ABT ### Chapter 0090
Li Fanyu shook his head, it seemed that the family of the 16th driver wasn't very wealthy. Although he didn't delve into it, he knew that racing was not a sport that the poor could afford.
Karting in China has only risen in recent years, and tracks everywhere are profit-oriented. As far as Li Fanyu knows, practicing on a regular four-meter-wide track in a park costs about fifteen to twenty yuan per hour.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg; he didn't know that from a young age, nurturing a driver, if everything goes smoothly, even if they win championships in various junior events, the cost by the time they're eighteen and entering F1 is about fifty to sixty million yuan.
Of course, this is the most ideal scenario. Because you can't guarantee that every race will be a success.
So, unless the family is wealthy or has sponsorship, it's extremely difficult for an ordinary family to nurture a professional racing driver.
That's why the story of legendary racer Michael Schumacher, coming from a poor family, is so celebrated by many.
Li Fanyu understood the father of the 16th driver in his heart; after all, racing might be too much of a burden for him. And in terms of probability, the hope of becoming a top driver is very slim.
You see, in the entire F1 league, the top global car racing event, there are only 22 official drivers.
And even among these 22 drivers, their salary incomes vary greatly. Some earn forty to fifty million euros annually, while others only earn tens of thousands.
It can be said that becoming a top driver is not much different from hoping to win the lottery.
Everyone has their own destiny, Li Fanyu sighed and opened the ignition valve. For this young driver, he could only wish him good luck in his heart and hope he would be favored by some sponsor.
The Pu City International Circuit is 5.4 kilometers in total, which is too long for karting races. So, this race closed off part of the track, reducing the total length to 2.2 kilometers. The race adopts a sprint format, with drivers only needing to complete three laps around the track, with the first to reach the finish line winning.
Li Fanyu didn't choose the drifting style like before but instead took his time to familiarize himself with the car's performance and the track.
After driving for a few minutes, Li Fanyu found that the performance of the car was similar to the one Lou Lu had driven before. After more than ten minutes, he had complete control over it.
Riding on the wide and tall 12-meter track, Li Fanyu felt his heart racing along with it, watching his elongated shadow cast by the morning sun and secretly contemplating the possibility of driving a real Formula car on such a track.
After casually driving around for about twenty minutes, familiarizing himself with the angles of the various turns and the track's gradients, he parked the car at the maintenance station next to the starting point.
With still more than ten minutes before the race began, he felt his chest vibrate from a phone call. Taking it out, he realized there were two missed calls from Zhou Qingyu.
With some time left, he quickly dialed back.
After the call connected, he heard Zhou Qingyu's voice amidst the hustle and bustle, "I'm at the K Zone grandstand."
"You're at the race track? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Li Fanyu was surprised and asked hurriedly.
Zhou Qingyu's voice sounded muffled, probably because she was wearing a mask, "Since you promised to help me raise funds, of course, I have to come and cheer for you. It's an equal exchange. I'm just letting you know, I'm in the front row of the grandstand today, wearing a blue baseball jersey."
Li Fanyu chuckled, "Why not wear a white skirt and a yellow ribbon or something."
"You chatterbox, I'm hanging up now. Get ready and good luck." With that, the call was disconnected.
Li Fanyu smiled and found Zhou Qingyu's presence at the race quite unexpected. In his subconscious, Zhou Qingyu was the kind of girl who didn't care much about anything and was indifferent to everything.
But after two or three encounters between them, he realized she was clearly cold on the outside but warm on the inside. However, the warmth aspect required constant interaction to manifest, and it only truly appeared after becoming familiar with her.
Li Fanyu tucked his phone into the inner pocket of his racing suit and carefully zipped it up. Ten minutes later, he heard the instructions for drivers to take their positions.
At this moment, Alonso also wearing a helmet, walked out of the pit lane amidst cheers from the grandstand. Instead of getting directly into his car, he waved his arms towards the stands, continuously acknowledging the crowd.
Gradually, the cheers of the crowd synchronized with his arm movements, forming a rhythm. Only then did he raise his thumb high and, donning his helmet, jogged to the track to shake hands with the drivers.
When he reached Li Fanyu's side, he gave him a big hug, patting Li Fanyu on the back of his head. "Run fast, I won't show mercy," he said with a smile.
Li Fanyu adjusted his helmet, "Ha."
The cameras beside the track broadcasted this scene along with the lottery controversy from earlier onto the big screen.
After seeing this, the audience in the stands were all impressed by his magnanimity and charisma. Cheers erupted, echoing along the sides of the track.
After the track officials signaled for everyone to take their positions, Alonso put on his red and black helmet and climbed into the kart with a four-stroke engine, which was positioned at the last spot.
Li Fanyu's car number was 6, and his starting position was in the middle of the second row, which was a good position compared to his previous race.
Beside him was the 16th driver with a red helmet. Seeing the young man gripping the steering wheel tightly with his head down, Li Fanyu waved his hand gently.
"Go for it!" He raised his thumb and said in a muffled voice through his helmet. Although they both had their helmets on and couldn't hear each other's voices, Li Fanyu's gestures conveyed encouragement and goodwill.
The young man nodded and returned the thumbs-up.
Five red lights above the track lit up one by one, and when they all went out, the drivers set off.
Although kart tires are more stable compared to Formula 1 cars, the race still had a warm-up segment. Drivers weaved left and right to warm up the tires while also paying attention to their positions to gain an advantage after the warm-up.
Finally, with a burst of engines, the warm-up session ended.
Li Fanyu quickly merged to the left and immediately seized the fifth position. At this moment, all cars were still gaining speed, and careless steering or failed overtaking attempts would result in a decrease in speed. So, he gently stepped on the throttle, waiting for an opportunity to widen the gap. During this time, he sneakily glanced towards the stands. Sure enough, after entering the first corner, he saw Zhou Qingyu in the front row of the K Zone grandstand.
She was fully armed, with her face covered by a mask and sunglasses. She wore a blue and white baseball jersey, and her long curly hair cascaded over her shoulders. Perhaps to make Li Fanyu notice her, she didn't take her seat but leaned casually on the railing, revealing her tall and attractive figure.
Li Fanyu was more tightly covered than her at the moment, and he couldn't make gestures casually during the race, so he just nodded slightly towards her, not knowing if Zhou Qingyu saw it.
After another five hundred meters, the speed gradually dropped to about 90. Seeing that there was enough space ahead and behind, Li Fanyu stepped on the throttle, and the kart accelerated suddenly after a burst of tire noise.
At this moment, the long-lost Xapp notification sounded in his mind.
"The system detects that the user is competing against a driver ranked in the top fifty in the world and has unlocked a hidden mission. Mission: Defeat Alonso. Mission Reward: Obtain all the experience and skills of Alonso's racing career!"
Li Fanyu's heart trembled, and he glanced sideways at Alonso, who was still at the back.
Come on, let's see who's better!
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