On the track, Wu Shi's kart was already side-by-side with the tenth-place driver. He closed in relentlessly, as if he were about to ram right into his opponent.
"Are you fucking crazy!!!"
The young driver in tenth place roared, but his voice was muffled by his helmet, and what little sound escaped was drowned out by the roar of the engines.
Of course, Wu Shi wasn't crazy. His control over the vehicle was impeccable. As long as his opponent held a steady line, there was no way they would collide.
But clearly, the pressure was too much for the kid to handle. He was forced to pull away, creating some distance.
And just like that, the racing line opened up.
WHOOSH!
Wu Shi decisively overtook him, claiming tenth place.
He looked ahead. The five drivers in front of him had just passed Turn 4 and were lining up for the combination corner.
Wu Shi's kart showed no signs of slowing. He quickly came up behind the ninth-place driver and, just as that driver was attacking the one ahead, squeezed right into the inside line.
THUMP-CLATTER!!!
The kart mounted the curb. Despite the violent shuddering, the steering wheel remained as steady as if on a flat road.
With just that one move, Wu Shi shot directly into the center of the combination corner. To his right was the driver who had been in ninth place.
To enter the corner, the ninth-place driver had to turn left, but Wu Shi had just squeezed in on his left.
He was smart. He immediately slowed down, waiting for the white, big-eyed kart to pass. He would then wrench the wheel left for a wide turn, allowing him to accelerate right through the apex of Turn 6. He would be the fastest one out of the corner! 'I'll take my position back!'
But what happened next proved he was sorely mistaken.
After securing ninth place, Wu Shi immediately slowed, carefully rode the curb of Turn 6, then suddenly accelerated. He shot across the track and quickly entered the diagonal straight, his entire kart running almost completely outside the white line on the left.
"How did he exit the corner like that without losing control?"
"He can pass eighth place like that?"
"He used up the entire track!"
"My god! This is insane! We're not even one lap in, and he's already gone from the back of the pack to eighth place?"
VROOOM!
Wu Shi ducked his head, minimizing wind resistance as he stuck doggedly to the seventh-place driver.
He glanced ahead. The top three karts were already at Turn 8, while he had just reached Turn 7.
Turn 7 was a high-speed corner and tricky to handle. Wu Shi could only follow the driver ahead of him cautiously.
Right now, the drivers in fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth place were like a train, stuck close together in the corner. Once they exited, they would quickly spread out again.
VROOOM!
They passed through Turn 8 and Turn 9 one after the other.
The karts ahead were packed tightly, and Wu Shi couldn't find an opportunity to overtake. In fact, because the leader of the pack was defending against those behind, the whole group's lap time had slowed down.
And when you slow down, someone from behind is bound to catch up.
Fortunately, their positions had all been earned by skill. The leader of their pack soon picked up the pace, saving Wu Shi from having to defend against the driver behind him.
The karts rounded the final right-hand turn and entered the starting Great Straight.
"Whew, has it only been one lap?" A coach wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah. That last overtake was so intense."
Because they were so focused, it felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, it had only been about forty seconds.
WHOOSH!
As the karts flew down the straight, the parents and coaches standing by the fence caught a whiff of exhaust on the wind.
Soon, the pack of karts arrived at Turn 1.
Due to the stable formation, everyone's lines were identical. It seemed as long as no one made a mistake, the order would remain unchanged.
This was one of the reasons overtaking is so difficult in kart racing.
Just after Turn 3, Wu Shi suddenly pulled his kart to the outer left line before the end of the straight.
The driver ahead glanced back, guessed Wu Shi was planning a move at Turn 4, and immediately switched to the middle line to defend.
But just as he finished changing his position and was about to enter Turn 4, the kart behind him shot clean across the track, switching to the far right lane before throwing itself into the corner.
'I've been tricked!'
It was too late.
WHOOSH!
Wu Shi moved up another spot into seventh place, fully integrating into the pack.
Just then, a struggle broke out among the drivers ahead in the combination corner. The sixth-place driver spotted a gap left by the fifth and immediately changed his line, diving in.
And Wu Shi, in seventh, was following the sixth-place driver bumper-to-bumper. Like conjoined twins, he naturally dived in at the same time, and together they overtook the driver in fifth.
A single, tiny lapse had dropped the fifth-place driver down to seventh, and catching up again would not be so easy.
There wasn't much room to maneuver in Turn 7, so Wu Shi passed through it normally.
Next was a massive, sweeping corner, also with little room for clever moves. Deviating from the racing line here would cost a huge amount of time, so no one would try anything.
When they reached the sharp hairpin, the drivers in fourth and fifth place began to fight again.
Wu Shi stuck close behind them, showing no desire to attack. At times, he even let them pull ahead slightly.
But as they crossed the line to start the third lap and were about to reach T1 again, he made his move.
He opted for a "slow in, fast out" approach. While the two drivers ahead fought for the apex, he aimed straight for the exit of Turn 2.
But just as he pulled out to overtake fourth place, the third-place driver went on an iron-fisted defense, refusing to yield an inch. He quickly veered left, trying to squeeze Wu Shi to the left edge, far away from the apex.
This move meant neither of them could hit the apex of T2 on the right.
The driver who was in fourth was quite clever. Seeing Wu Shi pass him, he intentionally held back, not trying to force his way back into the fray.
Therefore, when the entire apex of T2 was left wide open, he decisively made his move. He floored the accelerator, risking a skid to seize that apex.
If he could take the apex, he would overtake both drivers ahead of him in one go.
Wu Shi didn't know what the third-place driver was thinking, but he had no intention of getting into a squabble that would only benefit the driver in fourth.
So, he simply tapped the brakes and quickly dropped back to fifth place.
As he backed off, the third-place driver immediately veered right to squeeze the fourth-place driver, who had just shot through Turn 2.
And so, they arrived at Turn 3 nearly side-by-side.
Wu Shi followed behind them, passing through Turn 3 together.
Seeing the two ahead still refusing to yield to each other on the straight, he rapidly closed in on them at Turn 4. He then stuck to their tails like glue, looking as if he might attack at any moment.
As they entered the subsequent combination corner, the two karts ahead traded the lead back and forth. But on the exit, the fourth-place driver, on the right with the inside line, had a slight advantage.
Wu Shi was now tucked in right behind the fourth-place driver, and together they veered left, squeezing the third-place driver.
Seeing he was being passed on the inside, the third-place driver was helpless. He could either continue side-by-side and miss the racing line, or he could yield his position to take the proper line.
In truth, both choices led to the same outcome: he would be overtaken in the next corner anyway.
And so, he was forced to yield, dropping to fifth place.