Racing motorhome looking over the data gathered from the test session. By doing so, he was hoping to absorb as much information as he possibly could, thereby being able to use it to his advantage come time for practice and qualifying for the big race in two months. Kurt had given him the data to look over as soon it was available.
"You okay?" Jenna asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah," Balto replied, sounding deep in thought. "I'm okay."
While looking over the analysis of the test, Balto couldn't help but notice how much his lap times had dropped off toward the end of his fuel run. He was less than pleased with his performance. Because of the fuel restrictions imposed by the Automobile Club de 'l Ouest, the sanctioning body for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on Group C1 and Group C2 cars, drivers had to conserve fuel in the early stages of a race. The heavier car weight imposed by the full fuel tank early in a run meant that the tires would take more wear and tear even when fresh than if the car had a light fuel load and fresh tires. The combination of a light fuel load and fresh tires would be better suited for qualifying.
Just then, there was a knock on the motorhome door.
"Come in," Balto called out. It was Kurt.
"Are you done with the data?" Kurt asked Balto.
"Just about done," Balto responded as he then handed Kurt the printouts.
"I'm gonna go make a xerox of this so you can have your own copy," Kurt said waving the papers. "Reinhold's having a driver's meeting in the garage in five minutes."
"Okay," Balto replied. He then looked looked over at Jenna and told her that he was gonna head over to the garage for the meeting.
"Alright," said Jenna. "I'll wait by the car."
With that, Balto exited the motorhome and headed toward the garage. His first stop, though, was the lavatory. Then he went to the garage.
After about fifteen minutes, the team meeting for Joest's drivers wrapped up. On the way out, Reinhold Joest called Balto over for a one-on-one talk.
"You think you did good okay out there today?" Reinhold asked.
"I think so," Balto replied. "Considering I haven't been in a Group C car in almost a year."
"That's true," Reinhold added. "I looked over the data that was gathered during your stints in the car and you did great except for the drop in your lap times toward the end of the run. Hopefully that can be fixed come time for the race."
"I sure hope so," said Balto.
"I know so," Reinhold responded. "Hans tells me he's seen you race, and he hasn't seen anyone drive a prototype the way you do in a long time. He saw something special in your driving and it was him who recommended that you drive for my team at Le Mans this year. I may not have gotten the chance to see you race in person, so I've had to take his word for it."
Balto's rookie year in the IMSA GT Championship was 1987. He'd been a Porsche 962 driver that year, last year, and it was no different this year. He wanted to drive a Porsche last year at Le Mans, but unfortunately, all seats were taken. And not just by the works (aka factory) Porsche AG team, but by all the privateer teams fielding 962Cs.
Hans-Joachim Stuck had seen Balto race because he was also competing in the IMSA GT Championship. Hans, however, was competing in a GTO class Audi 90 Quattro run by Audi of America. Quattro is the name Audi uses to signify their all-wheel drive models.
GTO, short for Grand Touring Over, was the highest-ranking GT class in IMSA. The "Over" in the class name designated the minimum engine displacement of 2.5 liters, meaning "Grand Touring Over 2.5 liters." By contrast, GTU, short for Grand Touring Under, had a maximum displacement of 2.5 liters.
"Say, when is your next race, anyway?" Reinhold asked.
"April 23 in West Palm Beach, Florida. It's on a street circuit," Balto answered.
"Would it be alright if I came and watched?" Reinhold asked again.
"I wouldn't mind," Balto replied.
The two smiled and shook hands as Balto to exit the garage. On the way out, Kurt handed Balto the xerox copies of the data gathered from the day's test.
Chapter 2: West Palm Beach GP
The Pontiac Grand Prix of Palm Beach race weekend was a prototype-only weekend. For sprint events, the prototypes and GT cars competed in separate races. Some races were either prototype-only or GT-only, the latter featuring a third GT class named AC that only competed in select GT-only rounds. Others that featured both classes racing on the same weekend at the same track saw them in two separate races, with the prototype races being of longer duration (distance or time) than the GT races. The only races that had all four classes competing simultaneously were the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. This weekend's race was a 3-hour timed race. In a timed event like this, the winner is the car that completes the most laps within the time limit. Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring were no different.
