Chapter 632 I wouldn’t dare to call myself a master before the competition
Shao Feng sat in the passenger seat and said with a pout, "This seat is really uncomfortable. Can't you adjust it?"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng said, "Brother, just be content. How can you be awkward? I'm the one who's awkward!"
This rally-modified car is completely different from the regular cars on the market. Basically, aside from the exterior of the DS3, everything inside has been completely redesigned. The engine and suspension are no exception. The entire interior, except for the space behind the driver and passenger seats, is filled with various alloy tubes, partly for safety and partly to maintain balance.
Moreover, this car is tailor-made for Loeb, and the seat cannot be adjusted. The "Nine-time Champion" Loeb is 171 cm tall, and his navigator for all nine championships was Daniel Elena from Monaco, and Daniel is about 166 cm tall.
As for Xiao Peng and Shao Feng, both were 1.80 meters tall, so it was definitely uncomfortable for them to sit in the car. Especially Xiao Peng, who was practically curled up in the cockpit.
Of course, there are advantages. The gear levers of this type of rally car are very high. If Loeb sat in the car, the gear lever might reach his shoulders, but Xiao Peng sat in the car "only" at chest height, which made it easier to use his hands.
"Dude, aren't you cold? Turn on the air conditioner!" Shao Feng looked down at the dashboard. There were at least thirty switches on it, and he didn't know which one was the air conditioner. "Which one is the air conditioner switch?"
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "No!"
"No air conditioning? Then you can just turn on the heater, right?" Shao Feng continued.
Xiao Peng shook his head again: "No."
Shao Feng took a deep breath: "This car is equipped with this damn seat belt. I feel like I'm being kidnapped by you."
Xiao Peng laughed heartily: "You put it very vividly!"
This type of car uses a "five-point seat belt". The seat belts in ordinary cars are just pulled over the shoulders, but the seat belts in this car have five straps: two on the shoulders, two around the waist, and one under the crotch that is buckled together at the abdomen, just like a car child safety seat.
Shao Feng complained, "Dude, you're not short of money anymore, why don't you go find Citroën and have them modify this car for you? At least it'll be more comfortable to drive."
Xiao Peng said, "I've only recently become obsessed with this thing. I don't know how long I can keep this interest going. If I'm still interested, I'll ask them to help me customize one."
Shao Feng said, "Does it need them to modify it? I know a car modification expert. I'll introduce him to you later!"
"A car modification expert?" Xiao Peng was stunned.
Shao Feng nodded and said, "There are many people in our country who love to play with cars, and there are also many car modification experts. Our county has one, and many car enthusiasts from other cities come to our place specifically to modify their cars."
Xiao Peng, however, looked disgusted and said, "Dude, have you watched too many movies?"
"Ah?" Shao Feng was stunned: "What do you mean?"
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "You don't really think that you can just use a computer to adjust the data and change the engine and exhaust pipe like in the movies and then modify a car, right?"
"Isn't it?"
"Nonsense! Let me tell you this: just this car's shock absorber system requires a professional team to spend months constantly debugging it to achieve perfection. Other components require even more adjustments, sometimes even requiring wind tunnel testing! Do you really think those top engineers from major racing teams, earning millions of euros a year, are inferior to those half-hearted "wild monks"? You can't use your own interests to challenge other people's careers." Xiao Peng said, "They say 'experts are among the common people.' It's not that there aren't experts among the common people, but that's only compared to ordinary people."
"Then aren't you considered a folk master?" Shao Feng retorted to Xiao Peng.
He thought Xiao Peng would say something crazy, but Xiao Peng said sincerely: "I wouldn't dare to call myself a master before I actually compete with professional masters."
"Is there a big gap between you and professional players?" Shao Feng asked.
Xiao Peng shook his head. "I don't know until I've competed, but I do know this: if I really were to compete in a rally, I wouldn't have a navigator."
During rally races, there are always two people in the car: a driver and a navigator. This is a mandatory requirement in competitions like the World Rally Championship (WRC)—two people are required! During the race, the driver follows the navigator's instructions. There's a saying in rally racing: if the driver makes a mistake, at most they lose time, but a navigator's mistake could result in the car being destroyed and the driver being killed.
The legendary drivers in the rally arena all have a stable navigator by their side. The two WRC "gods" are there. Loeb, needless to say, has won nine championships and 79 stage wins on the WRC track. His navigator is Daniel Elina. The "six-time champion" Ogier is in a similar situation. All his championships were achieved with his navigator Ingrassia.
Rallying isn't F1. F1 races are held on professional tracks, where drivers are intimately familiar with the conditions. Rallying, on the other hand, features gravel, snow, asphalt, and concrete tracks—basically, anywhere there's a road. In this scenario, the WRC needs a navigator to act as the driver's "eyes," allowing the driver to focus solely on driving.
How significant is the role of the navigator? It can increase a driver's speed by 20%! Drivers understand this, so the navigator is generally the one who makes the final decision when driving.
After hearing this, Shao Feng sighed and said, "Xiao Peng, I'm really impressed by you now. I really can't believe that you can still maintain a clear self-awareness like this."
Xiao Peng laughed and said, "That's nothing. 'I examine myself three times a day'!"
"Do you think you're Confucius?" Shao Feng said, but despite the low temperature, he opened the car window again. He lit two cigarettes and handed one to Xiao Peng: "How far is it?"
"Almost there!" Xiao Peng had just finished speaking when he heard the sound of engines. Two cars roared out from the next block. The noise was clearly that of cars with modified exhaust pipes. "Look, these two cars are going there too."
Shao Feng frowned and said, "This noise is too disturbing, isn't it? The police won't do anything about it?"
Xiao Peng said, "It's so late, the police must have gone off duty long ago!"
"Cough cough cough!" Shao Feng couldn't help but coughing hard after hearing this: "Are you kidding?"
"Of course I'm joking!" Xiao Peng said, "But even police officers on night shift usually stay at the police station and only respond to calls. Sometimes they'll symbolically drive around in their police car, but they basically don't do anything."
"Is this a joke?"
Xiao Peng looked at Shao Feng with sympathy: "Why do you think the Chinese here don't go out at night? Welcome to Province 93! We'll be there just around the corner!"
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