next order was the possible technical alliance with Joest Racing, as Reinhold Joest was there in person along with some other key Joest Racing personnel. "Okay, looks like everybody's here," said Stan to kick off the meeting. "Alright, first order of business: With Kyle being out for about two months as a result of his crash this past weekend, we'll be in need of a temporary replacement driver. If anyone here can find one, please do so." "What about that one guy who filled in after Balto had his crash last year?" asked Kyle. "You mean Brad?" Balto asked back. "Yes, I meant Brad Steele," replied Kyle. "I don't know," Balto said. "I haven't heard much about what he's been up to lately. I don't even know if he's still in recovery from his own crash." "Mr. Joest, would any of your drivers be interested?" Stan asked. "Well, I haven't spoken with any of them yet," Reinhold responded. "I'll have to ask them first." "Okay, then," Stan put in. "Next item: As most of you, we have key personnel from Joest Racing here with us today regarding a potential technical alliance. Now, as you all know, currently Joest Racing is competing in the FIA World Sports Car Championship and are the closest thing that Porsche has to a factory team on both sides of the Atlantic. Introducing: Reinhold Joest." Reinhold stood up and took a bow as the others gave a round of applause to acknowledge of the recognition. "Thank you, thank you," said Reinhold. "As you know, we are currently the closest thing that Porsche has to a factory team. But here in GTP, there is no such thing. Seeing how you're one of the stronger Porsche-running privateer teams, and with Balto Wolf having landed a ride with us for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, we have chosen Fox/Ridgemount Racing as our potential GTP counterpart Porsche factory team." A round of applause broke out. "This means you get the full technical assistance that we get from the Porsche factory," Reinhold continued. "And that should help this team become more competitive on a more consistent basis. Some of my team's personnel will come here to provide assistance with this new program and get it up to speed. There are still some details that need to be worked out, but hopefully that will be done in time for your next race at Watkins Glen." The news sounded great, indeed. Balto hoped it would be enough to offset the bad news of Kyle's injury. Balto stayed at the shop for a while after the meeting had wrapped up. One thing the crew was working on was to try and find a way to keep debris like grass, dirt, small bits of bodywork, etc. from getting caught between the brake pads and rotors. Unfortunately, they were having a hard time fitting the intended shield in with the wheels attached. The shield itself was a metal back-plate with vents in it that would still allow the brakes to cool when they got to hot, yet would hopefully keep debris from getting between the brake pads and rotors. One such plate was located on all four axles. The plates themselves had a raised rim that extended outward from the middle of the axle and shielded the calipers and the vents in the rotor itself so that they wouldn't get clogged with debris. "Is this that shield I've been hearing about?" Balto asked one of the mechanics. "Yes, it is," mechanic Nikki Sechs replied. "But the raised edges are making it hard to fit the wheels on." "Maybe they should be shorter so that the wheels will be able to fit," Balto suggested. "You know, that just might work," said Nikki. After trimming off some of the excess rim, the wheels were refitted on the axles. The idea worked, as the wheels were able to fit on there with the guard in place. All that remained was to test the car with the new guards in place. The next step would be to schedule a test session and see how the car would perform with the guards on.   Chapter 8: Hopefully, this will work   The test took place the next day and went well for the most part. The only major concern was brake temperatures. With the guards on, the brakes were getting very hot, even though the guards had vents in them to help disperse heat. Eventually, guards with larger vents were installed and tested. Balto very much liked the larger-vented guards, as the brakes were able to operate at a decent temperature for longer. The big question still remained: would the guards do their job of keeping debris out of the brake assembly? During the test, Balto had an off-course excursion in the track's famed "Corkscrew" corner. The Corkscrew is a downhill left-right S-bend that drops three stories right in between the two corners that consist of the S-bend and is regarded as one of the most challenging corners on any circuit anywhere in the world. On the approach, Balto locked the left-front wheel and ran wide at the exit of the left-hand entry to