Balto: Le Mans
Foreword
It began with a simple question: who can drive the farthest in 24 hours? For more than half a century, it has pitted man and machine to the ultimate test of endurance. It's distance is often longer than a drive from New York to Los Angeles. The race goes on at all hours, in all weather conditions, on an eight-and-a-half mile long circuit consisting mostly of public roads. Since 1923, the world's great carmakers have come here to prove themselves. Names like Bentley, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Peugeot, BMW, and more recently Audi have all found success here. Automotive innovations like windshields and wipers, headlights and hoods, seat belts and disc brakes all owe a debt to this race. It's called the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The racing here is different than most of the racing world in part because the cars are different. Not just from other race cars, but from each other. They don't all have the same specs like engines, tires, fuel, bodywork, etc.
This story features the 1989 running of this famed endurance race.
Chapter 1: April Test Day
Balto Wolf sat behind the wheel of his rented Porsche 911 as he headed north on Route N138 through the French countryside. It was April, and the April test session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was only one day away. It was his first time racing this event with his new team, having switched from Team Sauber to Joest Racing, this time driving the once-dominant Porsche 962C Group C prototype. There were three prototype classes competing in that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans: C1 (in which the Porsche 962 competed), C2 (for smaller, lighter, and less powerful prototypes), and an invitational class called GTP (the stateside equivalent of C1, which also had an equivalent of C2 called GTP Lights).
Balto's girlfriend, Jenna Morrison, was sitting next to him in the passenger's seat. This was her first trip to Le Mans, as she was not able to come over for last year's race.
"Are you sure he's gonna be there?" Jenna asked, looking over at Balto.
"If I know Reinhold," Balto answered back, referring to his team's boss, Reinhold Joest (pronounced like "yoast"), "he's likely dragged the entire Porsche factory here with him." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Then again, that's for normal for him. Once at the track or in the shop he seems to forget everything except for his work, and then some."
"You're nervous about this whole thing, aren't you?" Jenna asked, almost cutting off the end of Balto's last sentence.
"Nervous?" he asked with a rather confused look on his face. "No." He then looked over at Jenna and asked, "Why, do I look like I'm nervous?"
"No," Jenna answered, shaking her head slightly. "Well, maybe a little bit."
Balto sighed before he spoke again. "I just want to get this test over with. I just want to get the drive for the race."
Balto hadn't been in a Group C race car since last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. He had been looking for a ride at Le Mans since late last season. The only race cars he'd driven since then were GTP cars.
"But he said you'd get to test the car, right?" Jenna asked.
"That's what he said," Balto said in response.
"You don't think so?" Jenna asked, again.
Balto shook his head.
"No," he replied. "I think so."
With that said, Balto and Jenna leaned toward each other and exchanged a quick kiss. Since they were on a straight section of roadway, Balto didn't have to worry too much about taking his eyes off the road. Afterward, Balto continued holding Jenna's left paw with his right paw even when he reached down for the shifter to move it from third to fourth gear.
On the way to track, Balto approached the Mulsanne corner, located at the far southern end of the track. Since the full Circuit de la Sarthe, the track used for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, consisted of a mix of both public roads and permanent racetrack, which included a 3.5 mile long section of Route N138 known as the Mulsanne Straight, named after the nearby village of Mulsanne, the road sections were blocked off for the race. During the race, the cars would be heading south down the Mulsanne straight, which was opposite the direction in which Balto was currently driving. Not far up the road lie the Mulsanne Kink, a slight bend in the roadway of very short duration. As it lie near the far end of the straight, the cars, especially the prototypes, would be doing well in excess of 200 miles per hour. At those speeds, if something went wrong, the outcome could be disastrous. And so it was for Balto in qualifying for last year's Le Mans 24-Hour race. During qualifying, as he went through the kink, he ran over a piece of debris that had fallen off another car. The debris punctured the left front tire on his Mercedes C9, which sent the car going straight into the wall. The car itself was doing 244 mph at the time of the blowout. It slammed hard into the guardrail on the left-hand side of the road, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and gravel as it ran through the gravel on the shoulder of the road. The entire left side of the car was crushed. But that wasn't the worst of it: After hitting the guardrail, the car spun back into the middle of the track, where it got absolutely clobbered in the right front corner by a Nissan R88C, which had been blinded by the dust and couldn't see the stricken Mercedes. The force of that impact was so strong that part of the lower right front A-arm component in the suspension pierced through the firewall and into his lower right leg. The injury list from the accident was extensive: A severe concussion, closed double fractures (tibia and fibula) in his lower right leg, seven broken ribs on the right side of his ribcage, and a badly broken right foot. The head injury that Balto sustained in that accident was so severe that if he did survive, he might not be the same ever again. The part of the brain that affects coordination and motor skills had been damaged in the accident, which explains the grim-sounding aftereffect. Fortunately, the damage to his brain was minimal, and Balto made a full recovery, and was back to racing a few months later. The driver of the Nissan was also seriously injured, but he too, made a full recovery, with that car being repaired in time for the race. Unfortunately for Balto, even though his car was repaired, because of his injuries, he was not able to start the race. Neither was the driver of the Nissan. Turns out, it wouldn't matter that Balto wouldn't be able to start that race. Team Sauber had withdrawn their entries after they experienced a myriad of blowouts with their Michelin tires, with Balto's crash being the straw that broke the camel's back. He was to have shared the seat last year with Germans Klaus Niedzwiedz and Kenny Acheson. Team Sauber was returning for this year's race.
Suddenly, Balto heard a flapping sound coming from one corner of his car. Immediately, flashbacks of last year's crash flooded his mind with the onset of the familiar sound. He had hoped it was just a piece of debris getting caught in the wheel well. But he knew all too well what the real cause was.
"What is that?" asked Jenna, who also sounded worried.
"I hope it's not what I think it is," Balto replied.
He pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out to inspect the right front. A rock had caused a rip to develop in the tire's sidewall. It was just what he had suspected.
"Ah, crap!" he thought, shaking his head.
"What's the problem?" Jenna asked as she stuck her head out through the passenger-side window with a look of concern on her face.
"Sidewall puncture," Balto replied as he looked up at Jenna.
He then popped the hood to get to the spare. Because the Porsche 911 had its engine in the rear, the trunk space was instead upfront.
The compact spare tire that originally came with the car had already been used, so instead, a full size spare of the same type as the other front tires was in the trunk and ready for use.
Balto had long despised the compact spare tire. He likened it to opening one's survival rations on a lifeboat and finding a rat skeleton. "Not exactly heartwarming," as he once put it.
Where the car stopped couldn't have been any worse for Balto. Up ahead lie the infamous Mulsanne kink, the site of his crash from last year. He couldn't help but look at the seemingly easy bend in the road that almost did him in. The terrifying flashback ran amok through his mind: the tire blowing out, the impact with the outside guardrail, spinning back across the track into the path of the oncoming Nissan, the absolutely massive impact that could've ended his life. All of it weighed heavily on his mind.
After finishing the tire change, Balto climbed back in his car and continued his drive to the track. If he was to do well this year, he would have to put last year's ordeal out of sight and out of mind. His main goal was to do better than last year.
In the paddock at the Circuit de la Sarthe the next morning, in the Joest Racing garage, the team's Porsche 962Cs was being prepped for the start of tomorrow's test day. Joest Racing would be fielding three cars in the race (The "C" in the car's name designated Group C trim. GTP 962s were called just 962). For this year's race, Balto would be sharing a ride with ex-Formula 1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck and longtime Porsche factory driver Bob Wollek in car #9. A trio of Frenchman - Henri Pescarolo, Claude Ballot-Lena, and Jean-Louis Ricci - would be driving car #8, and in driving car #7 would be German Frank Jelinski, Frenchman Pierre-Henri Raphanel, and German Louis Krages. Balto was no stranger to the Porsche 962, albeit in GTP from only, having already driven one in the Sunbank 24 Hours of Daytona, the Grand Prix of Miami, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Nissan Grand Prix of Atlanta @ Road Atlanta. All four races were part of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GT Championship. All drives were with another team.
Under the back end of the car, a few of the mechanics were making suspension setting adjustments. The public road sections of the full Le Mans circuit were noticeably bumpy compared to the permanent circuit sections. The road irregularities were rather minor, but at the speeds the cars would be traveling, it wasn't all that uncommon for a driver to have to fight hard to keep his car off the wall.
Underneath the rear bodywork of the 962C lie a 3.0 liter turbocharged flat-6. It got the name "flat" engine because the pistons lay flat at a 180 degree angle from each other. Such an engine is also called a pancake, opposed, or boxer engine. The original Volkswagen Beetle was powered by such an engine. Porsche had long used the flat engine, as had Subaru.
The car itself had a closed cockpit, as was the norm for Group C and GTP cars. There were two doors, one on each side of the cockpit. The driver's side was on the right-hand side. The H-pattern manual shift lever was located to the driver's right. It was placed toward the windshield so that the driver wouldn't bump into it when climbing into and out of the car. With the Le Mans circuit running clockwise, and with the pits being on the inside, or right-hand side of the track, this made sense. Motorcycle-style sequential shifting - common in most forms of racing today - was not yet in widespread use.
"Okay, sir, hang on there, I think I fixed it!" one of the mechanics, who was doing some wiring work for the engine, called out to the team's race engineer. "I got it."
Suddenly, the wire sparked and shorted out. The team had been experiencing some mysterious misfire problems during recent testing at Weissach, Porsche's test track facility in Germany. The test ended up being cut short because of the misfire, which was later traced to a malfunctioning ECU (Electronic Control Unit) for the engine. The work currently being done was a precautionary checkup.
"Whoops!" said the mechanic doing the wiring work said.
"Well, that didn't work," added Kurt Schwarz, Balto's race engineer. "Come on guys, we gotta get this sorted out. I don't want Balto to arrive only to not have a car to drive."
"Alright, I think I got it this time," said the same mechanic doing the wiring. The engine came to life, then settled into an idle.
"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed, pumping his fists.
After a few tugs on the throttle mechanism by a mechanic, the engine was shut off. The wiring issue was solved for now. And not a minute too soon.
Just as the engine had come to life, Balto had pulled his Porsche 911 into the paddock. He and Jenna had found a local motel to spend the night at. It was near the circuit, so they didn't have too far to travel.
"Well, there it is," he said upon seeing the Joest Racing team hauler as he guided his car towards it to park it. After turning the engine off and pulling up the parking brake, he opened the door, stepped out of the car, shut it and locked it. Jenna soon followed.
The name Joest Racing, the Porsche emblem, and an image of the car donned the sides of the hauler. The hauler itself had enough room for two cars (the primary car and the backup car), all the tools and spare parts that might be needed, and that was about it except for the living quarters for the crew.
Joest Racing is based near Mannheim, Germany, and was no stranger to competing at Le Mans.
It took Balto and Jenna less than one minute to walk from the paddock where their car was parked to the garage area. His entry into the Joest garage didn't go unnoticed.
"Well, what do you know, everybody's here," Balto thought. He wasn't sure if all of those who said they were going to be there would actually be there.
"Hey!" one of the mechanics called out. "I don't believe it. The new guy made it."
"Yes, I did," Balto answered back.
"Balto Wolf," said Reinhold Joest as he approached his new driver, "welcome to Circuit de la Sarthe."
"Thank you, Mr. Joest," Balto replied as they shook hands.
"Seriously, you don't need to be so formal," Reinhold answered back. "You can call me Reinhold."
By now, Jenna had waited long enough before wanting Balto to introduce her to the boss.
"Ahem," she said, sounding a little impatient.
"Oh, sorry, Jenna," said Balto. He then turned to Reinhold and introduced the two to each other.
Jenna did regularly attend Balto's races, but this was her first time in the paddock at a track. That's right, she had never previously been in there where all the action that goes on behind the scenes takes place. It was a little bit intimidating for her at first. She was hoping that, eventually, she would feel comfortable among all the happenings in the garage. If Balto did get the drive with Joest Racing for Le Mans, she was hoping to be able to watch the race from the garage.
The Le Mans circuit had F1-style pit garages that faced directly out toward the pit lane, which allowed for easy access between the pit lane and the garage. The garage door was already open, and Balto took advantage by going out into the pit lane to get a good look at the immediate area of the circuit. The only part of the track visible from the pit area was the from the exit of the Ford chicane to the entry to the uphill, swooping Dunlop Curve, marked by a distinctive tire-shaped sign that said "Dunlop: La Passion Du Futur." Which translated meant "Dunlop: Driving to the Future."
It hadn't rained much in the Sarthe region lately, so the track was largely dry in the areas that Balto had already inspected, including the public road sections that he had already driven in order to reach the circuit.
While out there, Balto reached town and felt the surface of the pit road under his paws. The pit stalls were concrete surfaced, while the rest of the pits were tarmac. It was a little relief to be back at La Sarthe, although it was still a bit daunting for him in light of his crash last year.
After returning to the garage, Balto was introduced to his new race engineer, Kurt Schwarz, as well as to his seatmates, Hans and Bob as well as the other Joest drivers. Between Balto, Hans and Bob, the nationality lineup for car #9 was as follows: American, German, and French. Overall, the count was four Germans, four Frenchman, and Balto as the lone American in Joest's driver lineup.
The threesome were soon called over to the car. The plan was as follows: Hans and Bob, being more experienced, were to drive the car first to gather some data for the engineers to work off of. Then, Balto was to get his seat fitted and afterward, he'd get to drive the car.
Bob Wollek was the first one to step into the car to begin the test. Joest Racing wasn't the only team at the test session. Every team that had earned an entry spot on the grid was there in preparation for the big race, which was usually held on the 24th weekend of the year, and often near the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.
Around that time of year, the summer twilight lingers late into the evening, usually until well past eight o' clock at night. This was in stark contrast to the 24 Hours of Daytona, in which, due to being run in late January or early February, the winter night comes early and stays late. And even though the setting for the Daytona 24-hour is coastal Florida, the night can be bitter cold.
After the final checkup was complete, Bob hopped in the car and strapped in. After the car was lowered off the jacks, Bob depressed the clutch pedal, selected first gear, and the car rolled out of the garage and out into pit road. There were no pit road speed limits at the time, so once Bob was out in the acceleration lane of pit road (the section paved by tarmac), he pressed the accelerator and he car roared away out onto the track. He used the out lap to get the tires and brakes up to working temperature, but he was careful not to push too hard and risk damage to the car.
After three flying laps - a lap in which the pit lane was bypassed - Bob brought the car back in. His objective on those three laps was to gather some information and data for the engineers to work with. He achieved just that.
After the analysis was complete, Hans took his turn in the car. Hans would be doing five laps on the same set of tires to do tire wear monitoring over the course of a stint. Just like Bob, Hans used the out lap to warmup the tires and brakes.
Finally, it was Balto's turn at the wheel. The first thing that needed to be done was to get him fitted for the seat. In sports-car endurance racing, two or more drivers usually alternate behind the wheel. Sometimes, the drivers can be of considerably different sizes. In such cases, seat inserts are often used to make smaller drivers fit better without having to make seat belt adjustments. Often times, when choosing a driver lineup for a sports-car endurance race, driver size is an important part of the criteria. Any time spent making seat changes or belt adjustments in the pit lane is time lost on the track.
Balto would end up needing a seat insert, and the one he chose allowed him to fit in the seat without having to make any major belt adjustments. In order for the fitting to be done, he would have to get into his driving suit. Balto, however, played it smart and wore it to the track. So he was definitely ready on that front.
Balto's equipment consisted of the usual gear necessary for racers: fireproof underwear, driving suit, driving shoes, gloves, balaclava, and helmet. Because of his muzzle, Balto had to use an 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 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 great performances clearly showed that Balto Wolf was back to what he used to be. Not every driver fully recovers their driving from such a serious accident, so one might argue that Balto was very lucky. But had the impact occured flush with the cockpit, the Nissan might have come straight into the cockpit of Balto's Sauber Mercedes C9, possibly killing both of them.
The morning of the race, Balto, Jenna, Boris, even Kyle met up for a morning jog around the track before any of the day's racing activities were to take place. It was a chance to just hang out, loosen up, and for Balto and Kyle, to get physically ready for the race.
