open-face helmet with a microphone extending out from one side. He had, so far, been unable to find a full-face helmet that would have room for his muzzle. The only option would have been a helmet similar to what a dirt bike racer would use. Unfortunately, Balto was unable to look for one before coming over for the test. Fortunately, with the closed cockpit of the Porsche 962C, an open helmet, which was also called a 3/4 face helmet, would suffice, as he wouldn't have to worry about moving air blowing into his face. And he did have protective goggles, anyway.
After the seat fitting, Balto was allowed to take to the track. Having already driven the Porsche 962, he was very familiar with the ins and outs of the car. Eventually, he depressed the clutch, put the gearbox in first, and rolled out of the garage, onto pit road and eventually, onto the track.
A lap of the full Circuit de la Sarthe (which means "circuit of the Sarthe", after the Sarthe region/department of northern France in which the circuit is located) began with the sweeping, uphill Dunlop Curve, which led up to the aforementioned Dunlop Bridge. In 1987, a left-right chicane was put in to slow the cars down before they went over the crest of the hill. Before it was put in, the fast cars were getting airborne at the extremely high speeds. The chicane was also intended to slow down motorcycles racing on the shorter Bugatti Circuit, which branched off from the longer circuit after a straight downhill drop to the Esses and looped around behind the paddock before rejoining the full circuit at the exit of the final corner. A 24 hour race for motorcycles was held on this version of the track.
After the left-right jaunt, the track followed a short straight with a slight right-hand kink before reaching Tertre Rouge, the right-hander at the source of the 3.5 mile long open-chamber wind tunnel known as the Mulsanne Straight, which the locals insisted was named Hunaudieres.
Once he cleared Tertre Rouge, Balto carefully depressed the accelerator and the car, as if shot out of a gun, exploded forward in a ferocious display of pure, unrestrained velocity. Up through the gears he went: second, third, fourth, and eventually fifth. He could go no higher because the transmission had only five forward gears. At over 240 mph down the long straigtaway, it was not uncommon for drivers to get tunnel vision as the scenery off to the side whizzed by in a blur.
Driving the uninterrupted length of this unspeakably fast straight was considered by many to be one of racing's rites of passage. In fact, many drivers, often victims of severe denial, said that they liked Mulsanne because it gave them time to relax and do things like check gauges, flex cramping hands, etc. Alas, the reality was somewhat more grim. Former Le Mans winner and 1961 F1 World Champion Phil Hill once talked of driving foot to the floor in a dense nighttime fog, and watching for the glow of the Restaurant Hunaudieres. He would then count to a certain number, blindly turn right, and at terminal velocity, hope he was entering the infamous Mulsanne Kink.
For Balto Wolf, this would be especially daunting. Even though he knew focusing on the task at hand was his number one priority, he still couldn't keep his crash at the Kink out of his mind. This time through, nothing happened, and he got passed the kink with no trouble. The fact that no incidents had already taken place there that could have left debris on the track was a big relief for him.
After cresting a hill, the next turn was Virage du Mulsanne, named after the nearby village. This was the hardest braking area on the entire track, as Balto would have to slow the car from 240 mph down to 60 mph. Fortunately, Group C cars were equipped with anti-lock braking systems to prevent the cars from snapping out of control under braking. What followed was a mile-and-a-half blast west through the woods along route D338. Even on these straight stretches, the road irregularities left Balto fighting hard to keep the car on the track. If he got onto the grass here and lost control of his car, it could've been deja vu for him all over again. But he kept the car straight and made it to the next corner cleanly.
That next corner was known as Virage du Indianapolis. Some people think this turn got its name because of it being a 90 degree left-hand turn, just like the four corners at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In reality, it got that name because, like Indy, it used to be paved with bricks. Interesting, eh?
A short straight followed, ending at Arnage, which, like Mulsanne, was named after a nearby village of the same name. Following that was a long run north for about a mile or so, with a few slight kinks in the roadway, before reaching the Porsche Curves. These were implemented in the 1970s, eliminating the White House corner, which was one of the more dangerous areas of the track. That turn got its name due to the presence of a white-colored house near the roadway that used to make up the run back towards the pits.
