Qin Lianjie's starting operation wasn't slow. After all, he has the strength of a professional goalkeeper and is exceptionally familiar with the clutch engagement point and throttle linearity of his Civic Type-R.
But his start reaction was slow!
A slight distraction during the countdown resulted in Qin Lianjie's start being about 0.2 seconds late.
If it were an ordinary street race, this reaction delay might be insignificant.
But Qin Lianjie's opponent is an F1 driver level Chen Xiangbei!
As a high school student, Chen Xiangbei's physical fitness hasn't been professionally trained, which is a big gap compared to his past life.
However, the racing talent of this body is not inferior to that of his past self, including reaction speed.
Normally, an F1 driver's start reaction is around 0.25 seconds. Qin Lianjie was 0.2 seconds slower than this, which in F1 would mean losing more than a car length.
Although the acceleration of performance cars is far less exaggerated than Formula cars, it's still enough for Chen Xiangbei to lead by a car length.
Moreover, the small displacement naturally aspirated engine has a flaw that even extreme modifications cannot overcome.
That is, while horsepower can be increased by transplanting a top cover, torque is difficult to skyrocket, especially at low RPMs.
With these factors combined, Chen Xiangbei isn't just leading by a car length. At the start, he directly took a car body lead.
And at this moment, Chen Xiangbei made a habitual lane-changing move, cutting in front of Qin Lianjie's car to seize the optimal cornering line!
This scene stunned the drivers of the Light Point Team onsite. Almost everyone looked at the receding Subaru Impreza tail lights with incredulous eyes.
They weren't sure about Chen Xiangbei's exact ability, but they were very clear about Qin Lianjie's skills!
As the lead horse of the Guangshen Team, paired with his custom-tuned Civic Type-R, even professional drivers who came to race the mountains were consistently bested by Qin Lianjie due to his familiarity.
Moreover, starting is one of Qin Lianjie's strengths; it's rare to see him fall behind, yet today he was overtaken by a high school student!
"Damn! Did I see that right? Brother Jie got overtaken at the start?"
"Holy shit, are high school students all this awesome now?"
"Did Brother Jie let him have a chance, or does that high schooler really have some skill?"
The drivers onsite were abuzz. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't believe that the team's lead horse could be outpaced by a high schooler.
"Car Lord Quan, is Qin Lianjie just that bad, or does that brat Chen Xiangbei have some skill?"
Ma Minghan asked Liu Shaoquan beside him. From the starting performance and the drivers' conversation, he faintly sensed something was amiss.
If Shao Minghui buying a Mercedes AMG was for showing off and picking up girls, as well as a thought of being the "Qiuming Mountain racing god,"
Then Ma Minghan bought a sports car purely to flaunt and be ostentatious.
After all, as the saying goes, "Poor play with cars, rich play with watches, and nerds play with computers."
When you already have everything, why race cars to risk your life?
"We'll know after watching the corner."
Car Lord Quan didn't give a clear answer. In fact, he was somewhat shocked inside.
There is a hierarchy in the racing world that scoffs at show-offs, thinking they aren't pure car enthusiasts.
The professional circle looks down on street racers, believing their hobby doesn't compare to their profession.
And among professional events, there's also a hierarchy, with F1 racing sitting at the top of the pyramid.
Chen Xiangbei, in Car Lord Quan's eyes, was among those car enthusiasts not even worth considering, yet he managed a perfect start, surpassing Qin Lianjie, which truly surprised him.
But a start alone isn't enough to judge anything. Anyone can press the accelerator on a straight, but speed in corners is the real test.
Just seeing the line in the first corner will give a pretty good idea of skill level!
Sitting in the Civic Type-R, Qin Lianjie looked at the Subaru Impreza blocking his way, with a look of surprise on his face.
He had witnessed Chen Xiangbei's start in a Corolla and had personally checked the tire marks on the road, knowing the kid had excellent throttle-clutch coordination.
But Qin Lianjie never imagined that Chen Xiangbei, switching to a high-powered Subaru Impreza, could still achieve this godlike throttle-clutch start coordination.
Just how extraordinary must adaptability be to drive each car to its limits right upon getting the wheel?
But at this moment, there was no time for Qin Lianjie to marvel. He floored the accelerator, trying to use his power advantage to close the gap on this long starting straight and even overtake the car in front.
However, Chen Xiangbei demonstrated very experienced driving skills. His starting lane change wasn't just about grabbing the optimal corner line but also about blocking Qin Lianjie's overtaking path.
Because Chen Xiangbei was well aware that the Civic Type-R had 75 more horsepower than his own, with naturally aspirated linear acceleration being more potent in the later stages, and with the car being about 100KG lighter, it was easy to catch up on a long straight.
In this way, the two cars constantly changed lanes on the long straight, with Qin Lianjie making several attempts to overtake but being blocked firmly by Chen Xiangbei.
They soon arrived at the number one C-corner of Nanyun Mountain, where previously, in a Corolla, Chen Xiangbei had taken an extremely fast line through the corner.
Today, Qin Lianjie wanted to see if this high school kid could still outpace him!
Not just Qin Lianjie, everyone at the mountain top had gathered at the observation platform, their eyes fixed on the Subaru Impreza ahead.
Chen Xiangbei's Subaru Impreza approached the corner with the vehicle shifting extremely close to the outer edge. The brake lights flashed momentarily, but there was no significant speed reduction.
Then, the Subaru Impreza cut into the corner apex from the outside without drifting. As the car's front passed the apex, it smoothly revved up the turbo, accelerating along an extremely graceful arc from the inside to the outside of the corner.
"What kind of entry speed is that, over 130km/h?"
"Definitely, if not more!"
"I remember Brother Jie's fastest cornering speed was just over 110km/h, but this high schooler hit 130km/h?"
"That was incredibly fast, truly fast!"
Though the mountain-top platform gathered a group of underground racers who might lack some professional racing expertise, they were well acquainted with every corner of the Nanyun Mountain, home base of the Light Point Team.
Such a cornering speed was verging on the edge of control. Even someone as familiar with the Nanyun Mountain Road as Qin Lianjie wouldn't dare such a run, yet Chen Xiangbei, just a high schooler, managed it!
"This… this line… a professional driver?"
Car Lord Quan, watching this unfold, was wide-eyed, his face sheer disbelief.
Among those present, no one understood better than him the techniques and line choices of professional drivers. Chen Xiangbei's line bore no resemblance to any street or mountain path racer.
From the initial lane change to block, to seizing the corner apex, and finally speeding out of the corner, every maneuver was executed with perfect simplicity!
True racing is never about flaunting skills; it's about winning, and clearly, Chen Xiangbei achieved just that.
The puzzling aspect was he was only a high school student, usually mingling with underground racers. Other than Nanyun Mountain, he likely had never even run a real race track. How could he display the traits of a professional driver?
Car Lord Quan was at a loss. Could there truly be a natural racing genius who masters these skills untrained?
Yet the most shocked was still Qin Lianjie. Due to the front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout of the Civic Type-R, it's inherently not suited for drifting.
Normally when racing on mountain roads, unless dealing with particularly sharp corners, he would rely on the handbrake to drift, but most often he depended on taking the line.
This is what sets Qin Lianjie apart from regular underground racers and was what initially caught the attention of Liang Chi.
Being a line-focused driver, Qin Lianjie recognized the high value of Chen Xiangbei's cornering. The high schooler's driving skill and ability were truly terrifyingly strong!