Due to the physically demanding nature of racing, driver fitness is a high priority. But it wasn't as big an issue in 1989 as it is today. Balto found out how beneficial fitness was to his racing after finding himself fatigued after 45 minutes of racing early in his GTP career. After emerging from the car sweating profusely after a stint late in the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring, Balto passed out from exhaustion and dehydration and was hustled off on a stretcher. After this experience, he was determined to avoid having this happen to him again. After consulting with two doctors at the hospital where he was treated, Balto put together and started an exercise program to help him meet the rigorous demands of sports car endurance racing. Boris also used it to get in shape for motocross racing, as it is also a physically demanding sport. And Jenna got into it at least so she and Balto would have something they could enjoy doing together both at and away from the racetrack.
Eventually, the start of the race drew near. Balto would be the starting driver in his Porsche 962. Last minute preparations for the car were being made on the grid in the waning minutes before the cars would roll off on their warm up laps. Speaking of warm up, it should come as no surprise that Balto was fastest in the morning race warm up. In the minutes before the command to start the engines was given, Stan was giving last minute advice advice to both Balto and Kyle. Jenna was on the grid with Balto as well.
"You gonna go get a seat somewhere?" Balto asked.
"Actually, I already have a seat," Jenna replied. "Stan graciously offered me a seat on top of the team's pit box. I finally get to watch a race from where you're at!"
"Really? Well, how about that!" said Balto in a noticeably delighted tone.
"Yeah!" Jenna added, laughing a little.
The two leaned in and exchanged a kiss before Balto put his helmet on, which he was carrying in his right paw.
"Good luck, baby," said Jenna with a grin on her face.
Balto smiled back, managing to slip in a "thank you".
After the playing of the national anthem, the drivers climbed into their cars and soon afterward, the command to fire up the engines was given.
"Gentlemen, start your engines!" the grand marshall called out over the loud speaker. The whole grid roared to life. A minute or so later, they rolled off of pit road and onto the track.
Starting alongside the Balto Wolf/Kyle Fox Porsche 962 was the Busby Racing 962 of Bob Wollek and John Andretti. Behind them were the two factory Nissans (#83 & #84) from Electromotive Engineering. Rounding out the top five was the #60 Castrol Jaguar in the hands of Jan Lammers and Price Cobb.
After a few warm up laps, the pace car pulled into the pits. The green flag waved and the race was on. Balto surged into an immediate lead, followed by the Bob Wollek/John Andretti Porsche, the two factory Nissans and the Jan Lammers/Price Cobb Jaguar. By the end of the first lap, which passed without incident, Balto held a lead of about half a second over his Le Mans seatmate Bob Wollek.
Eventually, the leaders began to catch and lap the slower GTP Lights cars. This is where things could get hairy. Yet, it's all part of the reality of multi-class racing. Drivers of cars in the faster classes have to be careful when trying to pass cars in slower classes. And drivers competing in slower-class cars need to be aware of faster-class cars attempting to lap them (or possibly pass for position if the faster car has fallen behind.)
For the most part, Balto kept his cool in traffic, despite being forced wide by a backamarker at one corner, sliding the car to the point of almost spinning and losing the lead to Geoff Brabham in one of the Nissans. Fortunately, he got it back the next lap. The first round of pit stops passed without trouble, although an on-track incident shortly afterward brought out a full course caution. A car had stuffed itself into a tire barrier and was in a potentially dangerous position. The pace car was sent out to sort out the surviving cars. Because pit stops for the top GTP class and most of the Lights cars had already just taken place, pit road activity was rather sparse.
After seven laps behind the pace car while the car was being moved off the track, the race went back to green.
Balto Wolf and Jan Lammers were now locked in a fierce battle for the overall lead, both trading fastest race laps tenth for tenth. Even in traffic, they kept the battle going. But it wouldn't last much longer. Under braking at the end of the backstraight, a Mazda rotary engine-powered Kudzu Lights car locked its brakes after it hit an oil slick dropped by a blown engine. It slid, hit the the back of Lammers's Jaguar, which in turn clouted the back of Wolf's Porsche. The car spun around and backed into the tire barrier with a fairly hard impact.
"What the...?!" Balto exclaimed, stopping in mid sentence at a momentary loss for words.
"That's TWICE today I've gotten dumped because of backmarkers!" he exclaimed as he pounded the steering wheel in anger and/or frustration "Or was I?" he thought. All he could see was Jan's Jaguar. He couldn't see the green Kudzu.
"Are you alright, Balto?" Stan asked over the radio.
"I think so," Balto replied. "Somebody just drilled me hard!"
The track announcer called out the accident description with a fair amount of energy and conviction, although not quite as much as Balto just did expression how furious he was over the accident.
"Hold on, they're showing a replay," added Stan as the accident was shown again over a television monitor in the Fox/Ridgemount Racing pits. Kyle leaned in to watch as well.
"According to replay, Jan was hit from behind by a Lights car. I can't quite tell who it was yet," said Stan.
"He got pushed into me?" Balto asked. "Now I know that's twice I've been screwed by slower traffic!"
"Calm down now, Balto. Can you drive the car back to the pits?" Stan asked his driver.
"I think so," Balto replied.
Somehow, Balto kept the engine running and was able to drive away. Lammers and the Kudzu, however, were out on the spot having. Jan had suffered terminal rear suspension damage, the Kudzu had terminal front suspension damage. Both cars were out of the race. Another full course caution was thrown, sending the pace car out for the second time that afternoon.
The hit from behind had punctured the left rear tire on Balto's Prosche and damaged the shock absorber. He could only drive slowly back to the pits to keep the tire from tearing up the rear bodywork. He also had to be careful not to damage the left rear suspension too much. If the suspension was damaged badly enough from either the hit from the behind, the flat tire, or both, it would be game over.
Balto did manage to make it back to the pits without causing too much damage. As a precautionary measure, the left rear suspension and brake rotor/caliper assembly were checked for damage. Neither sustained any damage. The rear bodywork was checked over. It, however, needed to be replaced, as would the left rear shock absorber. Because the race cars would travel at a greatly reduced speed behind the pace car, a lap behind it would take much longer than it would under green flag conditions. The Fox/Ridgemount Racing pit crew used this to the maximum advantage that they could get.
Kyle Fox stepped into the car to start his stint behind the wheel after Balto climbed out of the slightly mangled Porsche 962. He was due to take over for the remainder of the race.
"Are you okay?" Jenna asked Balto after he sat down on the pit wall.
Balto was still fuming from the accident. His face was still red from rage. The crash would more than likely cost him any chance of going two-for-two on street circuits this season.
"I will be if those other two cars can't continue," he responded.
Just then, he looked up and saw Jan Lammers walking towards the Jaguar pits. He figured that if anybody knew who pushed the Dutchman into his own car, and then into the tire barriers, it was him.
"Jan!" Balto called out as he stood up and walked toward Lammers.
"Yeah? What do you want?" Jan asked, sounding disgusted.
"What car was it that hit you?" Balto asked.
"It was a Kudzu," Jan responded. "I don't know who was driving it at the time. I'm gonna go see who it was."
Jan continued walking to his team's pit, where he checked with his team's boss to find out who had rear-ended him and caused the crash. Balto followed, hoping to find out as well.
Howard Katz was at the wheel of the #63 Mazda Kudzu when the accident happened. After Jan found out who, he then told about Balto who the culprit was.
"It was the #63 Jim Downing/Howard Katz Mazda-Kudzu that knocked me into you," Jan explained to Balto having found out who caused the accident.
"Really? You mean we both got taken out of contention for the race win by a LIGHTS car!" Balto exclaimed, raising his voice.
"That's what it looks like," Jan put in. "My car is done for, by the way. The hit I took terminally damaged the rear suspension and may have done damage to the gearbox attenuator."
Balto and Jan both were uninjured, thankfully. Neither, however, were pleased with what happened. Yet they didn't know about the dropped oil in the braking area at the end of the backstraight. The next stop for both of them was the Kudzu's pits. They both demanded to know exactly what happened. Balto stormed toward the Downing pits with Jan following him, pleading with him not to do anything irrational. He may have been just as mad as Balto was, but he clearly hoped the situation wouldn't get too out of hand.
En route to the Downing Atlanta pits, Balto passed his own team's pits. Jenna saw her boyfriend walk by with an angry look on his face and became worried. Even more so when she heard Jan's pleas. Boris had also heard about the accident, and was also concerned.
"Balto?" Jenna called out. "What are you doing?"
Balto didn't hear Jenna's question.
"What's going on, buddy?" Boris asked, having to elevate his voice in hopes that Balto would hear him. Drowned out by the engine of the Fox/Ridgemount 962 as it pulled away from its pit stall, it went unheeded. Concerned, Jenna and Boris took off after Balto and Jan as they headed toward the Downing Atlanta pit area. Not finding the car there, they headed for the garage area.
Eventually, Balto arrived at the Downing Atlanta garage, where the damaged Mazda Kudzu was being worked on. He spotted Howard Katz talking with his co-driver and team boss, Jim Downing, about the accident. By now, Jenna and Boris had caught up with him and Jan. But by then, Balto was already on his way in to the garage.
"Balto," said Jenna, pleading with him. "Balto, don't!"
Jan followed him into the garage. When Balto reached where Jim and Howard were standing, he shoved Downing aside and lunged aggressively at Katz.
"Hey! Hey, hey, HEY!" Katz called out for help as Balto had him around the throat with his paws.
"Don't you know how to use the brakes, you wanker!" Balto yelled right in Howard's face.
"Hey, guys, someone get this loser off me," Howard said in a very sarcastic and demeaning tone. Balto drove the sole of his right shoe's heel area hard into Katz's toes, causing him to scream in pain.
A few more verbal exchanges were made between the two combatants before Jan Lammers reached the scene and joined in the scuffle, trying to separate Balto and Howard. Jim Downing stepped in and finally kept the two from trading further blows.
"What is the matter with you?!" Howard yelled, demanding an explanation.
"You screwed my race, you son of a bitch!" Balto exclaimed as he lunged at Howard even more aggressively than on his first attempt.
"You screwed my race, too!" Jan added, pointing at Howard. He, however, did not lash out as Balto had. But it was hard not to get caught up in the moment, which explains why he started yelling at Katz.
Back in the Fox/Ridgemount pits, Stan Ridgemount noticed the melee happening in the Downing Atlanta garage on the TV monitor on top of the pit box where he was sitting. Immediately, he got off the pit box and ran toward the garage complex, where there were already television cameras trying to capture the drama taking place. Reinhold Joest followed as well, as did the entire Fox/Ridgemount pit crew. By now, the incident was on the brink of erupting into a full-scale brawl between the two teams. Even some members from Jan's Castrol Jaguar team went in to rescue their driver. This incident reminded the TV commentators of a similar garage brawl involving Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna at the 1987 F1 Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorshamps circuit. That scuffle was initiated by an on-track tangle between Mansell's Williams-Honda and Senna's Lotus-Honda as the Brit attempted a pass on the Brazilian in the Fagnes esses out in the countryside. Both cars made contact and spun off into the gravel trap. Senna was out on the spot, while Mansell continued only to retire soon afterwards. Later on, Nigel went to Lotus garage to have it out with Ayrton. At one point, he had the Lotus driver by the throat.
With his team intervening, Balto finally exited the garage after being "rescued" by his crew. By rescued, he was separated from his nemesis by his allies. He walked away from the garage, his face red from rage and hot tears of anger coming from his eyes. He couldn't believe the race had gotten away from him. He'd never lost the lead of a race due to interference from a backmarker before, so he didn't know how to handle it. He went to his own team's garage to cool off and hopefully forget about what had just happened.
Back on the track, Kyle Fox was fighting hard to get back on the lead lap. Speedy-dry had been put down on the track to help clear up the oil. Once the mess was cleared up, the racing resumed. By this point, both Nissans were out of contention, as was the #60 Castrol Jaguar. Only the #61 Castrol Jaguar and the #16 Dyson Racing Porsche 962 were in a position to challenge the #67 Busby Porsche, now with John Andretti at the wheel. Before the next round of pit stops, the yellow flag came out due to a spin and stall in turn 1. Fox had managed to stay ahead of Andretti before the caution came out. As a result, he got back on the tail end of the line of cars. He had a ways to go to get back to the front, but at least he still had a shot.
The green flag came back out and Kyle Fox began charging toward the front. Despite having to thread his way through the traffic, he was up with the leaders within 15 laps of the restart, as he used available overtaking opportunity that he could get. But as the saying goes; "Catching somebody is one thing. Passing them is another." And so it was, as Fox could no better than third, having passed the #61 Castrol Jaguar to make it an all Porsche podium.
Balto felt a little relieved when he heard the news about his car taking another top 5 on a street circuit. His perfect top 5 record on such tracks remained intact. But he was still disappointed because he really felt like he could've won the race. And it showed all over his face.
He spent the remainder of the race in the garage, sitting in a chair, drinking some Gatorade. Jenna and Boris stayed with him, trying to make him feel better. For the most part, their attempts only made Balto feel worse. The accident had knocked him down the points standings. He and Kyle were both doing so well in the drivers' championship. He still didn't know the full story behind the accident.
After the race ended, Reinhold and Stan entered the garage area to see if Balto had emotionally recovered from the accident. It was quickly apparent that he hadn't gotten over it in the time between the accident and the checkered flag being waved.
"You okay?" Stan asked his driver.
"A little better," Balto responded, still sounding depressed.
"I tell you, Balto," Stan continued. "If I had a dollar for every time I had a race ruined by backmarker interference, I'd have enough have retired from full-time racing a lot sooner than I did."
Stan was speaking from his own racing experience in the pre-GTP era IMSA GT Championship. In those days, he ran in the GTO class. Back then, there were four production-based classes: GTO, GTU, TO (Touring Over), and TU (Touring Under), as GTP prototypes would not come into existence until late 1981. The latter two classes were for touring cars. The engine displacement regulations were exactly the same as they were for the current season.
"This may be the first time it's happened to you, but it probably won't be the last time," continued Stan.
This fact holds true in all forms of circuit racing. The leader's race can easily be ruined or ended prematurely by a car running several laps down.
"You did great out there before the accident," Rhinehold put in. "I can definitely say it was a great call by Hans to recommend you for my team."
"So, you're not all put off by what happened between me and Howard in the garage?" Balto asked.
"Not really," Reinhold replied. "I know all too well about being in the heat of competition and sometimes not being able to control yourself. It's not always easy to do."
A long pause followed. As Balto was still fairly young as a racer (25), there were bound to be many new experiences along the way for him, both good and bad. In three years of GTP racing, what just happened was a new occurrence. What happened today was just another step up the learning curve.
"I've got another test for Le Mans coming up at Hockenheim early next month if you're interested," Rhinehold added. "We've still got a few kinks to work out. Those Sauber Mercedes creamed us in the World Sportscar Championship opener. We're gonna see if we can get more speed out of our cars before Le Mans comes around."
"Okay," said Balto. "I'll see if I don't have any conflicts here with Fox/Ridgemount. My next race with them isn't until Memorial Day Monday at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. But I have any sponsor appearances or have to be at the shop that day, I may have to miss the test session."
"Alright," Reinhold put in.
Stan checked his schedule for such things and found nothing on the day of the test.
"Actually, there's nothing major scheduled for that day, Balto," said Stan. "If you want to go to the test, you can."
"Alright then," added Balto. "I'll go."
The deal was quickly settled and everyone left the garage.
That evening, Balto, Boris, Jenna, and Kyle were sitting down at a table inside a West Palm Beach bar & grill. They were just talking right now, their meals hadn't arrived. Right now, the focus of the discussion seemed to be the race and Balto's upcoming test session with Joest Racing at Germany's Hockenheimring.
"I still can't believe you went in the Downing Atlanta garage and attacked Howard Katz like that," Jenna said in disbelief. She, like Boris, couldn't believe what she had witnessed. "What exactly were you thinking?"
"Do you really think I was gonna let him get away with screwing up my race?!" Balto asked with conviction. "NO! I wasn't!"