The Porsche curves marked the transition from public road to permanent racetrack. Starting with an uphill sweeping right followed by a tighter left, those two were followed by a downhill left and a downhill right. The terrain flattened out afterward, and the Porsche Curves finished off on level ground with quick left, right, and left corners connected by short straights. Another straightaway followed before the cars reached the Ford Chicane. This corner was installed in 1968 to slow down the cars approaching the pit lane. Back then, no wall separated the pits from the racetrack. In 1974, it was modified into a double chicane - left-right, short straight, left-right - as part of linking the Porsche Curves with the start-finish straightaway. In a Group C car, a lap of the full Circuit de la Sarthe could be completed in less than 3 and a half minutes, sometimes under 3:20.
Balto came by the pits to start his first flying lap. A flying lap is a lap made without entering or exiting the pits. As his Porsche 962C zoomed past the pits, the sound of it's engine reverberated throughout the open garages up and down pit lane. As for those that were closed, well, it shook the doors.
"Whoa," said Jenna to herself as Balto's car came past. The turbocharger did muffle the sound, but not by very much.
Balto completed five laps before bringing the car back in. On what would have been his sixth flying lap, he started experiencing a misfire in the engine. Rather than risk a blown engine, Balto pulled into the pits to have the problem looked at.
"Oh, great," said Kurt as shook his head in disbelief. "Our mysterious misfire problem is back. Again."
"What misfire problem?" Balto asked.
Normally, Porsche endurance racers have been known for their virtually bulletproof reliability. This was indeed an odd incident, indeed. One that really puzzled Balto. In his previous drives in the Porsche 962, he never experienced a major mechanical problem.
"We had a problem with the ECU during a recent test at Weissach," Hans answered, having overheard the conversation.
"Looks like this particular ECU is on the verge of a burnout, anyway," added Kurt. "Looks like we'll have to replace it."
"Do we have a spare?" Balto asked.
Everyone looked at Balto puzzled.
"Yes, of course we do," Reinhold replied. "We come prepared for anything."
After the engine cover was taken off, the work began to replace the faulty ECU. The process went quickly and without problem.
"Hans. Bob," Reinhold called over. "Did either of you have any problems with the ECU during your runs in the car?"
"I didn't," said Hans.
"Me neither," put in Bob.
Kurt called Balto back over to the car when the problem was fixed.
"Let's hope this works," Balto thought.
Joest's other two 962Cs didn't experience any such problems. Balto was especially confused about this. If the cars were built identically, there was a chance that the other two cars in the Joest Racing stable could have this problem as well.
After further inspection, the other two Joest 962Cs needed their ECUs replaced, both of them on the verge of a short circuit. Once the parts were replaced, the three cars were back out on the track.
For the remainder of the day, Joest's drivers would each drive a full fuel-and-tire stint in the cars to get an idea of how the cars would handle over the course of a stint. Group C regulations dictated the same quantity of fuel to all the major contenders - 600 liters of fuel per 1000 kilometers (621 miles) of racing distance. Stateside, GTP, on the other hand, had no such restrictions. As racer Derek Bell once put it, "Fans don't come to races to watch an economy run!"
By the end of the day, Balto Wolf had the third fastest time among the Joest drivers, second fastest among his seatmates, and his car was among the top 10 fastest overall. The consistency of his lap times, on the other hand, was a bit off the mark. Because he had been away from Group C style racing for almost a year, Balto was having to reacquaint himself with this type of racing, which, as previously mentioned, differed from the IMSA GTP racing he was more familiar with by the lack of fuel restrictions in GTP, as most of their events were mostly sprint events, some less than 200 miles in length.
The problem wasn't a fuel issue. It was that Balto was driving the car so forcefully early on in his stint that his tires were overheating and blistering, causing excess wear and a lack of grip, which he needed at these high speeds. There was only going to be the one test day at the Circuit de la Sarthe, so he couldn't get a second chance to do better until practice opened on the week leading up to the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans.
After the test, Balto spent the evening in the Joest Racing motorhome looking
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Pehaps I myself should try my hand at a racing fic now. Your fic really made me want to try one now.
Overall, great fic.