True to his word, Reinhold Joest was there to watch his newest recruit, Balto Wolf, show his stuff in race conditions. And not just in the race itself, but practice and qualifying as well. Jenna was also on hand to watch, as was the case at the four prior races this season. Also there to watch was Balto's childhood friend and now standout motocross racer, Boris Goosinov. Bob Wollek, one of Balto's seat mates for Le Mans, was also competing here this weekend for Busby Racing. He, too, was racing a Porsche 962, with car number 67 and sponsorship from BFGoodrich tires and Miller High Life beer. He would be sharing the driving duties with John Andretti.
In IMSA's sprint format races, some entries had just one driver, while others had two drivers. Each driver lineup format had its advantages and disadvantages. With only one driver, time could be saved during pit stops due to not having to make a driver change, subsequently not having to make seat adjustments while doing so. But with two drivers, if one driver gets too tired to continue, the other could hop in and take over. This would be especially true in the longer sprint events.
Street circuits, like the West Palm Beach one that this weekend's race was to take place on, are generally tight, narrow, and difficult to pass on. West Palm Beach's street circuit was no exception. Balto typically did well on street circuits, as he was batting a 1.000 average for a top 5 finish on such tracks, including a win last year in Miami. And he was able to pull this off despite the fact that the Porsche 962, due to its flat engine, had smaller ground effects tunnels which typically run under the engine. Ground effects helps with downforce, which is used to enhance the handling of these high-horsepower cars. Because of the Porsche 962's smaller tunnels, it was at somewhat of a disadvantage on the tighter, twisty tracks when compared to those cars from Nissan and Jaguar, the former of the two being the cars to beat in the 1989 IMSA GT Championship. Yet few - if any - changes were made in regards to the ground effects. Why? Because this is a car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for four consecutive years (1984-1987).
Throughout practice, Balto's Porsche 962, this time in GTP form, didn't look especially nice handling-wise as it twitched and screamed through the tight corners, but as previously mentioned, Balto traditionally excels on street circuits, and no one offered him much of a serious challenge on the time charts in practice. Qualifying was no different, as Balto put his Porsche on pole.
Balto Wolf's GTP Porsche 962 had Mobil 1 motor oil sponsorship and the car number was 35. For this race, and the other sprint events, he would be sharing the car with his co-driver from the past two season, Kyle Fox.
Kyle was an experienced sports car racer, with ten full seasons of IMSA competition under his belt. Having that much experience indicated that he was noticeably older than Balto. Now 35, a decade older than Balto, Kyle had co-founded a GTP team with the help a longtime friend named Stan Ridgemount. With all that racing experience under his belt, Kyle assumed the role of owner-driver at the team's inception in late 1986. Looking for a another driver to assist with the driving duties, Kyle happened upon Balto at the Sports Car Club of America national championship, named the Runoffs, in 1986, in which Balto drove a C Sports Racer class car owned by a friend he met while in college at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Impressed with Balto's driving skills, Kyle eventually asked Balto if he would be interested in driving for his new GTP team. Eventually, Balto agreed to drive for Kyle and Stan's team, named Fox-Ridgemount Racing, which was based in Monterey, California, with Laguna Seca raceway being their home track. This year, however, the only IMSA race weekend there would be a GT-only weekend. There was no prototype race scheduled.
Balto's rookie year in GTP in 1987 brought mixed fortunes. He was often a contender for wins in the sprint races, but wasn't much of a factor in the enduros. Lack of experience in such races did play a role, however.
His sophomore season in 1988 saw a roticeable improvement in his race craft as far as the enduros were concerned, resulting in podium finishes at both Daytona and Sebring. His high point of that year was the aforementioned win in Miami last year. He was a championship contender that year, too. That is, until his Le Mans crash. His form upon his return in October was nowhere near what it was prior to crash. There was speculation that he would not return to Fox-Ridgemount Racing. But another win in Miami, plus three second place finishes at Road Atlanta, Daytona and Sebring put him in the championship hunt early on in the current season. These
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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.