"Chill, man," Boris added. "No one here is saying you had to let him get away with what he did. But it wouldn't kill you to pick your battles a bit more carefully."
"Hey, I picked my battle and I'm sticking with it!" Balto interjected. "I'm not gonna just lay over like a puppy and let other people push me around."
"No one's telling you not to let other people bully you," Kyle said, finally deciding to add his two-sense. "Still, you can't do that every time this happens."
Balto reluctantly had to agree with what his co-driver had just said. By now, he had found out about the oil slick that the Mazda Kudzu had hit.
"So, when is the Hockenheim test, again?" asked Kyle.
"Early next month," Balto replied.
"And Mr. Joest expected you to just agree to do the test like that?" asked Jenna, trying to do a finger snap with her left front paw.
"Hey, I agreed to do the test, Jenna," Balto responded. "There was no pressure on me."
"Yet you still agreed to do it," Jenna added. "You know, you don't have to jump at the invitation every time you're asked to a test session, Balto."
"This isn't just another test session, Jenna," Balto countered. "This is in preparation for Le Mans."
"I know, Balto," Jenna put in.
The tone of the conversation led Balto to suspect one of two things: Either Jenna was becoming resentful and feeling that she was taking a back seat to his racing, or that she was still concerned for his safety after his crash last year. He was nowhere near certain what the cause was. But he knew that if he didn't figure it out, things might go sour between them. Kyle and Boris had gotten up to give them some privacy.
"What's wrong?" asked Balto.
"Balto, you've seem to become a complete slave to your racing lately," said Jenna, who by now was sounding a little more laid back.
"It's called dedication, Jenna," Balto countered. "Besides, this is Le Mans, and I can't take it lightly."
"I'm not telling you to," said Jenna. "I just wish you weren't so hard on yourself."
"Why can't I be?" Balto asked.
Jenna struggled to find the words to say before she spoke again.
"I just can't stand seeing you like that," she finally said.
"Really?" Balto asked.
"Yes," Jenna replied, trying to be as understanding as possible. "When you're stressed out like that, you're like a completely different person. I don't like it when you're that way."
"Me neither," Balto put in. He sighed before speaking again. "You know what? You know how you've got that vacation period from work coming up after I get back from Hockenheim? Well, it's your turn to pick where we go this time."
"I know," said Jenna. "You coming?"
"Of course!" Balto replied. "Why wouldn't I?"
Hearing that the private talk was over, Kyle and Boris eventually returned to the table.
"You guys alright?" Boris asked.
"Yeah," Balto answered. "We're okay."
The foursome then picked up the menus they had been given and looked for something to eat.
Chapter 3: Shakedown Run @ Hockenheim
In no time at all, the Hockenheim test session had arrived. Balto had to wake up in the red eye hours to catch a flight to Cologne International Airport in Germany. He spent the night in the team's motorhome at the track. By mid-morning on the day of the test, Balto was already putting the Joest Racing 962C through its paces on this extremely fast German autodrome.
"How's the car feeling, Balto?" Reinhold Joest asked over the radio.
Because of the extremely fast layout of the full Hockenheimring, low downforce was used to maximize straight-line speed down the straights. This meant care needed to be exercised when negotiating the corners, particularly through the tight, stadium section at the end of the lap.
"I'm all over the place here!" Balto exclaimed as the back end stepped out as he exited one of the chicanes on the long straights through the surrounding pine forest.
"When the rear end's loose, car's fast," Reinhold responded to his driver's desperate attempt to hang on. "Loose is fast and on the edge you're out of control."
Balto ran five more laps after that radio conversation before bringing the car into the pits. For the next hour and a half, while the car was being looked over and worked on, Rhinehold and Balto went up to the grandstands along the start/finish straight for a one-on-one pep talk.
"Now, Balto, there is something else," said Reinhold as he put down a plastic sport-cap type water bottle. "Tires are what a wins a race. If you can't keep the tires up under the car, you're not gonna go very fast for very long. Even on the hard compound tires, you're still burning them up rather quickly. You can't do that and expect to do well come Le Mans."
Hard compound tires don't have the grip of soft compound tires, but they are far more durable and last longer. Conversely, soft tires grip better than hard tires, but don't last as long. Hard tires are best used in hot weather, whereas soft tires are better suited to cooler conditions.
"You just wanna change the way I drive, don't you," said Balto, albeit not exactly in the form of a question.
"Well, maybe," Reinhold answered. "Either that, or we have to find a way so you can run your usual pace without melting the tires."
"I don't know," Balto put in, sounding a little uneasy. He then asked, "How are we gonna pull that off?"
"I'll tell you what," Reinhold replied. "You run a full fuel stint however you like. Then run that same distance the way I'd like you to. Give me an honest run, and if you do I might even beat you."
This sounded a little daunting for Balto. But he knew he had to do it. The good of his team depended on it.
After work on the car was completed, Balto got back in and began his first of two full fuel runs. After completing a warmup lap, the first run began.
The full Hockenheimring as of 1989 was a bit of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type of circuit. It had two very different characters. Around the stadium complex the corners were slow and tight. But most of the circuit was a series of long, high-speed straights punctuated by chicanes.
A lap of the Hockenheimring circa 1989 began with the run from the start/finish line to the Nordkurve ("North Curve" in German). This corner could be taken at about 110 mph when approached from a flying lap. Following that was first 200+mph blast into the pine forests. It ended with the first of three chicanes positioned out in the flat out forest section. It was called the Clark Kurve, after the late Jimmy Clark, who was killed in a crash at that point in a minor league Formula 2 race on April 7, 1968. During the first of two heats, the Scot's Lotus 49 slid off the rain-soaked track and crashed into the trees. There were no guardrails back then. Clark was 32 years old.
Following the Clark Kurve was another 200+mph blast down to the Ostkurve (German for "East Curve"). This used to be a fast right hander, but after Frenchman Patrick Depailler was killed there during practice for the 1980 German Grand Prix (his Alfa Romeo suffered a major mechanical failure), a chicane was put in to slow cars down. The tricky part about the Ostkurve is that the road slopes away in mid-corner, which can make the going tricky.
Another long straightaway followed, ending at the third and final chicane of the lap. Unlike the first two chicanes, which went right-left-right, this one went left-right-left. Afterwards was the run to the stadium section, so named because of the massive, permanent, stadium-style grandstands. The first corner of the stadium section was the right-handed Agip Kurve. Following a short straight was the left-handed hairpin known as the Sachskurve. A pair of minor kinks - one left, one right - followed. The lap ended with the right-handed, double-apex Opel Kurve, named after the German car manufacturer Opel.
Once Balto finished his first full fuel run, he pulled into the pits for refueling and a set of four fresh tires. Reinhold opened the cockpit door and leaned in to have a talk with his driver.
"Alright, now we're gonna do this fuel run my way," he yelled, as he had to raise his voice so Balto could hear him over all the noise around them. "Now, when you're racing these cars back in the States, you don't have the fuel consumption limits, so you don't have to save the tires as much. Now here, you do have the fuel restrictions, which means you have to save fuel early on in the race, so you can't afford to be quite as hard on the tires. With a full fuel load, the car is at its heaviest. That puts more wear into the tires. When you run the car too hard on a full tank of fuel, or at any other time, you wear the tires out faster. When they wear out, they overheat, they get greasy, you slip, you slide, and you're out of control. Try not to run the car so hard this time!"
Balto nodded as Reinhold shut the door. The car was lowered from the jacks and went straight back out onto the track.
Later that day, after Balto had finished his second full fuel run, the cars were being worked on again and any data gathered was being analyzed. All of Joest's drivers for Le Mans were at the test, so Balto's seat mates, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bob Wollek, were definitely there. Reinhold Joest called them over to show them something. In front of him were two tires used by Balto during the two runs he made earlier. One was from his first run and looked severely worn, as its cords were showing and it was really chewed up. The other tire was from his second run and was in much better shape, as no cords were showing.
"Look," said Reinhold as he patted each tire. "His way. My way. His was four seconds a lap faster at first."
"Whoa, really?" asked Bob, sounding very surprised.
"That much faster," Reinhold answered back.
"It's that GTP mentality, probably," said Hans adding his two sense. "I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with the way his first run went."
Behind them, the cars were being loaded up in the hauler. It was almost sunset. Balto's view on the test was that it had been very productive, as had the Le Mans test. All that lay ahead of him was some well-earned time off before the Memorial Day Weekend race at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. The only IMSA GT Championship race weekend between the Hockenheim test and Lime Rock was a GT-only race at Summit Point Raceway.
The next day, Balto caught a flight out of Cologne back to the States. Later that day, his plane touched down at San Francisco International Airport. Jenna was there waiting for him. She was carrying one of those signs with a name on it to indicate who exactly she was waiting for. Her patience was eventually rewarded, as Balto came into her view within 20 minutes of his plane pulling into the gate.
"Welcome home," said Jenna as she hugged Balto. He had to put his luggage down in order to hug her back, which he did.
"I missed you, Jenna," Balto said as he still held her in his paws.
"Me too, Balto," Jenna added. "Me too."
She pulled him in and kissed him long and hard. Balto returned Jenna's kiss as if he hadn't done so in a very long time. He missed her that much.
"How'd the test go?" asked Jenna.
"It went well," Balto replied. "I really think they'll get some more speed from their cars come Le Mans. At least I hope so."
Balto was being optimistic about his chances about a Le Mans victory. But he was also trying to be realistic about those chances. Joest Racing was now Porsche's best hope for a Le Mans victory, since there would be no works (aka factory) team running this year. All the hopes of Zuffenhausen lay on that team's shoulders.
"So, where do wanna go for vacation?" Balto asked.
"Well," Jenna replied, "at first I thought about Key West. But since you're last race was in Florida, I wasn't sure if you wanted to go back, seeing has how it would be your fourth trip there already this year."
"At least it would be someplace different, even if it's in the same state," Balto added.
"True," Jenna concurred.
The decision to possibly not go back to Florida was made on the grounds that four of Balto's first five races (Daytona, Miami, Sebring, and West Palm Beach) of that season were run there. The only non-Florida race so far was the prototype-only Nissan Grand Prix of Atlanta, held at the Road Atlanta circuit near Braselton, Georgia. That meant that all five IMSA GT Championship run so far that season took place in the Southeast.
Fortunately, they had about a week before it began to decide on a destination.
Chapter 4: Well-needed R&R
Jenna eventually chose Hawaii as the vacation spot for Balto and herself, and he liked the sound of it. It wasn't anywhere near a place where he had already been for a race this year. They flew out there, again via San Francisco International Airport, to Honolulu, where they would be staying for the duration of their vacation. Their room had a spectacular view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As soon as they got up to their room and saw the view from the balcony, Jenna dropped her suitcase, stunned by what the view, and went outside to take it in. Balto put his own suitcase (both each bought their own suitcase) and followed her out to the railing.
"Whoa," said Balto as he set foot on the balcony. "This is incredible!"
"I know," put in Jenna. Between the two, she was the most amazed. "Oh, it's so beautiful."
"Yeah," added Balto in a deep, romantic tone of voice. "Beautiful."
Somehow, Balto managed to keep one eye on the ocean view in front of him and the other eye on Jenna. For the next few minutes, the two of them just stood at the edge of the railing, enjoying the view. Afterwards, they went inside and unpacked.
Just because Balto was on vacation from racing for right now, that didn't mean his fitness was on vacation as well. That evening after dinner, he and Jenna went for a run along the beach front. After a cool down and stretching, they stayed where they were, facing the ocean, taking in the sunset. Every day on their trip, they managed to get in some kind of workout so Balto's fitness level wouldn't drop off too much. The rest of the vacation contained sightseeing (including aerial volcano tours on the big island), surfing (after taking lessons, since neither of them were very good at it), off-roading, eating out at a local restaurant that they both really enjoyed even on their first visit for dinner on they day of their arrival, even boating and a picnic on the beach. But on the day they were planning on the latter of the five, a sudden downpour began shortly after Balto went outside to check the weather. The weather reports did mention a chance of rain, but neither Balto nor Jenna expected it to come when it did. Balto came back in soaking wet.
"Boy, that rain got you good," said Jenna.
"Yeah, it did, alright," put in Balto, who wasn't too thrilled about what had just happened.
"So now what do we do?" Jenna asked, sounding downbeat.
"Well," Balto replied. "We either wait out the rain or we eat in."
After waiting for about an hour, they were finally able to go outside as the rain had let up. But with the sand being so wet, the use of a beach towel was highly advised. Which they did.
For that evening's boat ride, they managed to rent a sailboat. The ride itself wasn't adversely affected by the weather, thankfully. There were no signs of any rain clouds. Just a clear, starry nighttime sky.
"Wow, look at all those stars," said Balto. "When do we get a view like this back home?"
"Not too often," said Jenna. The last time either of them could remember seeing a view like the one presented to them that night was while growing up back home in Nome, Alaska. "Oh, it is so beautiful, isn't it, Balto?"
"Yeah," Balto added. "It sure is, Jenna."
The only thing putting a damper on the boat ride was the wind. The air temperature was a little bit cooler than what Balto and Jenna had expected it to be. Compounding the problem even further was the fact that they only had swimsuits on. Balto at least had a wind jacket with him, which he eventually put on. All that Jenna had with her to keep out the cold was a fairly thin, pink sweater, which she didn't have on at the time. Jenna often referred to it as her "swept away sweater" because she was wearing it when she and Balto had their first kiss. She had often described that kiss as "the most magical moment of my life," and every time she wore it, she felt "swept away" by the memory, hence why she called it her "swept away sweater."
After shivering briefly, Jenna got up and went to look for her sweater. She had to open a storage compartment to get that sweater because it wasn't right there with her. It had dropped a little bit more largely due to the lack of cloud cover to hold in heat. Eventually, however, Jenna found the sweater, put it on, and sat down next to Balto.
"You okay now?" asked Balto.
"I'm fine now," Jenna replied. She then leaned over and rested her head on Balto's right shoulder. "I'm so glad you could come here with me."
"Me too," added Balto.
Jenna then lifted her head off of Balto's shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. The longing to relive the best moment of her life tugged at her, proving impossible to resist. They then leaned in, closed their eyes, and shared a soft, brief kiss. Even though it only lasted for about ten seconds, their pulses were left racing from the exhilaration.
"I love you, Jenna," Balto whispered after he pulled his lips away from hers.
"I love you too, Balto," Jenna whispered back after she did likewise.
Almost immediately afterwards, they were at it again, putting their paws around each other in the process. It was still a soft kiss, but this time, it was anything but brief. And it was a far more passionate one than the one before it. Everything around them seemed to just disappear into the surrounding darkness. You could probably even shoot off a flare gun right next to them and they wouldn't even have noticed. Unfortunately, in the midst of the moment that the two were caught up in, they both started leaning backwards and nearly took a half-gainer off the side of the boat into the drink.
"Whoa," Balto exclaimed as he noticed that he and Jenna were about to fall off the boat. Fortunately, he managed to grab hold of one of the ropes that controlled the sail with his left paw. Even more amazing was that he did so while he was still holding Jenna with his right paw.
"Whew," said Balto as he breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close."
"It sure 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 thing about this race was that it was to be run on Memorial Day Monday. Because of an agreement with nearby residents who were concerned about noise levels back in 1957 when the track was built, there is no on-track activity at Lime Rock Park on Sundays. There's also a nearby church visible from turns 1, 2, and 3, and so they honor the Sabbath at the track. Because of that, even the racers have to keep their engines quiet if there's a Saturday wedding going on at that church. Most such events are held in the morning, so that track activities can take place in the afternoon.
The race distance was scheduled for 150 laps around the 7 turn, 1.54 mile track. With turn 2 being the only left-hander on the whole track, the circuit was often compared to driving on a right-hand oval. GTP cars could easily lap this track in less than 50 seconds, so if the race went green flag all the way through, the race would take about two hours at the least to complete.
