was," added Jenna. Balto happened to look down at his watch and noticed how late it was getting. They had to have the boat back by 11 o'clock. "Uh oh," said Balto. "What uh oh?" Jenna asked. "Why uh oh?" "Well, we have to have the boat back by 11, and it's almost 11," replied Balto. "Well, let's get going then," put in Jenna. Both of them pulled the sail up and frantically started for shore. They made it back with only a few seconds to spare. Despite the rush to shore, it was a night that neither one of them would soon forget.   As good as last night was for Balto and Jenna, the next day wasn't quite so good. A heavy overnight rain had soaked Oahu and the big island, and this was the day when they were going to a place that rented dune buggies. The rental place was on the big island, and the heavy overnight rain had left the ground rather soft. Barely fifteen minutes in to the drive along the lava fields, they got stuck. Not in lava, but in the soft ground on the outskirts. The flows nearest to them had long since hardened. Both of them got out and started digging around the rear axle, which had hit a soft spot in the ground and dug in. The spinning of the rear wheels dug it even further in. "At times likes this, I'm glad I'm not an off-road racer," Balto said disgustedly. "I don't know how Boris puts up with this racing on dirt." "Doesn't he race motorcycles?" Jenna asked. "Yes, but he has gotten stuck before," Balto replied. Eventually, the got unstuck and were back underway. Halfway into the two hour drive through the dunes, Balto let Jenna drive, as wrestling the buggy over the bumps had begun to wear him out. Off-road driving over such rough terrain can easily be as physically demanding as driving a one-ton prototype sports car over a race track pulling three or even four Gs under braking and in flat-out cornering.   The following day was the last day before they had to head back to the mainland. On that same day, Boris had a motocross race that was to be televised live. It was near the east coast of the mainland US and was to be run in the late afternoon local time, which meant a late morning/early afternoon time in the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone. Even though he couldn't make it to the race, Balto was determined to see how it would unfold, one way or another. In his and Jenna's case, TV was the only option. Which they did. In the first heat, or moto as they call it in motocross, Boris placed high enough to automatically transfer to the main event. Having already qualified in the top 10, he had a good position in the starting funnel toward the inside of the first turn. He had a good start, gaining three spots by the time he reached the first turn (he started seventh and moved up to fourth). He would stay there for the duration of the race, as the opposition ahead of him proved to be too fast. But because he had finished high enough to transfer to the main event without having to go through the last-chance qualifier, Boris was quite pleased. He was also surprised with his result because throughout practice and qualifying, he never quite got the bike setup to his liking. The suspension settings weren't good enough for his blue Yamaha to handle properly on landing after going over the big jumps. It was too stiff, and the landings were usually rough to the point of making the ride unbearable. Fortunately, before his heat, Boris and his crew got the suspension settings "dialed-in" to get a more compliant setup. Which they got, and it showed with Boris's good result in his heat. Watching it on the TV in their hotel living room, Balto and Jenna weren't too worried with his placing in his heat. Just like Boris did, they knew that it was how he performed in the feature race that mattered the most. Eventually, the time for the main event rolled around. Boris felt more ready than he ever did that weekend. He would be starting fourth bike from the left in the staging area facing the direction of travel. Somehow, he pulled off a great start and got the holeshot. A holeshot is a term used in motocross to refer to whoever got the lead coming out of the first corner. Boris faced relentless pressure early on from those who finished ahead of him in his heat. They had had the faster bikes throughout the weekend prior to the feature race. But the adjustments made to Boris's Yamaha helped make the bike faster over a longer number of laps. This meant that he wouldn't be quite so fatigued from having to race with a harsher, stiffer setup. A stiff suspension setting may be ideal for a race setting like what Balto is more accustomed to, but it won't work as well on Boris's racing discipline's venues. Back and forth Boris battled with the leaders throughout much of the race. With the way the race was unfolding, the outcome seemed destined to be too close to call. Going into