the Corkscrew. The car ran over the dirt on the inside of the right-hand exit of the corner. As he went through the left-handed Rainey Curve that followed the Corkscrew, the car suddenly snapped sideways on him and slid into the gravel trap on the outside of the turn. Thankfully, the trap did stop the car before it hit anything. After the car was towed back to the pits, the brakes were inspedted to see if any debris had gotten into the caliper and rotor assembly. Fortunately, nothing was found. The cause of the spin was due to a blown left rear tire. By the day's end, the guards had proven their worth. No debris got into the brake rotor and caliper assembly. Balto was definitely praising the guards for doing their intended job. He was sure they would be effective at Watkins Glen, which had a lot of grassy runoff areas.   Chapter 9: A little homecoming   The only major event for Balto between the Laguna Seca test session and Le Mans was a trip back home to Nome, Alaska for Jenna's birthday. Balto was spending a lot of time trying to find a suitable birthday present. Between that and getting things together for Le Mans, a lot weighed heavily on his mind. But he pulled through, found a present, and now all he had left to worry about was Le Mans. The flight up to Anchorage went well, as did the flight from there to Nome. Coming home meant a chance to meet up with old friends who'd stuck around in town. Sure enough, many of them were even at the airport to greet Balto and Jenna when their plane landed. Among them were Boris Goosinov, Nikki Adams, John Kaltag, Ryan Star, Sylvie Tremblay, and Dixie Thompson. Even Balto's former GTP rival, Bradley Steele, was there to greet them when the plane touched down. "Welcome home, GTP star!" Boris exclaimed. "Good to see you too, 'Moto Madman'!" Balto exclaimed back. "Moto Madman" was Balto's nickname for Boris. Greetings went on for about a minute or so after Balto and Jenna both stepped off the plane. Even congratulations over Jenna's recent promotion and Balto's win at Lime Rock were included. Bradley may have been nice to Balto this time, but that wasn't always the case between them. Balto Wolf and Bradley Steele had been bitter rivals, which began in their earlier years racing against each other. It all began with an on-track tangle in an SCCA event at Portland International Raceway in which Balto made a desperate last-lap pass attempt on Brad under braking for Turn 7-8 esses at the end of the long backstraight. Steele declined to make room, and their cars collided, spinning off the track. The two cars each hooked a wheel in the soft ground, flipped, and were out of the race with less than half a mile to the finish line. Both of their cars were too badly damaged to continue. Steele was very irate over the incident and had to be restrained from physically remonstrating with Wolf. That incident spark a very fierce rivalry, which continued into their early GTP years. There wasn't much blood let, as it usually consisted of a few on-track tangles and the occasional obscenity uttered during interviews after such altercations. However, things were bound to get worse. And they did indeed get worse. But after Balto's Le Mans crash, and Brad got the call to fill in, Brad's attitude toward his rival lightened up. After Brad's Sears Point crash later that year, the only thing on his mind was, "So this is what Balto was going through." He, of course, had it worse, having been thrown out of the car while still strapped into the seat. Balto himself was particularly horrified when he heard about the accident, even though he was there at the track when it happened. He didn't actually see the crash as it happened, but when he saw the replay, he was just shellshocked. Balto thought for sure that his old rival was dead. Somehow, Brad survived, and in fact, some believe that had his seat not been thrown out, with all the wheels and bodywork flying around as a result of the crash, a piece of that debris might have ended up hitting him and possibly killing him. "I heard about what happened to Kyle," Brad said to Balto, sounding concerned. "How bad was he hurt?" "He's gonna be out for about two months," Balto replied. "His lower right leg is badly broken." "That bad, eh?" Brad asked. "Yep," Balto responded. That bad. Say, while it's on my mind, Stan asked me if I knew what you'd been up to and if you were interested in filling in for Kyle until he recovers." "Oh, boy," said Brad tentatively. "I had a hunch this was coming. I haven't even gotten over what happened last time I was in a GTP car." Brad was a little timid about returning to GTP after his Sears Point crash. The GTO and GTU categories, however, did appeal more to him in light of the fact that fewer serious accidents had

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Next page