A lap of Lime Rock Park began with the start/finish straight, which was also the track's longest straight. It ended at Big Bend, a long, sweeping right-hander. Almost immediately following it was turn 2, part of the Esses. Turn 3 marked the exit of the Esses and the start of the No Name Straight. This straight isn't exactly straight, as are some minor kinks along its length, but none of them require slowing down, even at the amazing speeds that GTP cars were capable of attaining. At the end of No Name Straight was Climbing Turn, so named because the cars gained elevation as they went through it. Immediately following climbing turn was the optional chicane that had been installed to keep cars from getting airborne as they went over the crest of the hill. Last year, John Morton got airborne in his Nissan and backflipped at this point on the track. He was nearly killed in the crash.
Balto happened to be the first car behind John at the time of the accident, so he saw everything first hand. He remembered immediately getting on the radio to his crew, screaming "One of the Nissans just flipped right in front of me!" It did spook him a little bit, but not enough to make him stop racing. It could just as easily have been him involved in that horrifying accident. He did, however, have this to say about it: "I don't think I've ever seen a more violent accident in my time as a professional racer."
Boat racers call such an event a "blowover," an apt description of what happens when an earth-bound object loses its grip on terra (or aqua) firma and acts like an airplane. This is not a new phenomenon in racing. Just ask Paul Hawkins and Hugh Dibley, who first proved it by launching their Lolas in the first ever practice session for the original SCCA Unlimited Canadian-American (Can-Am) Challenge Series at St. Jovite in Quebec in 1966. Denny Hulme proved it by looping his McLaren M20 in the 1972 Can-Am race at Road Atlanta. Five years earlier, again at St. Jovite, Brian Redman and Elliot Forbes-Robinson each performed similar feats in their Lola T33CS Can-Am cars. The late Stefan Bellof had a similar event happen to him at Germany's Nurburgring circuit, as did Jochim Winkelhock. All of them survived these respective accidents, although Bellof would be killed in a crash during the 1985 Spa 1000km race in Belgium at the wheel of the Porsche 962's predecessor, the Porsche 956.
Following the chicane was a medium-length straight down to West Bend, which got its name being the westernmost point on the track. A downhill run under a bridge came next, followed by Diving Turn. This is the seventh and final turn of the lap, as it led onto the main straight.
Balto usually excelled at Lime Rock, his worst finish being sixth in his first visit here in a GTP car. Last year, he placed third after having to start from the back of the pack in a backup car after wrecking his primary car at West Bend. He came with the intent of improving on that.
On Saturday morning, the racers would end up having to keep their engines quiet, as there was indeed a wedding taking place at the nearby church. Later, Balto had found out that the newlyweds were both fans of his from nearby Lakeville, the closest town to Lime Rock Park. They had witnessed his incredible drive from the back to finish third here last year and were astounded at the achievement. Although he couldn't make it to their reception, Balto did sign a few Fox/Ridgemount Racing merchandise items that they had sent him. Among them was a 1/18th scale die-cast car, a poster, and an assortment of apparel. Kyle also took the liberty of signing them as well. Once the signings were done, the items were sent back along with best wishes from both drivers for the new couple.
Back on the track, qualifying witnessed a fierce fight for the pole in the top GTP class. Between Balto Wolf and Kyle Fox, it was Kyle who set the fastest time in their Porsche 962, which put them third on the grid behind the two Electromotive Engineering Nissans. Less than four tenths of a second separated first from third. Race day dawned with clear skies and warm weather. It was the day after the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Memorial Day race weekend is not the only Lime Rock racing weekend to be run on a Monday. A vintage racing weekend featuring older cars held on Labor Day Weekend carries over into Labor Day Monday.
After the pre-race ceremonies concluded and the command to start engines was given, the cars rolled off on their warmup lap. Kyle Fox was scheduled to be the first driver in the #35 Porsche 962 that he and Balto shared, with Balto taking over for the remainder of the race on the team's sole scheduled pit stop.
Once the green flag dropped and the race started, Kyle was able to keep the two works Nissans in his sights, but he still couldn't quite match them on pace. This was largely due to the fact that he still faced pressure from behind, primarily from the works Jaguars. The gap did, inevitably, close up once the leaders began to encounter the slower GTP Lights prototypes. Once the tires began to wear off, Kyle was able to mount a charge for the lead, as he started lapping quicker than the two Nissans. Kyle wasn't being quite as hard on his tires, so they were in better shape toward the end of the run.
Kyle brought his Porsche in after the two Nissans made their pit stops. Balto started getting ready to hop in about three laps before Kyle came in.
"Good luck, Balto," said Jenna just before he got ready to put his helmet on.
"Thanks, Jenna," Balto said in reply.
Even though Kyle would be heading in shortly, Balto and Jenna still managed to sneak in a kiss. Jenna then gave Balto a "go get 'em" pat on the helmet after he put it on.
As soon as Kyle brought their 962 into the pits, Kyle began unbuckling his belts and eventually climbed out once he brought the car to a complete stop. Kyle's first task was to help Balto get into the seat, which he accomplished without problems. The refueling and tire changing processes went without fault as well. Still, just as Balto accelerated out of the pit lane onto the racetrack, both Nissans just barely beat him to it. At least now he was in position to pounce. It got even better when a full course caution came out soon afterward for debris on the track, as one of the Lights cars had shed its rear wing right in the middle of the start/finish straight. After the wing was cleared away, the race went back to green.
"Keep the pressure on them, Balto," Stan called into the microphone on his radio headset.
For the first few laps after the restart, Balto concentrated on not making a mistake and getting the tires up to working temperature. Once he did, he started to make a run for the lead. After relentlessly harrying the #84 Nissan, in the hands of Chip Robinson, Balto managed to execute a successful overtaking maneuver on Chip under braking for Climbing Turn that led into the Turn 5 chicane. It's not an easy place to pass, but it is possible to pass there.
"And Balto Wolf has just moved into the #2 spot, right behind Geoff Brabham," the track announcer called over the PA system.
"I'm right behind the leader," Balto radioed to his pits.
"Good work, Balto," Stan answered back.
Balto had a little bit harder time getting past Brabham. For several laps, he stalked the Nissan, looking for a chance to make a pass. His best chance was going to be under braking for Big Bend at the end of the start/finish straight. Finally, as they went to start lap 142, Balto got a good run coming out of Diving Turn, which led onto the start/finish straight. He stayed in the slipstream just long enough for him to get a good tow coming down the main straight. He such a good run that he had to pull out early in order to avoid running into the back of Brabham. Geoff, however, wasn't gonna easily surrender the lead. As Balto cut to inside of the track going down the main straight, Geoff moved over in an attempt to block him. Balto countered by going even further down the inside, close to the pit wall. Although he was in an ideal position to make a successful overtaking move, he wasn't quite in an ideal position to get a good line going through Big Bend. But that didn't matter to him. As Balto and Geoff approached Big Bend, Balto almost got pushed onto the grass. He tried to move the car to the left, but Brabham was still there. The Porsche's left front clipped the Nissan's right rear, pitching Brabhan into a spin. With neither one of them willing to give an inch, contact and a spin were inevitable.
"Oh, we've got trouble at Big Bend as Geoff Brabham is into a spin!" the track announcer called out. In the midst of that, Geoff pulled the car out of the spin, kept the car from stalling, and drove the grass to get back on the track.
"What a save!" the announcer called out. "Geoff pulls the car out of the spin. He ends up on the grass, but he keeps the car running and drives away. Great save by Geoff Brabham! And we have a new leader, Balto Wolf in the #35 Mobil 1 Porsche 962!"
Unbeknownst to Balto, Geoff's Nissan began dropping clods of dirt out from under it onto the track.
"We are under caution," the announcer called out afterwards, as Brabham continuing dropping clods of dirt even as he rounded West Bend. Balto was not too happy about that.
"What's the yellow for?" Balto asked.
"Apparently," replied Stan, "after you pulled off that pass on Brabham and he spun, when he got going again, he began dropping dirt on the circuit."
Balto shook his head in disgust.
"I just checked the fuel load, and with they way you drove out there trying to catch those Nissans, you've nearly run the car out of fuel," Stan added. "You should probably bring the car in."
"What for?" asked Balto. "It's almost over."
"You've been under green for 70 laps, everybody's gonna pit, Balto," Stan replied.
"Lights cars, too?" Balto asked again.
"Probably," Stan responded.
Reluctantly, Balto pulled into the pits, as did everybody else. The crew put in only enough fuel to get him to the end of the race and back around to the pits on the cool down lap. They also went ahead and changed tires. There was no point in doing a driver change, being so late in the race. Unfortunately, the fuel men had trouble getting the fuel nozzle to disengage. Balto noticed and started frantically gesticulating for the crew to pull the fuel nozzle out. Both the Nissans were pitting behind the Fox/Ridgemount pits. When Balto saw them coming, he got more on edge.
"Dammit! Go, go, go!" he exclaimed, frantically signaling with his right arm. Eventually, the nozzle disengaged and he pulled out. But the Nissans beat him to the pit out. Balto wasn't the least bit pleased. He was still angry over the refueling issue in the run-up to the restart.
"I come in the pits, I'm in first place! I go out, I'm in third with only two laps to go!" he exclaimed.
"First of all, don't get too worked up, Balto," said Stan, trying to calm his driver down. "You've still got a shot at winning this thing."
While still behind the pace car, Balto went about weaving the car back and forth across the track in order to get some heat and, subsequently, some grip into the tires. This way, he wouldn't have to take it easy on the two remaining laps of racing.
At the end of lap 148, the pace car pulled into the pits and the two lap dash to the finish was on. Right away, Balto went on the attack. He attempted a pass on Chip Robinson right away at Big Bend. He could not attempt it earlier because no passing is allowed before crossing the start/finish line on the start and later restarts. The pass attempt, however, was thwarted. Balto's next chance for a successful pass came under braking for Climbing Turn. Chip again attempted a block, but Balto already had the left front corner of his car up the inside. They made contact, which got Robinson loose. He led on, but by now was forced to go down the escape road at the chicane, which was part of the track when the chicane wasn't used. Because the Nissan was already down to speed for the chicane, it did not take off and get airborne after cresting the hill. It did, however, lose about two or three positions in the process. Next, Balto set his sights on Geoff Brabham. He didn't have enough time to set up a move at West Bend. It would have to wait at least until Big Bend. As the passed under the flag stand at the start/finish line, the announcer called out, "There's the white flag. One lap to go."
"Last lap, Balto," Stan radioed to his driver.
Alas, Balto's attempt to overtake Geoff at Big Bend was unsuccessful, as Brabham had closed the door. Balto didn't even get alongside. Ditto at Climbing Turn, although he got really close. West Bend was his last chance.
"Alright, here goes," Balto thought to himself. "It's now or never."
Balto moved to the inside at the last possible second and jammed hard on the brakes. He rubbed fenders with Brabham, who got forced offline and onto the marbles - rolled up bits of rubber that come off the tires as they wear - on the outside of the right-hander. The Nissan wiggled and spun right into the middle of the track.
The closely bunched pack scattered in all directions, triggering a multiple collision that swept up a chunky portion of the remaining cars. Home free now, Balto raced downhill into Diving Turn and on toward the checkered flag.
"YES!" he exclaimed as he left fist shot up in the air. His pit crew cheered wildly as he took the flag. Balto then popped the driver's side door open, stuck his right paw out and waved to the crowd.
Behind him, the survivors were now making their way to the finish line. The first of them were still intact, while the stragglers were the ones who damaged but still drivable. Neither Nissan made it back. The podium was rounded out by the #67 Busby Porsche and the #60 Castrol Jaguar. The Electromotive Nissans still finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as there were only three other cars behind them on the lead lap at the time of the crash.
Balto wasn't even aware of the wreck until he got back around to West Bend on his cool down lap. But when he did get there, he couldn't believe what happened. When Balto looked in his mirrors after crossing the start/finish line, he didn't see anybody and wondered what happened. If he didn't know then, he knew now.
Having gotten caught up in the melee, Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson were both very angry. Just when victory and a Nissan 1-2 appeared to be in sight, they were robbed. And by a privateer team, no less. They were still at the accident site when Balto came through on his cool down lap. Because of all the debris on the track, Balto had to carefully pick his way through to avoid getting a punctured tire. In order to do that, he had to reduce his speed.
This would not turn out to be favorable for Balto. Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson walked out into the middle of the track and stood right in front of Balto's Porsche. And they looked really pissed off.
Tentatively, Balto popped the door open.
"Need a ride?" he asked.
Chip and Geoff approached the driver's side door. Once there, Geoff pulled the latch to unhook Balto's six-point safety harness while Chip grabbed Balto and threw him out of the car and onto the grass on the inside of the track.
"What are you guys doing?!" Balto asked, sounding surprised, angry, and confused all simultaneously.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Geoff yelled.
"You spun him out and collected me and half the field, you idiot!" Chip exclaimed.
"Oh, shut up, you morons!" Balto shot back. "You're both just mad 'cause you lost."
Brabham and Robinson were about to advance on Balto when a track marshal stepped in between the combatants.
"Hey, break it up, you three!" the marshal exclaimed. He then grabbed Geoff and Chip and pulled them away. They got onto the back of a pickup truck and got a ride back to the pit area that way. Balto eventually got back on his feet and climbed back into his car. He was grabbing his nose as he walked to his car. When he got thrown out of his 962, he scraped his nose when he hit the pavement. It was still raw when he got up again. Eventually, he restarted the engine, put the car in gear, and drove back to the pits - and victory lane.
Balto was met with open arms by his crew when he pulled into victory lane. Kyle and Stan were the first two to greet him after he climbed out of the car. After he took off his helmet and balaclava, Jenna came running up to him and threw her front paws around him a mighty hug. She hadn't gotten the chance to do so in the winner's circle since the Grand Prix of Miami earlier in the year.
"You did it! You did it!" Jenna exclaimed as she hugged Balto. "What a brilliant move for the win!" She then pulled him in and kissed him, which he eagerly returned.
Jenna then noticed the scratch on Balto's nose and got worried quickly.
"What happened to your nose?" Jenna asked.
"Geoff and Chip cornered me when I came back to the accident scene on my cool down lap," Balto explained. "Geoff unhooked my belts before Chip pulled me out of the car and threw me onto the pavement."
"What did they do that for?" Jenna asked. She obviously wasn't too pleased.
"Well, the pass put Geoff out in the marbles and he spun," Balto explained. "From what I've heard, the pack scattered around it and half the remaining cars were swept up in the ensuing accident. Chip was one of those who was."
"That doesn't give them the right to do that!" Jenna protested.
"Yeah well, tell them that," Balto replied in a disgusted tone.
Just then, some Fox/Ridgemount crew members came over with Stan to their two drivers. The usual post-race interview with the winners was about to take place. ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch was scheduled to give the interview with Kyle and Balto.
"I'm down here in the winner's circle with Kyle Fox and Balto Wolf, the winners of today's race," said Jerry as he began the interview. "Guys, at first the Electromotive Nissans looked unstoppable. How did you manage to get back in the race?"
"Well, Stan informed me over the radio during my stint that we weren't falling off the pace as much as the Nissans were later in the first fuel run," Kyle said, answering Dr. Punch's question."Even so, I think third is as high we would have gotten if the pace car hadn't come into play with that first full course caution."
"Balto, throughout most of the weekend, you seemed to be quite a bit slower than Kyle," said Jerry, turning to the driver who took the winning car to the checkered flag. "Yet in the race, you were able to hunt down the Nissans after the restart and pass them. What brought about the sudden turn of speed?"
"Well, during practice and qualifying, I was never able to get up to speed with the setup that Kyle was using," Balto responded. "The car wasn't really to my liking initially. The only solution was to find some kind of balance between the two. I know it may have hampered Kyle early on during his stint, but it really helped when I got behind the wheel."
"Yes," Kyle added, "it was a bit of a struggle for me at first, but as my stint progressed, I got used to the compromised setup. That, plus the fact that our car wasn't being so hard on the tires, are why I was able to get on terms with the Nissans."
"Balto, talk us through that pass for the win. What was your mindset at the time, and how did you manage to pull off such a brilliant overtaking move?" Jerry asked.
