Chapter 38 - 2: Sarno

Chapter 38: Chapter 2: Sarno

At Raul Evans’s sudden outburst, Martina frowned and shot Sid a look of displeasure.

"Boss, his talent is astonishing! He’s only nine, but he’s already skilled enough to handle a shifter kart on the track with ease!" Sid said hurriedly.

"Why didn’t you give me all his information when you first told me about him?" Raul demanded, ignoring Sid’s explanation.

"I... He has more than enough talent, and we really do need a talented youth to represent us at that damned race in Belgium, don’t we?"

"No! Sid, you’re overstepping! I’d rather keep losing than have a driver like that!" Raul said, pointing at Wu Shi.

Sigh.

Wu Shi sighed. He was angry, but more than that, he felt a sense of helplessness. He spoke up in fluent Italian, "Sir, I think you should at least let me run one lap, even if it’s just as an enthusiast here for fun."

Both Raul and Sid were visibly stunned, not expecting this foreign kid’s Italian to be so fluent and perfect.

Sid glanced at his boss, knowing he still wouldn’t budge, so he quickly interjected, "Alright, let’s give him a try!"

Raul, having been cut off, glared furiously at Sid but didn’t try to stop things.

Since it was just a test drive, they used a standard 60 Mini series kart.

"Raul, you shouldn’t be arguing with Sid in public. After all, this is someone he recommended. You should at least give the kid a chance. You can always say no afterward, no matter what happens," another middle-aged man spoke up.

Raul’s expression remained stern. He didn’t reply. Even if he had been too hot-headed about this, he wasn’t going to apologize for it!

Meanwhile, Wu Shi had changed into a racing suit, put on a helmet, and settled into one of the track’s rental karts before driving out onto the track.

The Salerno Track was a clockwise circuit, about 1.7km long—a bit longer than the standard 1.2km tracks back in his home country.

In fact, Wu Shi was more familiar with this track than any of the ones back home, because he had raced it in his previous life.

So, by the time he was in his seat, seatbelt fastened, and had started the kart to roll out of the pit lane, he already had a rough idea of the lap time he could achieve.

Once on the track, he didn’t do a single so-called warm-up or familiarization lap. He went straight to setting a hot lap.

VMMMM!

The moment he exited the pit lane, he weaved past two slower karts and quickly approached the first corner—a rounded right-angle turn. The corner itself was a large arc; although it was a ninety-degree turn, the bend was longer than a normal right-angle corner, so choosing the right racing line was critical.

Wu Shi knew exactly what to do. He found the precise entry line. Given that the old, cold tires had poor grip, he braked a little earlier, using precise application of the brakes to guide the kart along his chosen line into the corner.

SKRRRT!

On corner exit, the kart slid slightly. The drift was minimal and Wu Shi corrected it before it could escalate, sending the kart smoothly onto the straight.

"Reckless fool! Stupid! He doesn’t even know to warm up his tires!" Raul cursed.

"..." Sid said nothing. Wu Shi’s move was indeed reckless. No matter how much he had to prove, he should have at least taken a couple of laps to get a feel for things before pushing for a time.

The observers off-track had too many factors to consider. In contrast, Wu Shi, on the track, only had to focus on one thing: driving.

Turn Two was a hairpin, followed immediately by a three-corner S-shaped chicane, which led straight into another hairpin.

This sequence of corners was a major test of a driver’s ability to react, especially when the track wasn’t clear.

There were other karts ahead of Wu Shi—some with more powerful engines, others from the same Mini series.

He could only roughly differentiate them by sight. Heading into the corner, he was blocked from taking the outside line, so he hugged the inside, slipping through the narrow gap between another driver and the apex.

SWOOSH!

Even though this wasn’t a real race, it was undoubtedly a brilliant overtake.

"Does he think being aggressive is all it takes to win a championship? So what if he can drive?!" Raul continued.

Meanwhile, Wu Shi had already entered the chicane. The most critical part of this section was setting up for the hairpin and the right-angle corner that immediately followed the exit.

Without planning a line for the entire sequence, a driver’s pace would become erratic, their rhythm would be broken, and they would lose lap time.

Because he had taken the inside line, Wu Shi’s entry speed into the chicane was already quite slow.

He could only make the best of it, opting for a slow-in, fast-out approach.

After anticipating the positions of the three karts ahead of him, he managed to find a reasonably good line through the traffic.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

"Brilliant!"

Sid, who had been watching anxiously, clenched his fist so tightly as he saw Wu Shi navigate the corner sequence that he nearly crushed the paper coffee cup in his hand.

"Is passing a few recreational drivers really worth mentioning?" Raul scoffed, displeased by Sid’s comment.

The smile slowly vanished from Sid’s face. He became serious and said, "Sir, what do you think his lap time will be for this lap?"

"Over 1:25," Raul said bluntly.

Although Wu Shi’s way of dealing with the slower karts was impressive, getting held up was still getting held up. There was no way his speed could be high.

"Then if he gets a time under that, will the team recruit him?" Sid asked.

"What are you thinking, Sid?! A 1:25? My grandson could pull a 1:25! Let’s see him hit 1:18 before we talk!" Raul’s voice boomed.

"A 1:18?! Sir, that’s a pole position time set on a clear lap! Do you even know what you’re saying?"

Sid was furious now, too. ’Why? The team is in a terrible state! If we don’t find a talented driver to pull us out of this slump, we won’t even have a spot on the starting grid soon!’

Martina stood to the side. She already knew how this would end. Seeing the apologetic look in Sid’s eyes, she gave a slight shake of her head. This wasn’t her friend’s fault.

Wu Shi straightened the kart and stomped the throttle to the floor. He had a basic feel for the kart’s grip now. He knew this would cause a bit of wheelspin and increase tire wear, but it would also get the kart up to speed much faster, allowing him to hit the next corner with a higher top speed.

Racing is a battle for every millisecond, a fight to maximize speed through every single section of the track.

A few kph difference in each section adds up to a significant loss over the course of a lap.

He turned in, wrestling the kart through the corner and onto the straight.

VMMMM!

On the curved straight, Wu Shi didn’t lift at all; he was taking it flat-out.

WHOOSH!

After flashing past two more slow karts, he entered the next sequence of corners.

He had no idea what his lap time was, so he just kept pushing the kart to its absolute limit, taking every single corner on the razor’s edge.

SCREEE!

A chicane, a hairpin, a double-apex—after navigating the entire sequence, the kart finally shot onto the main straight.

All that was left was to pin the throttle and let the kart fly.

FWOOSH!

1:18.339.