In the Shanghai Rally of National Rally Championship which ended, Wang Shaofeng renowned as “king of field match” of the Shanghai Volkswagen 333 Team, put on a wonderful play of surviving the adversity when he dropped from first to third in the first day because of time penalty by catching up with top drivers, returning to the first position and winning the super 1600CC Cup in the last two laps of the match in drizzle. Interested in the drastic process of this match, I found our champion and made a exclusive interview with him at the night of the closing day of the match.

Reporter (hereinafter R): Congratulations on your wonderful performance today and winning of championship, Wang Shaofeng. I would like to know something of the process of this match.
Wang Shaofeng (hereinafter Wang): No problem! I will be frank with you! (Laughter)

R: As I know, you played more in field matches and had nice scores. It’s said that you are the first driver who won in international arena and raised the national flag of China, isn’t it?

Wang: It was in the “Macao Cup” Novice Car Race in Thailand. Since my joining the 333 team of Shanghai Volkswagen, I usually take part in rallies, and sometimes also in field match.

R: You had a good performance at the very beginning of the match at Shanghai Station. In the first day you got to know that you were fined one minute as penalty but also won the title of “king of speed”. Would you tell readers what do you think of the good news with a bad news?

Wang: Those who know rally know that one minute penalty is cruel to a race driver who is competing with time. Even several seconds may decide victory or failure of skilled drivers. One-minute time penalty is unbearable.

R: This penalty was a big blow against you at that moment, wasn’t it?

Wang: Exactly. By the end of first day’s match, I ranked first with an advantage of about 50 seconds over the second player.

R: Without accidents, 50 seconds mean absolute victory for a driver in a rally.

Wang: Yes. However, I ranked third and lagged behind other drivers for several seconds because of time penalty.
R: It must have large negative impact on morale and self-confidence.

Wang: It’s true that I was in bad mood, without any self-confidence of catching up with rivals.

R: It’s said that your rival for the championship this time used powerful Honda Civic racking car. At the same time, he’s also proficient in field match, similar to you.

Wang: Yes, he is also a veteran guerilla. (laughter)

R: How is your mood when you continue the second day’s match?

Wang: What a person needs urgently when he is in low spirits is encouragement and support. Fortunately, I have a good boss. (Laughter)

R: Do you mean Mr. Xia, chairman of the Shanghai Volkswagen 333 Racing Team?

Wang: Right. At the night of the first day after the match, Mr. Xia had a private talk with me. He said, “Don’t lose your confidence, Shaofeng. I believe your strength and the team as a whole. We may just take today’s match as a lession. Moreover, you got the title of “king of speed. You should have a good rest and keep in high sprits for tomorrow’s match. To get the group championship, the title of ‘Manufacturer Cup’, the ‘Federation Cup’, and to win champions and honor in the future, we need your effort! ”. Not only his encouragement but also his guidance really worked. Although he’s a businessman, he has a thorough understanding of rally. He analyzed situations of the match, predicted trend of the second day’s match, and finally worked out a set of strategy according to my psychological condition at that time. Without his guidance at that crucial moment, I must have encountered problems on the second day because of my fickleness.

R: Did the second day’s match go smoothly? It’s said that it began raining on the second day, making racing path extremely dangerous. Every driver was very prudent. To catch up with rivals at that time, you may instead lose your place in the competition if there is an accident.

Wang: You’re right. I have always been confident of my skill. So, I was happy privately when I got up and knew that it was raining. In fact, I thought that God did me a favor. (Laughter) However, the situation was not as good as my expectation. I only narrowed the gap for several tenths of a second in the last third lap. It seemed that the race was going to its end. I was really depressed then.

R: At this crucial moment, you must have got help from somebody. (Laughter)

Wang: Right, Mr. Xia found out what I was thinking about. In the rest area, he said “ Don’t worry, and compete for the No. 1 under the precondition that you can ensure you absolute security. I trust you!” At that moment, I thoroughly abandoned psychological concern and was determined to go all out in winning the prize! In the last two laps, I had an advantage of over 20 seconds. I dared not relax myself a little, and used all my energy in the last lap. So, I finally kept the Cup in Shanghai. At the same time, I won the “Manufacturer Cup” and the “Federation Cup” for my team. It’s a pity that the rear door of my car could not be closed after the match. It’s really a hard battle that day.

R: You must be more confident of yourself in the Wuhan Station in May after winning the first champion this year.

Wang: The match in Wuhan will be a challenge to me because I’m not familiar with the sand-gravel surface. However, I believe and am confident that I will be the winner. I will go all out for Shanghai Volkswagen, the 333 team, my family and friends, who always support me, and myself.

R: Can you summarize the reasons of your winning the match in one sentence?

Wang: My trump for victory is to trust myself forever!