"Yeah, I know it was a little desperate," Balto responded. "But it was the last lap and the last possible overtaking area under braking. I wasn't sure if getting the better run out of West Bend coming down through Diving Turn toward the finish line was gonna be good enough. If I hadn't gone for that move, I wouldn't be standing right here. Of course, the biggest downfall was getting this scratch on my nose." Balto showed Jerry what happened after his "hazing" by Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson.
"Is that from when Chip and Geoff threw you out of the car?" asked Dr. Punch.
"Yes, it is," Balto replied. "What, did the camera see that?"
"Actually, it did," Jerry answered.
"Well, they've got nothing to complain about after Geoff got me off in the dirt going through the Esses at Road Atlanta, costing me a shot at winning that race," Balto retorted. "And that one was much earlier in the race than the move I made today."
"Would what you just did be payback for that incident at Road Atlanta?" asked Jerry.
"I don't know for sure, maybe indirectly," Balto answered. "Some might see it that way, and I can respect that. But normally, I wouldn't have waited this long to get back at him. I just never had the opportunity to do so until today. I heard that they still finished on the lead lap and didn't lose a lot of ground, anyway, so they definitely have no business complaining. I'm tired of hearing that the only competitive teams in this series are the factory teams. If what we (Fox/Ridgemount), Dyson, and Busby have been able to achieve is any indication, privateers can be competitive."
The interview concluded with Balto and Kyle thanking the sponsors and the team, along with all others responsible, as is customary in a post-race interview. Once done, they rejoined the celebration, which went until long after the race broadcast has ended.
The mood was sky high in the Fox/Ridgemount Racing hauler and motor home that evening as they headed out of Lime Rock Park. Clearly, the joy and elation of the win were still fresh in their minds even hours after the checkered flag had been waved. Balto himself was hardly ever without a smile on his face for the trip that evening. Ditto for Kyle, Stan and the rest of the team.
But they wouldn't be heading back to the team's headquarters in Monterey, as the next race, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, near the town of Lexington, was just six days away. It wouldn't make much sense to head back to California only to have to turn around and head back out again.
Even Jenna seemed to be enjoying herself that night. Seeing Balto happy made her happy, too.
"So, how does it feel to win again?" she asked Balto.
"Great," he replied. "But the best part was that you were here with me."
"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," put in Jenna. With that, she smiled and gave Balto a peck on the lips. Balto then smiled back and gave Jenna a long kiss in return.
By now, Balto's nose had been bandaged up. It had stopped bleeding a while ago at least, but it was still sore, especially when he inhaled through it. But that didn't matter much to him right now, as things were really looking up for him. Eight days earlier, Balto's Le Mans team, Joest Racing, scored a victory in an FIA World Sportscar Championship race at Dijon-Prenois in France. Balto had called Rhinehold Joest to congratulate him on the victory. But he was left wondering if he would ever get such a call from him ever since he agreed to drive for Joest at Le Mans. He almost blew his chance to drive with the garage altercation at the West Palm Beach Grand Prix. Thankfully, Joest knew what Balto was going through then, as did Kyle and Stan.
"You sure did manage to sock it to 'em in that interview about how some don't think privateer teams can be competitive anymore," Jenna added.
"Well, if what I had to say," said Balto, "or what I did out there on that track proves anything, it's that we independent teams can cut it in this series."
The original vision for GTP enabled both factory and independent teams a fair shot at winning races. Privateer teams running chassis from Lola and March were the championship-winning teams in 1982 and 1983, the first two years of GTP, and in 1984. In 1984, when the Porsche 962 made its debut, it became the car to beat, winning the title from 1985 to 1987, although it in GTP it was run mostly by privateers, as Porsche AG, the factory team, competed in the World Sportscar Championship. But beginning with last year, the works Nissans from Electromotive Engineering became the cars to beat. And it was no different this year, even though they still faced stiff opposition from the likes of Jaguar, Porsche and Toyota.
On the GT side of the fence, the Audi 90s run by Audi of America were among the cars to beat thanks to their sophisticated all-wheel drive system. But they also faced stiff competition from the likes of Roush Racing's Cougar XR-7s and Cunningham Racing's Nissan 300ZXs. Audi missed the Daytona and Sebring races, and would eventually have two races in which neither of their two cars finished, which would eventually cost them the driver's title (for Hans-Joachim Stuck) and the manufacturer's title.
Chapter 6: Mid-Ohio Madness
After an overnight rest at a truck stop, the Fox/Ridgemount hauler and motor home arrived at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the next day. This race weekend would have both the prototypes and the GTs on the track, but not at the same time, as they did not race together at the shorter races. Only at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring did prototypes and GTs race simultaneously. The prototype race was set to be 500 kilometers in length around the 2.4 mile road course, while the distance for the GT race was set at 200 kilometers. In events with a set distance like this weekend's races, the first car to complete the scheduled race distance is the winner. The GT-only Mosport race at Mosport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, and the prototype-only Road America 500 at the Road America circuit near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, were two such examples on the IMSA calendar that year.
Track activities didn't begin until Thursday, which usually consisted of first-round practice.
Early Tuesday afternoon, Balto did get the congratulatory call from Rhinehold Joest on his Lime Rock win. Even seat mate Bob Wollek congratulated him, too. Also mentioned in that call was that Joest Racing was interested in forming a technical alliance with Fox/Ridgemount Racing, which really got Balto excited. The matter would be discussed between the two teams between the Mid-Ohio race and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following that call, Balto was hardly ever without a smile on his face whenever he was out of the race car. But once in the car, he was 100% focused on the task at hand, which was getting the maximum potential out of the Fox/Ridgemount Porsche 962.
A lap of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course began with a medium-length pit straight, followed by a medium-speed 90 degree left-hand sweeper. That led down a longer straightaway, which led into a right-left-right chicane, which was followed by a 180-degree hairpin right known as the Keyhole. After that came the long backstraight, including a slight kink at turn 5. It ended at the Esses, where passing can occur in the braking zone for. It is the best overtaking opportunity on the whole track.
One unusual feature about the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is that the start line is not in the same place as the finish line. For rolling starts, also known as Indianapolis starts, the start line is positioned at the kink at turn 5 in the interest of safety. For standing starts, the normal finish line is used as the starting line. All restarts take place at that line as well.
The entry to the Esses is downhill, after which the cars head right and uphill. After cresting the rise, the track turns left and goes back downhill before entering a 90-degree right-hander. After heading under a bridge, the track wound through an uphill left-right Ess. A short straight was next, followed by a downhill, 90-degree right-hander. Another short straightaway followed, after which the cars entered a quick right-left jog. This led into a long, 180-degree right known as the Carousel. A slight left followed, which led back onto the start/finish straight. The twisty back section offered virtually no serious place for passing, and the faster classes (GTP & GTO) had to be especially careful when lapping cars in the slower classes (GTP Lights & GTU) through here.
Balto's results in two previous starts in GTP produced less-than-stellar results. He had a spin in his first race here, which led to a backward impact with the tire barrier, resulting in a DNF. Last year, Balto and Kyle finished eleventh after battling handling problems that dogged them all weekend and never got fixed before the race. Part of the problem was the fact that the previously mentioned ground effects tunnels that run along the undertray and develop downforce were smaller on the Porsche 962 (as well as its predecessor, the 956) because they had to fit under the flat engine. On GTP cars that had V-engines, they tunnels were much larger, therefore being able to generate more downforce, resulting in more grip to aid a car's handling. That grip would come in really handy in the twisty second half of the course. The downside, however, was the higher center of gravity when compared to that of a flat engine. And before you can suggest running the tunnels over the engine, don't, because it just wouldn't work. The pressure exerted on the engine and gearbox (the latter being racer's slang for transmission) would likely cause serious damage to both drivetrain parts as well as other major components, including the suspension.
Throughout practice, Balto and Kyle were actually surprised by what they were able to achieve in terms of lap times. They were up in the top five overall, despite being at a disadvantage in terms of handling through the twisty back half of the track. This was achieved by having to go with a softer tire compound than normal. It was still a medium compound, which offered a balance between grip and durability. The hot weather throughout practice forced many teams to go with hard compound tires. But not Fox/Ridgemount. Their car was actually getting such good mileage out of its tires that they decided to risk using a softer tire than what most of the other teams were using. It would pay off in qualifying, as Balto put in a lap good enough to put his Porsche on the outside pole, meaning second place. On pole was the #83 Electromotive Nissan, which this time would be shared by Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson, unlike at Lime Rock where the two were split between the #83 and #84 cars. Both Kyle and Balto were surprised with the feat that they had pulled off. The only real question mark in their tire compound choice strategy was: Will the mediums be able to hold up in the race? The answer would come to them with the drop of the green flag.
Race day dawned with warm temperatures and clear skies. The temperature wasn't as warm as it had been during practice and qualifying. This would give a slight edge to the medium compound tires that Fox/Ridgemount Racing were using, as their tires would get up to temperature faster than the harder compound tires that their main opposition was using.
As they usually did on race weekends, Balto, Jenna, and Kyle met up for a run before the day's track activities began. Kyle got into the whole driver fitness deal after Balto informed him about the positive boost it gave his on-track performance. It really helped him, too, although he found fitness to be a bigger problem than Balto had. When Kyle began racing back in the pre-GTP days, driver fitness wasn't even an issue. Balto, on the other hand, was in decent shape prior to his GTP career, but after his dehydration-and-exhaustion-induced fainting at Sebring two years ago, he took it much more seriously.
Balto was very much inspired to start his own training program after hearing of a similar happening with one of his racing heroes: defending Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. When Ayrton entered F1 back in 1984, with Toleman (which later became Benetton and then the factory Renault team), the Brazilian found himself fatigued after only half an hour of strenuous driving. Following that year's Canadian Grand Prix, Senna was so exhausted that he needed help climbing out of the car, at which point he promptly fainted. After recovering, he sought help from two Montreal area doctors to help remedy the problem. (The F1 Canadian Grand Prix was held at Montreal's Circuit Ile Notre Dame, located on a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River. It was later renamed as Circuit Gilles Villenueve following the death of the great French-Canadian driver.) The biggest difference between their respective stories was that Balto needed more emphasis on the training aspect, having moved up to a far more physically demanding form of racing that what he was previously in due to the increased race duration.
Eventually, the start of the prototype race came around. Balto had managed to set the fastest time in the morning warmup among both the GTP cars and overall out of all four classes. As was the case at the Pontiac Grand Prix of West Palm Beach, Balto would be the starting driver. He and Kyle alternated starting driver duties, which had been determined via a coin toss prior to the start of that year's Sunbank 24 Hours of Daytona. Balto won that coin toss and was the starting driver at Daytona and later at Sebring, with Kyle taking his turn in that position at Miami and Road Atlanta.
Once the pre-race ceremonies had ended, it was time for the drivers to climb into their cars and eventually time to start the engines. As usual, before climbing into the car, Balto got his customary "good luck" kiss from Jenna. Once in the car, Balto fastened his six-point safety harness and plugged the connection for the pit-to-car/car-to-pit radio, which he usually did himself anyway. Eventually, the command to start the engines was given, and the cars proceeded on to their warmup laps.
Because of the unique position of the start line at Mid-Ohio, even though the pace car pulled in at pit in, the race was not yet underway. It wouldn't be until they reached the start line at the Turn 5 kink on the backstraight. Once they reached it, the green flag was waved and the race was underway.
Immediately, Balto went on the attack. Having accelerated away better than Geoff Brabham, he reached the braking zone for the Esses first. But Brabham wasn't ready to concede the position to the driver who wrecked him for the win last time out at Lime Rock. They traded paint (meaning they rubbed bodywork) as they battled for the top spot. The battle continued through the Esses, eventually ending at Turn 8, just after the Esses. Balto got the better exit out of Turn 7 and came out in the race lead. The Fox/Ridgemount crew were pleased to see their car out front at the end of lap 1. But their was still a long way to go, and they knew all to well that anything could happen.
In the early laps, Balto was content to edge away from Brabham at a rate of a few tenths of a second per lap. But on lap 7, he really cut loose and increased the gap by a full second, to 3.2 seconds. The Porsche was steadily pulling away. By lap 20, the gap was out to 9 seconds, and although it ebbed and flowed a little bit as Balto, and then his pursuers encountered heavy traffic in the form of backmarkers, for the moment, he was beyond threat.
The first round of pit stops came and went with little trouble for Balto. The tires were changed and the car was refueled without incident. Balto made his first stop before the Nissans and beat them out of the pits when they made their first stops. By now, however, they were right on his tail. The gap continued to ebb and flow as the threesome continued to thread through the traffic, which by now included not just the GTP Lights cars, but backmarkers from the big GTP class that the likes of Porsche, Nissan, Jaguar, and Toyota competed. Just before the second round of pit stops, the complexion of the race began to change.
Working through turns 12 and 13, Balto got caught behind a Lights car, forcing him to back off. By now, Brabham was right behind him. As Balto "checked up", as they say in NASCAR, to avoid hitting the back of the Lights car ahead of him, Geoff got into the back of Balto's Porsche. Geoff couldn't see the Lights car from his position and therefore may have wrongly concluded that his rival was playing dirty by giving him a "brake test." At the same time, Brabham himself was rear-ended by another GTP car. The hits sent both Balto and Geoff off on the inside of the Carousel. When Balto came back onto the track, both the Lights car he was trying to lap and the GTP car that rear-ended Geoff were ahead of him. Unfortunately, the #84 Nissan had just come across the nose of Balto's car. The left front corner of the #35 Porsche clipped the back of the #84 Nissan, pitching it into a spin. The red, white and blue Japanese machine spun off onto the grass on the outside of the corner. Both Balto and Geoff continued on in first and second, respectively. The #84 Nissan was able to continue.
As he continued along on the lap after the contact, Balto felt something amiss with the car. When it went to put on the brakes and slow the car down, he felt the pedal travel shorter than what was necessary to slow the car down.
"Something's wrong with my brakes here," Balto keyed into the mike.
"What happened?" Stan asked. "What's wrong?"
"The brake pedal is stopping short of where it should be when I go to slow down," Balto replied.
"Stay calm, try and bring the car back, and we'll take a look at it," said Stan.
Somehow, Balto did bring the car back to the pits and the crew got to work immediately. Brabham brought his Nissan in as well with overheating problems caused by grass blocking the radiator. Turns out, when Balto had the off-track excursion at the Carousel, some grass and dirt got in between the brake pads and the rotors on both front brakes. Some even got into the radiator ducts, causing a bit of overheating. As it was the end of Balto's stint in the car, he climbed out and helped Kyle strap in. Afterwards he climbed over the pit wall and was immediately greeted with a kiss from Jenna.
"How was it out there?" she asked.
"Okay, until I had to check up for a Lights car, only to get shoved off by Brabham," he replied.
"Geoff was hit, too, Balto," Stan put in.
"What?" Balto asked. Both he and Jenna looked up toward the top of the pit box where Stan was sitting.
"Yeah, he was," Stan replied. "Apparently, after you got tagged, Geoff was also hit from behind and pushed off as well."
Eventually, the work was completed and Kyle was back in the race. On his out lap, Kyle drove carefully through the turns to make sure that all the debris was cleared out of the brakes. But it wouldn't last very long. Coming down the long backstraight on the next lap, Kyle weaved through some slower traffic. As he entered the braking zone for the Esses, both front brakes locked up, causing tire smoke to be emitted. The car then skated over the gravel trap, hit the tire wall, plunged through, and stopped just as the nose of the car hit the guardrail on the other side.
The TV cameras immediately shifted focus to the scene of the accident just before the moment of impact. The track announcer practically jumped out of his seat when he saw it happen.
"We've got a huge crash out there somewhere!" the track announcer exclaimed. "It's the Fox/Ridgemount Porsche!" The location of the crash wasn't known at the time. Still, a sense of initial panic sprang up in the team's pit area.
Up in the ESPN commentary booth, the shock was equally big.
"That's Kyle Fox!" commentator David Hobbs exclaimed. "Kyle Fox has gone off somewhere and has had a huge impact with the tire barrier! We don't know where it is exactly, as we have no confirmation of location as of now."
Kyle was moving around in the cockpit afterwards, which caught the attention of commentator Bob Varsha.
