remark. "Always with the racing flag humor, eh Hans?" Balto asked, still trying to breathe because he was laughing so hard. Even Hans had a hard time keeping a straight face. He then proceeded to look for something of his in the trailer. "What brings you back here?" asked Jenna, who was the only one able to keep a straight face after the funny comment wore off. "I thought you'd be in the garage with the other drivers." "Relax, Juliet, I forgot the keys to the team's Gator 4x2," Hans replied, referring to a small utility vehicle they used to transport the crash cart, a tray with extra tools for repairs. "We need to haul the crash cart into the garage and get some more tools in." The team's #7 Porsche suffered some serious suspension damage as a result of an off-course excursion in the Porsche Curves during yesterday's qualifying run. The team had been working on repairs all day long. "Oh, by the way, Balto," he continued. "Reinhold's called for a team briefing first thing after breakfast tomorrow." "Got it," Balto added.   Chapter 12: Race Day - Start   June 10, 1989. Race day dawned bright and clear. And sure enough, immediately after finishing breakfast, Balto headed for the team briefing which was to take place in the team motorhome's meeting space. "Alright, everyone," Reinhold Joest said to begin the meeting. "This is it. This is what we've been working hard to prepare for. Starting at 4:00 this afternoon, all the hard work we've put into preparing for this race gets put to the test." "First order of business here, we may not have a car on the front row, but we do have a car in the top 5, thanks to our newest driver, Balto Wolf, let's hear it for the only American in our roster for this race." A round of applause broke out in appreciation broke out. "Alright, alright, settle down everyone," Reinhold cut in. "Now, getting back to business here. Without a factory team here this year But that means that there's less pressure on us. The way I see it, it's Sauber's race to lose. Jaguar, other Porsche teams, Nissan, and Toyota could also challenge for the win. Bottom line, stay out of trouble as best as you can, and should trouble strike those ahead of us, we should be in a good position to contend for the win." A few minutes later, the meeting was adjourned. Race warmup was scheduled to start soon. It was the last chance to perfect the car's setup before the 4:00 PM start time for the race. Balto felt that the car didn't really need any major changes to it, and it showed with him setting the second-fastest lap of the session with a 3:13.487. Only the pole-winning #62 car was quicker, but not by much, with a time of 3:13.392. As the start of the race drew closer, the cars eventually began to make their way out of the garages and pit area and onto the track for an installation warmup lap, after which they would take their place on the starting grid. The cars would line up in starting order on the start/finish straight in a format similar to what would be used for an F1-style "standing start", or "grid start". Then about five to ten minutes before the start, the cars roll off for one final parade lap. After being led around by the pace car, or safety car as it is often called in Europe, the field is released as the pace car pulls into the pits and the racing begins. Originally, the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was much different. The cars were initially parked alongside the pits, pointed in the direction of travel. The drivers, on the other hand, stood on the opposite side of the track from their cars. At exactly 4:00 PM, the drivers would sprint across the track to their cars. Open-top cars were lined up with their tops down. Before such cars moved away from their starting positions, the top had to be raised by the driver. Back in the early years of the race, which was first run in 1923, wet-weather equipment was required for all cars. It wasn't until the 1930s when wet-weather equipment was no longer required on open-top cars. The traditional "Le Mans start" was last used in 1969, the year the Porsche 917 made its debut. Rookie driver Jacky Ickx refused to run across the track because he felt that the traditional Le Mans start encouraged drivers to begin the race without fastening their seat belts - two years earlier, Dan Gurney had waited until he got onto the Mulsanne Straight, steering with his knees. Instead, Jacky walked across the track and buckled his seat belts before he took off. Later on that first lap, privateer driver John Woolfe, who didn't get buckled up, was killed in a crash. Ickx went on to win that race, the closet margin of victory and the last of four consecutive wins by the legendary Ford GT40 (the "40" in the car's name comes from its height of only 40 inches). Interestingly, one of Porsche's biggest innovations was inspired by this type of race start. The key slot for the ignition was placed on the left