the last lap, Boris and his pursuers were covered by less than a second and a half, with Boris running second as they began the lap. It was still anybody's race and even halfway through the final lap, the outcome was far from over. Then, on the last corner, the race took an unexpected turn. The rider at the back of the leading quartet tried a desperate banzai pass for the lead. Unfortunately, he slid into the leader, taking both riders down, and Boris went down with them. So, too, did the rider in third place. "Oh, come on! What was that?!" Balto exclaimed as he saw all four riders in the leading group get toppled. Jenna was just as surprised as Balto was. Somehow, however, Boris was able to get up before everyone else in the pileup was. He even managed to keep the engine running, as he had kept one hand on the clutch lever, and in doing so, kept the engine from stalling. Once he got the bike back on its wheels, he got back on the seat and gunned the throttle. While those behind him were still trying to get up and restart their bikes, Boris was on his way over the jump at the finish line. As he cleared it, he stuck his left fist in the air and shook it wildly in triumph. Balto and Jenna were equally excited as they saw it play out on their TV screen. "Yeah, Boris!" Balto exclaimed wildly. He and Jenna were both bouncing up and down on one of the beds in their hotel room.   Later that day, after a day out windsurfing, Balto and Jenna were back in their hotel room before heading out to dinner. Before going, however, Balto decided to give Boris a congratulatory call. He would have done so sooner, but usually after a race, Boris would be busy with interviews and sponsor appearances. Of course, that's how it was for Balto after his own races. He knew all too well that less than one hour after the finish was not the best time to do so. Balto picked up the phone in the hotel room and attempted to dial the phone in Boris's trailer. Boris heard the ringing and almost didn't make to the phone in time. "Hello?" he asked. "Hey, Boris!" Balto said enthusiastically. "Oh, hi Balto," Boris answered back, instantly recognizing his longtime friend's voice. "Jenna and I saw the race earlier today. That was quite a ride you put in, man. How did you manage to get up so quickly after the shunt at the last turn?" "Well, remember what you told me about de-clutching in order to keep the engine from stalling?" Boris asked. "Well, I kept that in mind, and it paid off. I kept my left hand on the clutch lever and pulled on it. The best part about it was that I didn't have to restart the engine. When I got hit, I thought 'Man, now I know how you (he said that referring to Balto) must have felt when you got rear-ended in the West Palm Beach race.' I'm just happy it didn't end the same way for both accidents." "Good for you," Balto added. "Say, how's Hawaii been for you two?" Boris asked. "Oh, it has been fantastic!" Balto replied. "We're both having a great time here." Jenna was standing in the hall doorway of their room gesticulating to Balto to hurry up. They had reservations and it was getting close to the time they were supposed to be at the restaurant. "Alright, look Boris, I gotta get going now," Balto said. "Jenna and I have dinner reservations in 15 minutes. Again, congrats on the win today." "Thanks again, Balto," Boris put in. "Have a good time." Both of them hung up the phone, at which point Balto walked toward the doorway where Jenna was waiting for him.   Not a whole lot else happened between last night and the time Balto and Jenna had to catch their flight back to the mainland. Except for some souvenir shopping, they didn't have time for much else. Fortunately, they managed to snag (in this case buy) some really cool stuff. Each of them bought a t-shirt, souvenir license plates, and for Boris, Balto got one of those coffee mug that says "My friend went to Hawaii and all I got was this lousy mug!" All and all, they both had a great time. As much as they didn't want to leave, they knew they had to. Balto had gotten a well-needed break and would arrive at Lime Rock park on Memorial Day Weekend rested and refreshed. Jenna was at least happy to get a long break in an otherwise demanding schedule with her job as a journalist for a Monterey newspaper. And through it all, Jenna's happiness made Balto that not only did she love him, but she felt loved.   Chapter 5: Bullring Battle   The time seemed to just fly by in the run-up to the May 29 running of the Toyota Trucks Grand Prix of Lime Rock. Before Balto knew it, it was time to head off to Connecticut for the first of two IMSA GT Championship races at Lime Rock Park. This first race weekend was a prototype-only weekend with the GT-only weekend coming later that year with race day being on October 1. An odd

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