"Well, he's moving in the cockpit, so that's a good sign," said Bob.
"Yes, Bob, that is good," put in David, "although Kyle looks like he's struggling to climb out. I wonder if he's hurt his legs. That is indeed a huge impact. Both front wheels were torn off, left front off, right front too. I saw Kyle slamming the steering wheel down, but I don't know whether that's through frustration because he's out of the race, or whether it's through frustration because he knows he's injured something."
"Well, one thing for sure is that Kyle Fox won't taken any further part in this race, and we could very well see the end of his championship hopes for 1989, and no one would have wanted it to end this way."
"Where's that at?" David said, sounding puzzled. "Is that into the braking zone for the Esses? We didn't actually see him other than spearing across the gravel trap. That is indeed the gravel trap at the end of the backstraight. Still can't tell what caused him to go off."
Even though a replay ran, it offered no clean indication as to the cause of the accident. The next one, shot from a different angle, did. Nobody was close enough to make contact with him, which ruled that possible cause out. Nor was anybody right ahead of him, so he couldn't have had to check up for another car. The new replay that was now airing cleared it all up.
"Oh, he's locked his brakes, it's as simple as that, it's a mistake, and now he can't slow down!" David called out. "A simple driving mistake by Kyle Fox! The team had to do some brake work during their most recent pit stop, and the brakes probably lost a lot of heat during that time. Pair that with the tires not being up to working temperature, and it's a recipe for disaster. And worse yet, was that the gravel trap did nothing to slow the car down, as Kyle was going way to fast for it to stop his car in time. And what gravel he did hit just launched the car upward enough to clear the ridges in the trap itself. Even if it were flat, it wouldn't have been much help. The result would probably have been similar."
This is a common problem with the gravel trap: It really is designed to stop a car that's spinning, which would give itself a chance to dig in and slow it down. Because there's no surface adhesion, a car traveling straight on at high speeds just skates over the surface, and the driver, by now merely a passenger, is unable to do anything to slow down or stop the car. Because GTP cars had ground effects tunnels that ran along the under tray, they offered at least some resistance in order to bring the car to a halt. With the open-top World Sports Car (WSC) category that would be introduced in 1993, and would eventually replace GTP for 1994, this became a bigger issue. WSCs had a flat bottom, which in the situation Kyle was just in, would just toboggan across the top of the gravel trap. And if a car is stopped by the trap, it gets mired in the gravel, and can't rejoin the race, which is not good for the car count.
Rescue crews were on the scene shortly after the accident and immediately started attending to Kyle.
"I am not at all happy seeing these pictures," Bob Varsha spoke up. "A truly great driver, a two-time GTO champion of the Camel GT (pre-GTP) era is out of the race and has been injured. Dr. Jerry Punch is down in the Fox/Ridgemount pit area right now. Jerry, what can you tell us?"
"Well, it's a rather somber, in fact, an absolutely stunned atmosphere down in the Fox/Ridgemount pit area," Dr. Punch replied. "They can't believe what's just happened. Kyle's co-driver, Balto Wolf, looks especially worried. I saw him attempt to radio Kyle several times, as had Stan Ridgemount. Apparently Kyle's radio was broken, so that didn't help matters. There's no frantic rushing around, no panicking, it's just a state of absolute shock. There's even a lot of speculation amongst us pit reporters that maybe the throttle had stuck open."
The replay, however, showed no sign of a stuck throttle. If a stuck throttle did play a role, the rear wheels would have been spinning all the way into the gravel trap.
By now, the pace car had been sent out, which would slow the field down and enable the rescue vehicles to get to the scene. Before that, the medical car and the other rescue vehicles had been sent to the crash site. The car was well off the racing surface, as were the rescue vehicles, so there was no need to put out the red flag, which would stop the race. During the attempts to remove him from the car, Kyle kept looking down at his right leg, as if it had been injured in some way. Initially, Kyle was left in the car for the first few minutes, because if he had any back injuries, the best thing to do would be to first get him stabilized. By now, the crowd was totally subdued, as one would expect them to be. They had come for a day of joy and pleasure, to follow stateside sports car racing at its highest level, and they generally don't expect something like this to happen. Race fans go to races to see racing, without the interruptions (and sometimes tragedies) that go along with it. And seeing the sheet screens being erected in order to stop people from looking would more than likely remind some people of past situations that they don't even want to think about. But at least he didn't have any major head injuries, as he was moving around.
Balto himself knew all to well, firsthand even, how bad it can get. After his Le Mans crash last year, a former GTP rival of his named Bradley Steele filled in for him until Balto returned for the end of the season. During practice for the race before Balto was scheduled to return, at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California, Bradley had an absolutely massive accident at Turn 10, just before the pit entrance.
The car spun off at the end of the Esses due to a rear suspension failure and hit the concrete wall after missing the end of the tire barrier. The entire left side was smashed inward and disintegrated into numerous shards of debris. Somehow, the seat was thrown out into the middle of the track with Brad still strapped in. The car couldn't be rebuilt in time, so they had to wheel out a backup car and Kyle went solo for the race. Brad survived somehow, albeit with multiple very serious injuries, and was still in recovery when the current season started. In fact, there were rumors circulating that the crash might mark the end of his GTP career. So far, nothing came up in that regard. Bob Wollek also had a nasty accident at Sears Point in 1987. Going into the fast Turn 1, the right rear tire exploded on Bob's 962. The car spun, went up the embankment, and then tumbled back down, landing upside down on its left side. Bob was not seriously injured.
After about ten minutes, Kyle was later moved to an ambulance that was scheduled to take him to a more advanced medical facility. En route to the vehicle, Kyle stuck his left had up in the air and waved to let the spectators know that he was okay in the sense that he was still conscious. They stood up and clapped when they noticed that he was still alert and responsive. This caught the attention of both the track announcer and those calling the race for ESPN up in the broadcast booth, all of whom could now breath a sigh of relief knowing that Kyle was still alert. The sheets that head been put up were mainly to protect him from the indignity of cameras nearby catching him in a great deal of pain. The overhead shots of the scene from a helicopter didn't get any really good close-ups.
With Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course being located far from any major cities, the nearest medical center was a long way from the track. The quickest way to get Kyle to one such facility was to take him to the paddock in the track ambulance and get him to a medical helicopter once there. That plan did go off without a hitch, and Kyle was soon on his way.
Chapter 7: Accident Aftermath
The race eventually resumed, with Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson taking the win in GTP and the overall win for Electromotive Engineering. Charles Morgan and Tom Hessert won the Lights class for Essex Racing. In the GT race, Hans-Joachim Stuck, one of Balto's Le Mans seat mates, took the GTO class win and the overall win for Audi of America, while Amos Johnson won in GTU for Team Highball.
Balto was somewhat happy for Hans taking the win, as his Le Mans ride would carry some momentum coming into the big race. But all he could think about that entire evening was Kyle's accident. Between his Le Mans crash and Bradley Steele's Sears Point crash from last year, this was the third major crash to affect Fox/Ridgemount Racing, although it was only the second major accident in which a Fox/Ridgemount car was involved, as Balto's crash happened in a Sauber Mercedes C9.
After packing up and leaving the track, the team's next stop was the hospital to which Kyle had been taken after the accident. It was a long drive from the track to the hospital, as the nearest one with advanced equipment that could deal with Kyle's injuries was a fairly long drive from the track. With its rural surroundings, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a long way away from any major cities. Being in such a location, the track usually draws only modest crowds because it tends to draw mainly purists, who think nothing of driving for long periods of time to see a race at "a real racetrack". Nor are they bothered by things like views that don't show the whole track, adverse weather conditions that would sent many people running for cover, or even the occasionally raucous crowd looking for something to stave off boredom. Road America, near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and Watkins Glen International, near the town of the same name in upstate New York, are two other examples of such tracks (torching cars in the bog was a popular pastime in the early years at the latter of the two).
Eventually, the team transporter and motor home arrived at the hospital where Kyle had been taken to. Parking the transporter proved to be very difficult because there wasn't enough room in the hospital parking lot, and eventually the driver had to go park elsewhere. The motor home proved considerably easier to park. Once there, everyone went in through the main entrance. After Stan inquired at the front desk the whereabouts of Kyle's location (namely what room he was in), the team's next destination was indeed the room Kyle was in. When the reached the desk to ask where he was, Kyle was having x-rays done on his right leg, which sustained the most damage. The x-rays revealed a badly broken lower right leg and sprained right ankle, as Kyle had kept his foot on the brake pedal even at the point of impact. Turns out, a part of the wishbone in the right front suspension, which was mounted inside the cockpit, had pierced his leg. This was exactly what happened to Balto during his Le Mans crash last year. This isn't an uncommon phenomenon in low-slung race cars, where in a crash, drivers have had the wishbone of the suspension, or A-arm (or even control arm), piercing their legs. It's more common in single-seaters than in sports car prototypes, but not unheard of in the latter of the two.
After five minutes of walking and elevator rides, Balto, Jenna, Stan and the rest of the team arrived at Kyle's room. Kyle's wife, Kelly, and their young twin sons, Alvin and Rodney, was already there. She rode with him in the helicopter from the track to the hospital and waited outside the x-ray room where Kyle had been x-rayed. Right now, Kyle looked absolutely exhausted.
"Hey guys," said Kyle as he saw his team arrive. Stan and Balto were the first to arrive and in that order.
"Hi, Kyle," Stan said back.
"Man, you look beat," Balto added.
"Tell me about it," Kyle responded. "I was screaming in pain just after the accident, and I think I'm a bit drained from it."
"Was it that painful?" Jenna asked, sounding just as worried as everyone else.
"Yep," Kyle replied. "Balto, you know how you had part of the control arm pierce your leg in your Le Mans crash last year?"
"Yes, I remember," Balto replied. He clearly remembered it has though it had just happened, although he didn't remember anything that happened after that Nissan R88C smashed into him.
"Well, that's exactly what happened to me," Kyle added.
Jenna cringed upon hearing what Kyle had just said. Even merely hearing about such injuries was enough to make her remember when she found out about what happened to Balto last year at Le Mans. She was virtually in a panic when she heard the news, especially considering the slim chance he had for survival. She recalled immediately booking a flight to go visit Balto in the hospital, almost unable to stand seeing him in so much pain. And yet, she couldn't afford to wimp out in that situation. She had to be strong for Balto and was indeed overjoyed upon his release after three weeks including injury rehab, although Balto was suffering from amnesia and needed some reacquainting with the world around him.
"How long are you gonna be out for?" Stan asked his driver.
"The doctor says I'm out for about two months," Kyle replied. "I know I'll at least end up missing Road America."
As bad as the news was, Balto was still optimistic that Kyle would make a quick and complete recovery. And looking on the bright side, as one must, he remembered hearing about David Purley in the Lec-Ford Formula 1 car, who during the 1977 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, had a most enormous, head-on, flat out impact coming to Becketts corner when the throttle stuck open and he rammed the vertical embankment at about 120 mph. The total length of the car was reduced to (this is no joke, by the way) about three feet. David suffered really awful leg injuries in the crash, yet he made a complete recovery. Bearing that in mind, Balto knew that there was hope for Kyle. All that could be done was hope for the best, but be ready for the worst. He still remembered what happened to Ronnie Peterson at the start of the 1978 F1 Italian Grand Prix. In what Innes Ireland described as "The most instantaneous fireball I'd ever seen," the Swede's Lotus 79 had its nose sheered off and launched some 50 yards down the track after the car got collected in a massive pileup as the field bunched up under braking for the first chicane. Initially, Ronnie was speaking with the medical personnel as he was being attended to after the accident. Unfortunately, he succumbed to a bone marrow embolism that had resulted from the leg injuries he sustained later that night. A similar fate befell Ricardo Paletti at the start of the 1982 F1 Canadian Grand Prix. Pole-sitter Didier Pironi stalled his Ferrari, and while the pack dodged it in all directions as they accelerated away from the standing start, Ricardo's Osella hit the Frenchman's stalled car squarely in the back. Having started at the back of the grid, Paletti had reached nearly 100 mph at the point of impact. The car caught fire soon afterward. The race was immediately red-flagged and brought to a halt as rescue workers moved in to tend to the grievously injured Italian driver. Paletti was soon airlifted to a nearby hospital, but succumbed to his injuries soon afterwards. The race was duly restarted in the gathering gloom toward evening, with Brazilian Nelson Piquet winning commandingly at the wheel of his Brabham-BMW turbo.
As they left for the night, the whole team was in worry over uncertainty about what to do now and where to go from here.
The team spent the night at a nearby truck stop just off the interstate. In the morning, they headed back to the hospital. Kyle was awake and alert, as they had hoped. He was even able to head back to Monterey with the rest of the team. There he would begin physically therapy to help get his leg back to health. The injury that Kyle had sustained turned out to be a multiple compound fracture, although the bone wasn't actually sticking out through the skin, unlike what is usually the case with compound fractures. All in all, as serious as the accident was, it was a relief that Kyle didn't suffer any worse injuries. Now had he been doing the 240 mph+ speeds that were involved in Balto's Le Mans crash, this one would have been a lot worse.
But one thing still weighed heavily on the team's mind: What to do about a possible replacement for Kyle until he was healed up? Balto now had both his seat mate's injury and his upcoming Le Mans assault on his mind. In addition to all that, he was beginning to suspect that Jenna was starting to turn the screws on him to get engaged. Not that he hadn't seriously considered proposing to her. But for him, the time just wasn't right, a she just had too much going on in his life right now. Plus, Jenna had been promoted to a higher position at her newspaper job and so far, she was having a little trouble getting the hang of it. The possibility of her forcing marriage on him at such a time just didn't make any sense to him at all. But that was the least of his worries. The replacement driver dilemma and the big Le Mans 24 hour race looming in just two weeks weighed heavily the most on his mind.
The prototypes had three upcoming races at Watkins Glen International, Road America, and Portland International Raceway, near Portland, Oregon, that Kyle would definitely miss. The Watkins Glen and Road America races were both prototype-only, whereas the Portland race was would also see the GT cars compete as well. The doubleheader (prototype & GT) at Heartland Park, near Topeka, Kansas, was the first race that Kyle might be able to return for. But that would depend on his progress in recovery. All of those races would occur after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
After the team returned to their shop in Monterey, California, the first order of business was finding a fill-in driver until Kyle recovered from his injuries. The next order was the possible technical alliance with Joest Racing, as Reinhold Joest was there in person along with some other key Joest Racing personnel.
"Okay, looks like everybody's here," said Stan to kick off the meeting. "Alright, first order of business: With Kyle being out for about two months as a result of his crash this past weekend, we'll be in need of a temporary replacement driver. If anyone here can find one, please do so."
"What about that one guy who filled in after Balto had his crash last year?" asked Kyle.
"You mean Brad?" Balto asked back.
"Yes, I meant Brad Steele," replied Kyle.
"I don't know," Balto said. "I haven't heard much about what he's been up to lately. I don't even know if he's still in recovery from his own crash."
"Mr. Joest, would any of your drivers be interested?" Stan asked.
"Well, I haven't spoken with any of them yet," Reinhold responded. "I'll have to ask them first."
"Okay, then," Stan put in. "Next item: As most of you, we have key personnel from Joest Racing here with us today regarding a potential technical alliance. Now, as you all know, currently Joest Racing is competing in the FIA World Sports Car Championship and are the closest thing that Porsche has to a factory team on both sides of the Atlantic. Introducing: Reinhold Joest."
Reinhold stood up and took a bow as the others gave a round of applause to acknowledge of the recognition.
"Thank you, thank you," said Reinhold. "As you know, we are currently the closest thing that Porsche has to a factory team. But here in GTP, there is no such thing. Seeing how you're one of the stronger Porsche-running privateer teams, and with Balto Wolf having landed a ride with us for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, we have chosen Fox/Ridgemount Racing as our potential GTP counterpart Porsche factory team."
A round of applause broke out.
"This means you get the full technical assistance that we get from the Porsche factory," Reinhold continued. "And that should help this team become more competitive on a more consistent basis. Some of my team's personnel will come here to provide assistance with this new program and get it up to speed. There are still some details that need to be worked out, but hopefully that will be done in time for your next race at Watkins Glen."