side of the steering column. This way, the driver could start the car with one hand and put the car in gear with the other at the same time. For 1970, the Le Mans-style start was modified. The cars were still parked against the pit area (no wall separated the track from the pits back then) and pointed in the direction of travel. But this time, the drivers were already strapped in their cars. Once 4:00 PM came around, the engines were fired up and the cars were off and running. The following year saw the first use of the "Indianapolis start", or "rolling start" that practically originated in the States. The pre-race festivities at Le Mans are usually very vibrant. Famous celebrities, spectators, various entertainers (the Moulin Rouge girls were among those in the pre-race festivities for the 2002 running) and many more crowded the pit straight in the run-up to the start. Among the drivers in the #9 Joest Racing Porsche 962C, Bob Wollek would be the starting driver. Hans-Joachim Stuck would be the next driver to take the wheel, with Balto Wolf being the final driver to take his first stint around the track. Before the start, Balto got a phone call from his injured GTP co-driver, Kyle Fox. Kyle called to wish him good luck. Stan Ridgemount also called to wish his now only able-bodied driver good luck. Balto decided to use this as motivation to do well in the race. He had now vowed to put his car on the podium. Also calling Balto before the start were his buddies back in Nome, wishing him best of luck. They already had gathered to watch the race at Nikki's house. ESPN was going to cover the start of the race, but after that it would only show the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes. A phone number was setup for those who still wanted to follow the race with hourly updates. A call was 95 cents, which Nikki and company weren't too pleased with. Eventually, the time came for the cars to roll off the grid for their final warmup lap. And then, the start of the race itself. It was 3:50 PM when the cars began their final warmup lap. As was necessary, at one point or another, every driver in every car out there weaved back and forth in order to get some heat into the tires. Remember, heat=friction=grip=speed. With the pit entry being located just after the Ford Chicane, the pace car had to wait until it cleared the left-right-left-right complex before pulling off the track and into the pits. Once that was done, the red, white, and blue colors of the French national flag were displayed from the starter's stand and the race was on. Two of the three Mercedes shot into the lead, pursued hotly by the Jaguar XJR-9LMs from Tom Walkinshaw Racing, various Porsches, and the #24 Nissan with Julian Bailey at the wheel. The battle continued down the Mulsanne Straight, the most famous stretch of public road in all of motorsports. In these early stages of the race, the cars were still tightly packed together running in the draft at speeds in excess of 230 miles per hour. One slip-up could wipe out several cars in a nasty crash. Route N138, which makes up the entire length of the Mulsanne Straight, had been resurfaced, so it wasn't quite so bumpy. By the end of the first lap, the #1 Jaguar, being driven by Jan Lammers, pitted with a punctured tire. There had been a Porsche 944 race on the track prior to the start of the 24 Hours, and one car had an off in the Porsche curves, scattering gravel on the track. A lap or so later, the #4 Jaguar, currently driven by Alain Ferté, also pitted with a puncture, leaving them with a lot of catching up to do. But it wasn't all bad news for Jaguar. The #3 Jag, in the hands of American Davy Jones, took the overall lead and was pulling away in front. Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries, and Andy Wallace used a similar approach en route to winning last year. But Davy wouldn't be alone at the front. Bob Wollek was soon up into second place and pulling away from the chasing pack. On lap 6, Juan Bailey spun his Nissan at Mulsanne Corner, suffering some front bodywork damage in the process and was out on the spot. After 30 minutes of racing, the top 5 consisted of Jones (#3 TWR XJR-9LM), Wollek (#9 Joest 962C), Jochen Mass (#63 Sauber C9), Jean- Louis Schlesser (#62 Sauber C9), and Frank Jelinski (#7 Joest 962C). Typically, the cars would be required to make a pit stop about every 14-15 laps, or roughly every 120 miles. The plan for Joest Racing was to keep the driver in the car for two fuel runs, a process called double-stinting. A tire change would occur along with every driver change. It is generally not a good idea to send a fresh driver out on worn tires. That first round of pit stops went as planned, and the order wasn't much different than what it was before the pit stops. The #3 Jaguar still led with the #9 Porsche in hot pursuit. In terms of marque

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