Chapter 44 - 8: Winning Streak

Chapter 44: Chapter 8: Winning Streak

Nothing unexpected happened during Saturday’s practice and qualifying races. However, Dionysios Makos, who had provoked him before, came over again and spouted a bunch of nonsense, declaring he would make Wu Shi understand that you can’t win every race through trickery.

"So, you think I won the race at Salerno because of trickery?"

"Didn’t you?" Dionysios Makos retorted.

"Yeah, you’re absolutely right," Wu Shi nodded.

"Hmph! So you admit it!"

"Yes, I admit it."

Wu Shi felt helpless. ’In an era before sarcasm was commonplace, my sarcastic remarks are taken as the truth. The innocence of these times is truly a thing of the past.’

The next day, Sunday, during the final qualifying race, the host and guest on the live broadcast channel got into position and started broadcasting the event.

Host: "In yesterday’s qualifying heats, the gap between the drivers wasn’t large. Looking at the Mini category, the first-place lap time was 53.015, and the 33rd-place time was 54.181."

Guest: "The gap between most drivers is around two-tenths of a second. The top few drivers are separated by only a few hundredths of a second. The skill levels are incredibly close."

Host: "Let’s take a look... in first place is, oh, it’s actually the driver from Hua Country, Wu Shi. But, just as I predicted, he can’t establish an absolute advantage here. I imagine he probably won’t even secure a favorable position in this final qualifying race."

Guest: "I wouldn’t say that. In the qualifying heats, drivers are just trying to ensure they make it to the finals, not necessarily showing their full strength."

Host: "Well then, let’s wait and see!"

The Jesolo Track is characterized by a series of connected hairpin turns, primarily testing a driver’s ability to maintain a continuous rhythm. Any deviation results in a huge loss of time.

Wu Shi wasn’t as familiar with this track as he was with Salerno, but the bottleneck for his lap times was no longer his skill—it was the kart’s performance.

To be absolutely sure of his position, he decided to push as close to the limit as possible.

SWOOSH!

The time came in.

The guest’s face showed a hint of shock when he saw it. "51.954... that time... is an undeniable pole position."

The final qualifying lap times for the Mini category were usually above 53 seconds, which was why the guest dared to declare that Wu Shi would take pole position.

Host: "No, the other drivers are still out there racing!"

The guest just shook his head with a smile and said no more. When the final qualifying race was over, sure enough, no one could beat Wu Shi’s time.

Only then did he speak again: "After these past two races, I believe we can draw a conclusion."

The host retorted, "Ahem, this driver from Hua Country is indeed fast, but to pull ahead by a whole second... I think there might be an issue with the kart’s legality."

Guest: "This is just my personal opinion, but as a professional guest, I believe driver Wu Shi’s skill is truly outstanding. If you observe his driving closely, you’ll notice that whether it’s in practice or qualifying, his steering inputs are always perfectly precise. He rarely needs to make corrections. That is a terrifyingly good ability, one that many kart drivers in higher categories don’t even possess."

The host searched his mind for words to rebut, but he wasn’t just sticking to the pre-agreed script—he was also speaking his true thoughts. ’This foreigner has already taken one championship in Italy. Is he going to take most of the Mini category championship titles this year?’

That was something he could not accept.

But when afternoon came, Wu Shi’s performance once again slapped him in the face.

His terrifyingly precise control proved the guest’s point.

It was remarkably similar to the situation at Salerno. While leading, he always controlled the gap, dangling the drivers behind him. It looked like a chase between first and second place, but in reality, it was just the leader on a solo cruise.

As the host watched the red flag rise and heard the national anthem play on the broadcast, all he could do was remain silent. He could host with prejudice, but he couldn’t call a victory a defeat.

’But it doesn’t matter. There are still five races to go. This guy from Hua Country can’t possibly be this consistent every single time!’

At the third stop of the ACI Championship, held in Viterbo, the host stuck to his opinion. The guest commentator was different this time, but from a professional standpoint, he also believed Wu Shi’s driving skill was superb.

The host continued to voice his biased views, and then Wu Shi took pole position again, followed by another Pole-to-Win victory in the main race.

Three consecutive victories had finally silenced the host, but they also got many others excited.

"Whoa! Wu Shi, seriously, these three wins are just amazing! I still can’t believe it! KART REPUBLIK wants to sponsor us! They want to put their eagle wings logo on the front of your kart!" Seth said excitedly.

"That’s great news. How much is the sponsorship?" Sid, who was standing nearby, chimed in.

"What are you doing here?" Seth frowned. He had heard that Sid had officially left Laya Team, and had even taken his shares with him when he left.

"I think, from now on, I will be speaking with you as Wu Shi’s manager."

"Huh?" Seth was incredulous.

"Of course. Martina is extremely busy at the company and can’t always pay attention to things over here. We’ve already signed a contract. I will be Wu Shi’s manager for the duration of his karting career," Sid said with a smile.

"How much does it cost to hire you?" Seth asked bluntly.

"Five hundred thousand euros." After saying this and seeing the constipated look on Seth’s face, Sid burst out laughing. "Haha, did you think I would treat Wu Shi the same way your club does? No, I only need one euro per year."

"Are you crazy?! You’re working for free?"

"No, I’m investing in him. Just like you did before," Sid said, his smile widening.

Wu Shi stood to the side, simply curious about how much sponsorship money KR, the kart parts supplier, was willing to offer.

"You got your first sponsorship deal. Are you happy?" Louise whispered from the side.

"Actually, I’ve already gotten sponsorships back in my home country," Wu Shi said.

"Eh? Oh! I remember now. It was from that journalist, right? Did your father give you the sponsorship money?" Louise asked.

"No. That money was just about enough to cover my karting expenses for a year," Wu Shi said.

Louise nodded. She had been following Wu Shi around recently and knew that karting involved a lot of consumables. First, there was the fuel, which wasn’t cheap. Then there were the tires; he went through at least two sets every week.

And with prolonged driving, things like the engine, carburetor, and brake pads all needed replacing. It cost at least a thousand euros a week.

It was a good thing Wu Shi rarely crashed; otherwise, the cost of replacing a kart chassis was also very expensive.

"One hundred thousand euros for the season. If his performance is even better this year, they’re willing to negotiate a new deal with us after the season," Seth said.

"That’s too little. Tell them this is a driver who might win every race from here on out. If they want to put their brand next to number 398, they need to show some sincerity," Sid said.

"Alright, I’ll go talk to them again." Seth nodded. He had gotten carried away by the excitement before. The level of skill Wu Shi had demonstrated was worth a much higher sponsorship.

"There are a few other parts suppliers you should contact as well. If you’re not willing, I can talk to them myself," Sid reminded him.

"No, no, I’d be delighted to."