The news sounded great, indeed. Balto hoped it would be enough to offset the bad news of Kyle's injury.
Balto stayed at the shop for a while after the meeting had wrapped up. One thing the crew was working on was to try and find a way to keep debris like grass, dirt, small bits of bodywork, etc. from getting caught between the brake pads and rotors. Unfortunately, they were having a hard time fitting the intended shield in with the wheels attached. The shield itself was a metal back-plate with vents in it that would still allow the brakes to cool when they got to hot, yet would hopefully keep debris from getting between the brake pads and rotors. One such plate was located on all four axles. The plates themselves had a raised rim that extended outward from the middle of the axle and shielded the calipers and the vents in the rotor itself so that they wouldn't get clogged with debris.
"Is this that shield I've been hearing about?" Balto asked one of the mechanics.
"Yes, it is," mechanic Nikki Sechs replied. "But the raised edges are making it hard to fit the wheels on."
"Maybe they should be shorter so that the wheels will be able to fit," Balto suggested.
"You know, that just might work," said Nikki.
After trimming off some of the excess rim, the wheels were refitted on the axles. The idea worked, as the wheels were able to fit on there with the guard in place. All that remained was to test the car with the new guards in place. The next step would be to schedule a test session and see how the car would perform with the guards on.
Chapter 8: Hopefully, this will work
The test took place the next day and went well for the most part. The only major concern was brake temperatures. With the guards on, the brakes were getting very hot, even though the guards had vents in them to help disperse heat. Eventually, guards with larger vents were installed and tested. Balto very much liked the larger-vented guards, as the brakes were able to operate at a decent temperature for longer. The big question still remained: would the guards do their job of keeping debris out of the brake assembly?
During the test, Balto had an off-course excursion in the track's famed "Corkscrew" corner. The Corkscrew is a downhill left-right S-bend that drops three stories right in between the two corners that consist of the S-bend and is regarded as one of the most challenging corners on any circuit anywhere in the world.
On the approach, Balto locked the left-front wheel and ran wide at the exit of the left-hand entry to the Corkscrew. The car ran over the dirt on the inside of the right-hand exit of the corner. As he went through the left-handed Rainey Curve that followed the Corkscrew, the car suddenly snapped sideways on him and slid into the gravel trap on the outside of the turn. Thankfully, the trap did stop the car before it hit anything. After the car was towed back to the pits, the brakes were inspedted to see if any debris had gotten into the caliper and rotor assembly. Fortunately, nothing was found. The cause of the spin was due to a blown left rear tire.
By the day's end, the guards had proven their worth. No debris got into the brake rotor and caliper assembly. Balto was definitely praising the guards for doing their intended job. He was sure they would be effective at Watkins Glen, which had a lot of grassy runoff areas.
Chapter 9: A little homecoming
The only major event for Balto between the Laguna Seca test session and Le Mans was a trip back home to Nome, Alaska for Jenna's birthday. Balto was spending a lot of time trying to find a suitable birthday present. Between that and getting things together for Le Mans, a lot weighed heavily on his mind. But he pulled through, found a present, and now all he had left to worry about was Le Mans.
The flight up to Anchorage went well, as did the flight from there to Nome. Coming home meant a chance to meet up with old friends who'd stuck around in town. Sure enough, many of them were even at the airport to greet Balto and Jenna when their plane landed. Among them were Boris Goosinov, Nikki Adams, John Kaltag, Ryan Star, Sylvie Tremblay, and Dixie Thompson. Even Balto's former GTP rival, Bradley Steele, was there to greet them when the plane touched down.
"Welcome home, GTP star!" Boris exclaimed.
"Good to see you too, 'Moto Madman'!" Balto exclaimed back. "Moto Madman" was Balto's nickname for Boris.
Greetings went on for about a minute or so after Balto and Jenna both stepped off the plane. Even congratulations over Jenna's recent promotion and Balto's win at Lime Rock were included. Bradley may have been nice to Balto this time, but that wasn't always the case between them.
Balto Wolf and Bradley Steele had been bitter rivals, which began in their earlier years racing against each other. It all began with an on-track tangle in an SCCA event at Portland International Raceway in which Balto made a desperate last-lap pass attempt on Brad under braking for Turn 7-8 esses at the end of the long backstraight. Steele declined to make room, and their cars collided, spinning off the track. The two cars each hooked a wheel in the soft ground, flipped, and were out of the race with less than half a mile to the finish line. Both of their cars were too badly damaged to continue. Steele was very irate over the incident and had to be restrained from physically remonstrating with Wolf.
That incident spark a very fierce rivalry, which continued into their early GTP years. There wasn't much blood let, as it usually consisted of a few on-track tangles and the occasional obscenity uttered during interviews after such altercations. However, things were bound to get worse. And they did indeed get worse. But after Balto's Le Mans crash, and Brad got the call to fill in, Brad's attitude toward his rival lightened up. After Brad's Sears Point crash later that year, the only thing on his mind was, "So this is what Balto was going through." He, of course, had it worse, having been thrown out of the car while still strapped into the seat. Balto himself was particularly horrified when he heard about the accident, even though he was there at the track when it happened. He didn't actually see the crash as it happened, but when he saw the replay, he was just shellshocked. Balto thought for sure that his old rival was dead. Somehow, Brad survived, and in fact, some believe that had his seat not been thrown out, with all the wheels and bodywork flying around as a result of the crash, a piece of that debris might have ended up hitting him and possibly killing him.
"I heard about what happened to Kyle," Brad said to Balto, sounding concerned. "How bad was he hurt?"
"He's gonna be out for about two months," Balto replied. "His lower right leg is badly broken."
"That bad, eh?" Brad asked.
"Yep," Balto responded. That bad. Say, while it's on my mind, Stan asked me if I knew what you'd been up to and if you were interested in filling in for Kyle until he recovers."
"Oh, boy," said Brad tentatively. "I had a hunch this was coming. I haven't even gotten over what happened last time I was in a GTP car."
Brad was a little timid about returning to GTP after his Sears Point crash. The GTO and GTU categories, however, did appeal more to him in light of the fact that fewer serious accidents had occurred in those classes. He had been unable to find a ride in either class so far this year, but was still hoping to land a seat for next season.
"You still holding out for a GTO or GTU ride?" Balto asked his former GTP rival.
"Just for next season," Brad responded. "Right now, I'm open for any shot at a ride. If nobody else ends up filling in for Kyle until he recovers, I'll do it. I myself am still somewhat in recovery from my crash."
"What?" asked Balto.
"Yeah," Brad answered.
"Man, that crash must have been bigger than I thought," Balto added.
Despite ending last year's stint with Fox/Ridgemount on a low note, Bradley Steele still enjoyed some success with the team. He and Kyle were on the podium in every single race in that time span. His run of success was so good there was talk that the team may not want Balto back. But that changed after Sears Point, and Balto Wolf found himself back in the saddle.
That evening, Balto, Jenna, Boris, Nikki, John, Ryan, Sylvie, Dixie, and Brad all headed to a long-time hangout of theirs which they had been going to at least since high school. They usually spent their time there getting a bite to eat, having something to drink, and just chatting. Tonight was no different. But for Balto, Jenna, and Boris, it was a chance to catch up on what had been going on in Nome since they had last been there. Which was a long time.
Since Balto, Jenna, Boris, and Brad had left Nome, Nikki, John, and Ryan had all become bush pilots and ran a successful delivery business based out of Nome. Sylvie and Dixie, on the other hand, worked the home base for other three's delivery business. All five of them had a paw in founding that company that was now thriving. But that wasn't always the case. Initially, the operation was fledgling. They even had trouble coming up with a name for their new company. The name they eventually decided on was A.K.S.T.T. Express. The name was an acronym of their last names. The operation had expanded since its founding to cover much of the interior and more isolated areas of Alaska. It had also become a household name in Nome, very well known.
While there, inevitably, the subject of Balto's upcoming Le Mans assault was brought up.
"Say, Balto," said Nikki. "Word is you managed to land the ride with Joest for Le Mans."
"You heard correctly," Balto replied.
"Hey, get this," John put in. "The whole town heard of this and now every TV set in every major bar or restaurant will be televising the race. The whole town's got your back."
"Is that so?" Balto asked, sounding a little surprised.
"Yes, that's all true," Ryan responded a little more firmly in tone than Balto was when he last spoke. "In fact, the rest of us here are hosting a party at my house with the race on. We'll have to take the weekend off to have it."
"So besides you, who else is gonna be there?" Balto asked.
"Well, both are your parents will be there," John replied.
"Yeah, and even my parents are gonna be there," added Jenna. "My father told me over the phone when I told them about getting that promotion. You should've heard how happy he was."
"I can imagine," said Balto. "This whole thing is gonna be bigger than I thought."
That was the last mention of Le Mans during their time at the old hangout. The rest of it consisted largely of reminiscing and talking about good times from growing up in Nome.
Next day was Jenna's birthday party. Everyone who was with her last night at the cafe was in attendance, as were both of her parents. Earlier that day, Balto had paid both of his parents a visit. Ditto for Jenna. Nikki, John, and Ryan had deliveries to make, and Dixie and Sylvie also had to work that day, so it was questionable whether or not they would be able to make it to the party. But before heading off to work, they still sent happy birthday wishes to Jenna and sent their presents over to her parent's house.
A lot had seemed to change with Nome since Boris, Balto and Jenna had left home and gone on to their current careers. But some things stayed the same. Their old hangout where they were last night hadn't changed much.
Fortunately, everyone made it to Jenna's birthday party that evening. Everyone had remembered to bring something. Jenna was very appreciative of the gifts and thanked everyone for bringing them and for coming.
Chapter 10: Le Mans bound!
The only business left for Balto before heading off to Le Mans for the 24 Hours was some housekeeping, especially disposing of any perishable food items that were close to the expiration date. Last year, he inadvertently left a carton of milk out before going to the track. Add on the time he spent in rehab after his crash to what he had already expected to spend over there, the milk went sour and then exploded. Jenna's solution for the problem was spraying some of her perfume in the air to mask the smell. It didn't work to well. In fact, Balto compared the smell of the mixed scents to what might happen if a cow died in a strip club.
As for Jenna, she had a few things to take care of at the newspaper where she worked. There wasn't anything major, just some articles for her column to turn in, many of which were scheduled for later releases but finished ahead of time so she wouldn't have to worry about forgetting to hand them in later.
Balto and Jenna caught an evening flight out of San Francisco International Airport to Paris. Boris had a motocross race in Texas that same weekend, so he wasn't able to go with them. They left a few days early before Balto had to be at Circuit de la Sarthe. This way, they could fit in some vacation time. And that's just what they did, which included plenty of sightseeing (including a very romantic evening atop the Eifel Tower the night they arrived), museum visits, and a whole lot more. Their free time even included taking in the sights and sounds of the city of Le Mans itself, plus a trip to seatmate Bob Wollek's hometown of Strasbourg, in western France. Normally home to only about 150,000 people, the city of Le Mans triples in population when the week leading up to the 24 Hours comes around. They had a lot of fun. And yet, it went by too fast for them.
Eventually, the first day of practice in preparation for the race rolled around. This was the first time since the April test session that all teams, cars, and drivers would be on the track in the same time period. The Mercedes C9s of Team Sauber were the fastest in that test session and it would be no different in this practice session. Balto's fastest lap was good enough to put his #9 Joest Racing Porsche 962C as "the best of the rest," meaning he was the fastest among the non-Sauber drivers.
Because of his GTP mentality of pushing hard every racing lap, and because of Group C's fuel restrictions, Balto would not be the starting driver in the #9 Porsche. In fact, he would be the last of the car's three drivers to take his first stint during the race. This was done so that fuel could be saved for later on in the race, although alloting fuel quantity for a timed race with no set distance is never an easy thing to do. The fuel allotment for a C1 car was 2,550 liters of fuel.
The reason why Group C regulations had limits on fuel consumption was to prevent manufacturers from concentrating solely on engine development. In the previous Group 6 Two Seater Racing Car category for open-top sportscar prototypes like the Porsche 936, small, turbocharged engines were often given a power boost for qualifying. For the 936, qualifying trim power levels exceeded 800 horsepower. A category called GTP for closed-top sportscar prototypes that was around starting in the mid-1970s (and of little relation to IMSA GTP) first implemented the fuel consumption formula rather than restrictions on engine displacement. With this formula, it was possible for large, normally aspirated engines (also called naturally aspirated or atmospheric engines) to compete with small, forced induction (i.e. turbocharged or supercharged) engines. The engines in Jaguar's XJR cars were 7.0 liter V12s, while the Mercedes engines in the Sauber C9s were 5.0 liter V8s, and the Porsche's flat-six engines were just 3.2 liters. The Jaguar and Mercedes engines were normally aspirated, while the Porsche engines were turbocharged.
From the moment the trailers unloaded and the cars took to the track, Balto's focus on the race ahead shifted into overdrive. Not one moment passed where he didn't think about the race in one way or another. Balto was very fascinated with the technical side of racing and would offer ideas on how to improve the car to get more speed out of it every chance he got. Most of the time, he got a "Shut up" type of response. The only one who would listen to his ideas was his race engineer, Kurt Schwartz. And even then, the ideas weren't always taken seriously. Still, Balto never stopped thinking about the race, the car and the track. It was all part of preparing himself for what lie ahead. Balto would think about the car setup while taking a shower, he would kiss Jenna while still thinking about the car setup, and sometimes he would leave a team dinner early to chat with Kurt about the setup. Sometimes, Balto would even try to convince Kurt to go back to the circuit and tinker with the setup, saying "I know what we need to do to win." Usually, the response he got was "Balto, you think too much." But Kurt came to respect his driver for his level of dedication, and they bonded over it.
Despite his best efforts and a good run in first round practice, the run of good lap times did not carry over to the second round of practice. The best lap time set by Balto or his seat mates wasn't as quick as the time they managed to set. Worse yet, their run in that practice session was cut short after Bob Wollek hit an oil slick (dropped by a blown engine) in the braking zone for Indianapolis Corner and spun into the gravel trap. Fortunately, the car came to rest without hitting anything and was eventually pulled out by a small tractor.
Chapter 11: May the fastest car win the pole!
The battle for grid supremacy, aka qualifying, began Thursday evening. Since the full Le Mans circuit is made up of miles of public roads, most sessions are held during the evening after the day's traffic has thinned down making it an ideal time to close down the public road sections. Qualifying was no different, as it would start at 7:00 pm and last until midnight with a one hour break at 9:00 pm to establish updates of lap times and clear the track of any debris. Often times, many teams and drivers will wait until late in the session to set a fast time. By this point, the air and track will have cooled off as the sun sets. The lower temperatures will enable the effective use of grippier, soft compound tires, which heat up to working temperature quickly even in cool conditions. Such a strategy can backfire, however, as track temperatures can suddenly plummet, causing a serious loss of tire adhesion. Or, as in Bob's case from second practice, an engine might blow, oiling the track and ruling out fast laps for the rest of the evening. Most teams wait until the last minute to set a quick lap regardless. It's their last chance to do so.
Balto didn't want to wait this time in case either above mentioned scenario did happen. But those weren't the only reasons why he didn't wait. He had gone out late in qualifying last year when he had his accident. The piece of debris was hard to see even in the headlights. He figured by making his run earlier, he would have one less thing to worry about.
Although it was still fairly hot, Balto still managed to lay down an impressive lap 3:19.642. Usually in qualifying, the fuel load should be as light as possible in order to keep the car as light as possible. Fuel is quite heavy, and when put into the tank, it adds weight that impedes speed and handling. But with the full Circuit de la Sarthe measuring nearly 8.5 miles long, if too little fuel was put in, a driver could run the risk of running out of fuel, which is quite serious when the pits can be as much as 8.5 miles away. On the other hand, put too much fuel in the car and performance will suffer due to the excess weight.
Despite his best effort, which was initially the fastest time overall, Balto's pole lap was quickly struck from the top by the three Mercedes C9s. Coming into Le Mans, the C9s were the cars to beat. Balto was well aware that beating his former Le Mans team was going to be a daunting task. They had dominated the first round of the FIA World Sportscar Championship. But he was still determined to give it all he had and by the end of the first half of qualifying, he had set the fourth fastest time of the session.
