It’s a sound tactic!”

“Now Mo Shu appears to have entered the second lap. According to official data, he hasn’t eased off at all!” Shao Peng observed the official vehicle data ticker at the bottom of the screen.

“Oh? He’s already in the second lap?” Jiang Xuan was taken aback, staring in disbelief. “Incredible… How are the other drivers still halfway through their first lap?”

Yes, with system skills supporting him and the Russlein engine under his hood, Mo Shu had no intention of giving his rivals any quarter. He wanted to be so fast they wouldn’t even recognize his taillights!

“Ah… Mo Shu is still a bit too young. With this driving style, he’s bound to run into trouble eventually, and the tires won’t hold up. Speaking of ultra-soft tires…” Jiang Xuan had barely uttered “ultra-soft” when he abruptly swallowed the rest of his words, having just glanced at the screen—Mo Shu was actually using fully treaded wet tires. Rain tires on a sunny day? Was he out of his mind?

Shao Peng quickly smoothed things over, “Racing fans know that race tires differ greatly from civilian ones. On a dry track, teams usually fit slick dry tires. Among these, speed and hardness are graded from highest to lowest: ultra-soft, super-soft, soft, medium, and hard.

When it rains and the track is slippery, cars switch to treaded wet tires, which have drainage grooves—classified as intermediate and full wet. Wet tires are harder and slower.”

Jiang Xuan recovered and chimed in, “So, with clear skies and dry asphalt, Mo Shu has chosen the most durable but slowest full wet tires. This could be a technician’s mistake—mixing up his tires. Yet he’s maintaining such a lead even with full wets! It’s truly baffling. However, as the race progresses and tire temperatures rise, boosting grip, Mo Shu’s advantage will likely be eroded.”

Jiang Xuan’s words lacked confidence, for he knew firsthand how sluggish wet tires are on dry ground. Even if you put a world-class driver in Mo Shu’s seat, a domestic pro with dry tires would easily overtake him in no time.

At that moment, Jiang Xuan’s mind flashed with a nearly impossible racing strategy—could this young man be going to extremes? Using the hardest, most durable tires, running at extreme speed, and employing a no-pit-stop strategy for the entire race?

Unbelievable. Jiang Xuan blinked his vacant eyes in disbelief. He’d spent his life studying racing—yet this was the first time he’d ever seen such a thing…