performance as well as the team's performance, Jenna couldn't keep from being happy, either. After Kurt and the drivers in the other Joest cars congratulated Balto, Jenna felt it was her turn. She walked to him and threw her front paws around him in a massive hug, which he returned enthusiastically. "For someone who's been in the garage for the whole event, you don't look very beat," said Balto. By "beat" he meant exhausted. "Well, I wasn't out there with you," Jenna responded. Both of them smiled at each other for a few seconds before saying anything else. "Everyone on the team thinks you did great out there," Jenna added. "Or so I hear." "You heard them right," Balto put in. "Say, I thought you weren't gonna watch the end, seeing how sleepy you were getting." "I can change my mind, can't I?" Jenna asked. "No one said you couldn't," Balto countered. "I think you did great out there, baby," said Jenna as she put her front paws on his arms. "It's even better hearing that from you," Balto replied. At that point, Balto put his right paw around Jenna and the two ended up in a pose that resembled the end of a dance routine, with Jenna leaning backwards. Balto then leaned down and kissed her, which she happily returned. Afterward, Balto looked up and not seeing his seatmates anywhere, wondered where they were. "Hey, where's Hans and Bob?" he asked. Jenna looked around to and eventually spotted them nearby. They were sitting down on some used tires and looking a little disappointed. Balto then walked over to where they were sitting. "You guys okay?" Balto asked. "I suppose," Bob answered. "Yeah," Hans added. "I'm just really exhausted." They were indeed disappointed not to have won. But they knew that the odds were not exactly in their favor. "Well, at least we were the best placed Porsche," Balto put in. "Yes, we were," Bob said. "And you put up quite a drive out there, Balto." "Like I haven't already heard that today," Balto said in an amused tone as he shook his head. "Even I have to agree," Hans added. "You did do well out there. I think a win here for you is looming." "You think so?" Balto asked. "Or course," Hans replied. "Anyone who can finish on the podium in their first outing here can win at some point down the road." "Definitely so," Bob concurred. "Thank you. Both of you," Balto responded. "Now, are you two gonna walk, or do I have to carry you?" "Where to?" Bob and Hans both asked. "The podium," Balto answered back. Hans and Bob eventually got up and followed their co-driver toward the podium. "I'll race you guys there!" Balto lightly exclaimed/ Each of the three had a crazy grin break out on their faces as they broke into a faster walking pace and eventually a sprint to their destination. Along the way, Balto stopped to accept a congratulatory phone call from his friends back in Nome, as well as in-person congrats from the likes of Tom Walkinshaw and Peter Sauber themselves. The threesome eventually reached the third step on the podium, which when viewed from the front, was the one on the right. Out of the three on that step, it was Balto who enjoyed it the most. Looking out over a sea of thousands of spectators who had gathered beneath it very awe-inspiring for him. One to definitely cherish for a lifetime.   Three hours later, the racing pits were deserted, save for a lone Renault sedan. A few spectators wandered aimlessly, trying to absorb some of the magic of Le Mans through the soles of their shoes. Silence is now the prevailer. It was so quiet you could the footsteps of the spectators still on the track several yards away. But, in a way, you could still here the cars, boiling past at 200+ mph. Except now, they were in the fan's hearts, theirs to keep forever. A solitary figure stood at the top of the hill underneath the Dunlop Bridge. He wore a driving suit with his racing shoes on. Unbeknownst to his crew, Balto had slipped off for some alone time. As he stood in the middle of the track facing down into the Esses, he reflected on what had transpired over the past few days, including the past 24 Hours. By now, most of the transporters had left the circuit and the guardrails were dismantled along the road sections. Joest personnel began wondering where Balto was. Eventually, Jenna and Kurt spotted him out by the bridge. Jenna eventuallly walked through a gap in the barriers and out on to the track to reach where Balto was standing. "They're about ready to leave right now," Jenna said as she reached where her boyfriend was standing. "Alright," Balto replied sheepishly. "You okay, Balto?" asked Jenna. "I'm alright," Balto responded. With that, the two shared a spectacular kiss underneath the arc of the tire-shaped Dunlop Bridge. "Come on, Jenna," said Balto as he put his right paw around his girlfriend's shoulder. "Let's go home." With that, they walked back into the paddock. The only thing they could hear were their own footsteps on the pavement. But for Balto, he could still hear his own car roaring past, just like it did four hours ago. Now, however, it was just a memory, as it was for everyone else. When does preparation for next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans begin? The day after this year's finishes. And with all the praise he got for his fine performance in his debut outing, Balto now had something to look forward to next year. Something to shoot for. He was sure of it now. For him, a win at Le Mans, was looming large on the horizon.   Afterward   By 1989, the popularity level of Group C was nearly as high as that of Formula 1. When it was discovered that the C1 cars were exceeding 240 mph on the Mulsanne Straight - a WM Peugeot reached a record of 254 mph - the FIA made an attempt to revolutionize the class by turning it into a formula car series to replace the C2 category (after they proved to be unreliable at endurance races). This put cars built to the original rules at a disadvantage and benefitted teams using F1-sourced 3.5 liter engines, these teams being the large car manufacturers alone, as the new cars - which were basically closed-top, closed-fender, two-seater formula cars - were more expensive that the original C1s, now named C2s. The new C1s had no fuel restrictions, while the old C1s still had them. What followed was the quick, eventual downfall of Group C, as manufacturers like Ford, Mercedes, and Peugeot opted to either concentrate on or move directly to F1, while F1 engines were unaffordable to privateer teams like Spice or ADA. A lack of entries would mean that the 1993 World Sportscar Championship was canceled before the first race was even run. However, because Le Mans had become a non-championship race the previous year, Group C cars were still eligible to compete, albeit with restrictions. Nevertheless, the race still witnessed protests against the new state of affairs, as fans hung cloth banners in fences expressing their feelings. For 1994, the current air intake restrictor-based formula was introduced, and remains in effect to this day. This would be the last year in which Group C cars would compete. That year also saw the introduction of a new category that featured modified Group C cars without roofs. Also competing was a former C1 car disguised as a road-going GT car, the Dauer 962 Le Mans. Two of these cars was entered in the GT1 category and won the race after the leading Toyota 94C-V had gearbox problems. The Dauer was subsequently banned, while the Toyota was later given a special dispensation to race in the Suzuka 1000km, and a few C1 cars contested that year's newly-formed Japanese GT championship, which was also its final year. Many of the open-top Group C cars continued competing until they broke, crashed, or retired out of competitiveness. One notable example was the Porsche WSC-95, which won in 1996 and 1997. Afterwards, prototype racing nearly disappeared from Europe, resurfacing in the mid-1990s. Recently, a renewed interest in Group C has seen many such cars appearing on track at historical races.
But the biggest change at Le Mans during that time was to the track itself. In 1990, after the speeds peaking over 400 km/h, twin mirror-image chicanes were erected on the Mulsanne Straight, dropping speeds to no more than 220 mph today's prototypes - maybe no more than 230 for the C1 and C2 cars. IMSA's GTP class had its downfall around the same time, but the signs began earlier than that. After undergoing a successful heart surgery in 1987, John Bishop began to re-think priorities. After being approached by Mike Cone and Jeff Parker, Bishop, along with Bill France Sr., founder of NASCAR, sold the series to Cone and Parker in January 1989, who later sold it to businessman Charles Slater. Both lost millions in atempting to revive sagging TV ratings. By 1992, a number of factors initiated GTP's downfall. Porsche began to concentrate on its Indycar program (which failed) when critics said that the Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer should have built a successor to the 962. Back in 1988, privateer Porsche driver Al Holbert realized that the 962 was beginning to feel dated and proposed building an open-top Porsche-powered racer to sell to customer teams. Unfortunately, the project never got off the ground following Holbert's death in a aircraft crash that same year. For some people, much of the blame rested with organization allowing the Japanese works teams to continue to dominate the series. Under Bishop's original vision, factory and privateer teams were able to compete on a level playing field. Privateers walked away, and the Japanese economy took a downturn,

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