At 10:00 pm, the second half of qualifying began, this time in near total darkness. For both qualifying sessions, Reinhold Joest insisted on having all of his drivers getting at least one lap in during both sessions so that they could get a feel for the car and the track during both the daytime and the nighttime. The strategy seemed to work quite well for them. Balto definitely made the best of the cooler conditions of night and bettered his time from the first half of qualifying by over three and a half seconds. His time of 3:15.697, while fastest among his seatmates, was still only good enough for fourth fastest, as once again the Mercedes C9s swept the top three spots, with the #62 C9 taking pole with a time of 3:15.040. Still, he wasn't phased at all. Of course, he knew in a straight fight, Team Sauber couldn't just lose. But with Le Mans being Le Mans, there was no guarantee that one of the three silver C9s was going to come out on top. At Le Mans, anything can happen, and often does.
The other two Joest Racing Prosche 962Cs also qualified in the top 10, although they were considerably further down the starting grid. Car #7 qualified in seventh place, while Car #8 timed in ninth fastest.
Overall, Balto was pleased with times. Reality, however, was that all he good during the early stages of the race was battle for fourth fastest and hope that the cars ahead of him had trouble.
Friday evening would see qualifying for the C2 cars, the smaller, lighter and less powerful prototypes. These were largely privateer teams with little or no factory backing. Smaller displacement engines compared with their C1 counterparts were the norm for this category.
Original Group C rules dictated that engines had to be from a manufacturer with cars homologated in Group B for GT cars or Group A for touring cars. Typically, C1 engines came out of Group B while C2 engines came from Group A. The 3.2 liter flat-6 of the Porsche 962C had been battle-tested in the 936 from the old Group 6 category and had also been used in the 956. The latter was also intended to be used in IMSA GTP competition, but was banned on safety grounds because the driver's feet were positioned ahead of the front axle centerline. The remedy: the 962. Porsche's two Group C prototypes competed simultaneously throughout 1984 and much of 1985. But after Stefan Bellof's fatal crash during that year's running of the Spa 1000km race at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit at the wheel of a 956, the 962 became Prosche's sole Group C/GTP car in use.
What happened there was as follows: Entering Spa's challenging, climbing Eau Rouge corner (a turn widely regarded as the most challenging corner on any circuit in the world), Bellof's privateer 956 made contact with fellow Belgian Jacky Ickx's works 962C, both cars spun and hit the embankment, which was almost right at the edge of the track. Bellof's 956 caught fire after impact, and the whole scene was captured by the in-car camera in Ickx's 962C. The race was red-flagged and brought to a halt. About an hour of so later, Stefan Bellof was pronounced dead. That particluar race was abandoned immediately, never to resume. But the 1000km of Spa would be back on the calendar for the FIA (Federation International de l' Automobile) World Sportscar Championship next year.
By 1989, however, Group B and Group A had almost gone extinct, as there would be virtually no cars from either of those two categories competing at Le Mans this year. This year's race was all-prototypes, much like some of Balto's IMSA races, which were either prototype-only or had separate races for both prototypes and GTs. The most recent year for Group B cars appearing at Le Mans was 1986. 1987 and 1988 were all-prototype races, no different from this year.
Meanwhile, Jenna really appeared to be enjoying her first trip to Le Mans. Before going, she didn't really know much about the race, and therefore never understood why everyone in sports car racing made such a big deal about it. Sure, Balto had told her about how important the race was, but it just never clicked with Jenna until she actually began experiencing it for herself.
"Wow," she thought to herself on numerous occasions throughout the week leading up to the race.
Friday night, after the ceremonial drivers' parade through town, Jenna eventually came out and told him so. They were in the team motorhome at the time.
"You know, Balto," Jenna said, "I think I finally understand why you've been taking this race so seriously."
"What do you mean?" Balto asked.
"You know how I didn't fully understand what a big deal this race was?" Jenna replied in the form of a question. "I think I finally know why that is. I don't why, but I just never believed it until now."
Those words left Balto with the impression that Jenna had an "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude toward what Balto had to say about the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Then again, some things have to be seen to be believed, as words alone can't do any justice to them.
"Look, Jenna," Balto put in. "I'm sorry if you thought I was shutting you out because of this. I wasn't doing it deliberately."
"No, no, part of it's my fault, too," Jenna added, almost cutting Balto off in mid-sentence. "I never really understood or knew how much this race meant to you."
"Baby, it's okay," said Balto as he put his left paw on Jenna's right shoulder. "If you didn't know, you didn't know. None of us are to blame for this. I'm sure the whole thing was nothing more than a major misunderstanding."
"I'm sure it was, too," Jenna finished.
She then looked up at him, as if begging for a kiss. Which she got.
"You know what?" Jenna asked.
"What?" Balto asked back.
"I'm actually starting to like this place," Jenna replied. "Le Mans really is a great city. Even here at the track, there's so much to see and do."
"There sure is," Balto agreed.
"Oh, Balto," said Jenna as she held him tightly. "I'm so glad I decided to come here."
"Me too, Jenna," said Balto as he held her, too. "It wouldn't be the same if you weren't here."
Still holding each other, they leaned in and kissed again. Just seconds later, however, Hans-Joachim Stuck, one of Balto's seatmates for the race, happened to walk into the trailer and saw them in the act.
"Whoops!" he said as he tried to shield his eyes. Balto and Jenna pulled their lips away from each other and looked in the direction of the voice.
"Sorry!" said Hans as he held his hands up somewhat in protest and rotated them outward from his line of sight.
"You two taking the green flag or the checkered flag?" he then asked.
Balto laughed at his seatmate's 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 nationality at the front, it was Great Britain (Jaguar) versus Germany (Mercedes and Porsche), and for drivers, it was USA (Jones) vs. France (Wollek & Schlesser) vs. Germany (Mass & Jelinski).
Word before the race was that rain was possible during the overnight hours. Rain is a common occurrence at Le Mans, and at night going down the Mulsanne Straight, it can result in blinding nighttime fog, making the Kink a brutal test for man and machine. Any crash there, especially in speeds in excess of 230 mph, would be pretty gruesome, as it could easily result in a fatality.
One of Balto's seatmates, Hans-Joachim Stuck, actually looked forward to making up time in the rain at night. He pulled it off last year, and Porsche might have one if not for a pit error that handed the race win to Jaguar, it's first with the XJR-9 after four years of trying with previous designs.
Balto had raced in the rain, but not at night, and was a little nervous about that prospect. Before Hans's first stint in the car, Balto sought some advice about night driving in the rain. Who better to learn from than one of the fastest sports car drivers in the business. In fact, Stuck and Wollek were among the fastest drivers that sports car racing had ever seen, so Wolf knew that he was in good company.
Before Hans began his first stint in the #9 Joest Porsche, Balto sought some advice on racing in the rain at night.
"Say, Hans," Balto asked. "Are the rumors true about the potential for rain tonight?"
"So far, it's just rumors," Hans replied.
"Hmm," Balto mumbled, sounding uneasy.
"Why do you ask?" Hans asked.
"I've never raced in the rain at night before," Balto responded. "Let alone at these speeds. I'm not sure what to expect."
"You know, I didn't know what to expect either when I first raced in the rain at night," Hans added. "And I've driven many of the great road racing circuits in both dry and wet weather. At night in the rain, the intensity level is bound to be lower than in daytime wet driving or nighttime dry driving. Even with the better grip of rain tires, between the reduced road adhesion and the lack of visibility, you can't afford to drive at 10/10ths. You've got to be content to back it down a little bit. Just bear all that in mind, and you'll do fine out there."
Rain tires, also called "wets," are typically of a softer compound than dry slick tires which have no grooves in the tread. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a high grip level and 1 being a low grip level, soft dry slicks were about a two, while full rain tires were an 8. But if used on a dry track, wet tires will be competely used up very shortly. They need water on the track to stay cooler longer in order to reduce wear rate and increase their longevity. In between slicks and wets are tires called inters, short for intermediates. These tires are best used when a track is damp but not thoroughly soaked. On the 1 to 10 grip scale, they rank at 5.
Before anyone knew it, the time had come for Stuck to begin his first stint in the car. While the fuel was going in and tires were being changed, Bob unbuckled his seat belts and climbed out. His next task was to help Hans buckle up and get the seat set up for him. Once all of that was taken care of, Hans restarted the engine (rules state that the engine must be turned off during a pit stop) and returned to the track.
Once back out on track, Hans was easily able to keep the #9 Porsche in the top 5 overall. And he easily held it there until his first pit stop at the wheel. On track, however, he was somewhat of a match for the #3 Jaguar, now in the hands of Irishman Derek Daly. He wasn't much of a threat to make a challenge for the lead, but he was never far off from potentially challenging for the lead and was definitely in a good position to capitalize. Even through the third round of pit stops, Hans kept in close contact with Derek. As was the case with Bob, Hans would be in the car for two fuel runs, after which Balto would take over for his first stint in the car.
Balto was long ready when it was time for him to take the wheel of the #9 Joest Porsche 962C. He waited at his car's pit stall with his driving suit on with the fireproof underwear on underneath, his helmet and seat insert in one paw and his gloves and balaclava in the other. Jenna was standing right next to him in the pit area. Both of them were wearing matching Porsche hats and similar, red-framed, dark sunglasses. She was wearing a pink tank top with her "swept away sweater" tied around her waist in case the night got to cool, fairly tight light blue jeans and red Converse high-top sneakers.
When Hans crossed the start finish line for his second pit-in-lap - a lap that ended in the pits - Balto started putting on his balaclava, helmet and gloves This way, he would be ready to strap in and take the wheel at the next pit stop.
"We're ready for you in the pit, Hans," Reinhold Joest called into his headset mike.
"Copy that," Hans answered back over the two-way radio.
The "ready" call was given while Hans was on the stretch between Mulsanne and Indianapolis corners. A minute later, he was in the pit entry.
"Here goes," Balto thought. This was his moment to strut his stuff in one of the biggest races on the planet.
"Good luck, Balto," Jenna said as she patted him on the back.
"Thank you, Jenna," Balto replied.
As usual, before he headed out to the car, Balto got his customary "good luck" kiss from Jenna, both of them managing to slip an "I love you" into the mix.
But when he got out to the pits, Balto's mindset shifted to the task that lie ahead. Having taken his seat insert with him, he put that in first before strapping himself in the car.
Balto would end up losing time in the pits largely because his nearest rivals ( fellow American Jeff Kline in the #3 Jaguar and Swede Stanley Dickens in the #63 Mercedes C9) had managed to gain time simultaneously. As a result he dropped to third behind the #3 Jaguar and the #63 Mercedes C9. Now the pressure was on him to get heat into the tires quickly and stay in touch with the leaders.
Once the tire pressures had built up from the heat, Balto was in full (concern for fuel consumption issues in mind) attack mode. As the run went on, he was gaining on the leaders at a rate that, although impressive, worried his boss that he was using up too much fuel and burning up the tires too fast.
"Don't run the car so hard, Balto, you're gonna melt the damn tires," Reinhold Joest called into the mike.
"Reinhold, I'm not going faster, everyone else is going slower!" Balto retorted.
Balto's race engineer, Kurt Schwartz, had been checking Balto's lap times in comparison with other in-class adversaries, especially the two leaders and those nearby in terms of track position.
"He's right," Kurt informed Reinhold as he moved the mike on his headset away from his mouth. "I ran a check on his lap times and compared them with the other C1 cars around him as far as track of position goes. He's not falling off the pace as much as everyone else. Especially the two ahead of him in the race."
Kurt then handed Reinhold his stat sheet with the comparison on it. After looking over, Rhinehold knew that his driver was telling the truth.
"Alright, Balto, Kurt confirmed what you told me," said Reinhold over the two-way radio. "You're doing great. You're running third, and you're gaining seven-tenths of a second a lap on the leader."
Balto was just less than four seconds adrift of Kline and only two adrift of Dickens when the confirmation call came through. Through the twisty sections, Balto would easily lose sight of the those ahead of him. But once on the straight stretches, they were back within sight. By now, Balto was right on Dickens's tail. He got a terrific run going out of the Dunlop Chicane, caught the slipstream, and made a terrific pass under braking for the Esses as he dove inside Dickens entering the first left-hand turn at the bottom of the hill. It was brave, clean, and the Porsche came out ahead of the Mercedes.
As they saw the overtaking maneuver on the monitors in the pit area, the Joest crew cheered their new recruit. Jenna's cheer, however, was probably the loudest of them all.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed with delight. "Way to go, Balto!"
"Great pass, Balto, great pass!" Reinhold Joest calmly exclaimed.
"Thank you, boss," Balto answered back just as he cleared Tertre Rouge and began rocketing down the Mulsanne Straight. Once ahead of the #63 C9, Balto began closing the gap to the #3 XJR-9LM of Jeff Kline.
As easy as Balto had it passing Stanley Dickens, he had a much harder time passing Jeff Kline, who seemed hell-bent on maintaining the overall race lead. Balto was running out of options and out of time before he'd have to pit for tires and fuel. Eventually, he decided that he had no choice but to force the issue. It was about 7:30 PM local time (9:30 AM Alaska Time), about half an hour into his first stint. He would have to pit within the next three to five laps. For the most part, at first it seemed all he was able to do was watch Kline's lines and hope for a mistake. Now, however, he knew it was time to take a chance, albeit a calculated one. Balto did believe in taking risks, but he believed in taking calculated risks. He believed one could intimidate by being crafty just as easily as you can by being crude.
With two laps until his first pit stop, Balto realized he had to be crude even three-and-a-half hours into the race. His best chance for a pass was under braking for Mulsanne Corner, at the end of the 3.5 mile long Mulsanne Straight. On that lap, he got in the slipstream (or draft as it is called in circle-track racing) and got a great run out of the Mulsanne Kink. Then just before cresting the hill after the Kink, Balto suddenly emerged from Kline's slipstream. As Kline continued battling the wind created by his car's movement through the air ahead, Balto had less air resistance to ward off. By the time they cleared the hill, Balto was clearly alongside the Jaguar of his countryman. Jeff, however, was having none of it and tried to close the door. But that was a very dangerous thing to do considering the incredible speeds the cars were doing at this point. If Balto did get forced onto the gravel lining the shoulders of the road, he could easily lose control, spin, and crash heavily. Not only could he go into a spin, but Jeff could be collected as well. The two cars did rub fenders and trade paint, but fortunately, no damage resulted from that. Jeff hugged the right-hand side of the road in order to defend the inside line going into the Mulsanne Corner. By doing so, he hoped to force Balto to go the long way around the outside through the tight right-hander. As they came out of the corner, Jeff tried to force Balto onto the grass by taking the normal line on the exit. Balto, however, was having none of that, and he countered by steering back onto the track. Unfortunately, Balto's right front corner made contact with Jeff's left rear corner, turning the Jaguar onto the grass after the exit of the corner. Unlike his previous pass attempts on his fellow American, this time Balto's overtaking attempt was successful.
Behind him, the Jaguar spun as Kline tried to get back onto the pavement. The track announcer and the radio commentators for Radio Le Mans got caught by surprise when they saw the incident play out on the television monitors.
"Kline's looped it!" John Hindhaugh of Radio Le Mans exclaimed. "Jeff Kline has spun at the exit of Mulsanne Corner! He was in a very heated battle for the overall lead with Balto Wolf, and he has now lost out big time in that battle."
"What happened. Balto?" Kurt Schwartz asked his driver. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright," Balto replied. "I just held my line coming out of Mulsanne and the Jaguar just tried to put me in the weeds!"
"Is the car okay?" Kurt asked again.
"So far, it feels okay," Balto responded. The car was still drivable. The big worry was that the left front fender may have been knocked in, causing it to rub against the tire. If left untreated, such damage could result in a tire failure. Balto drove carefully through Indianapolis and Arnage corners after the contact to make sure that the car was still in one piece. Everything checked out just fine for him.
"Did the Jaguar get going again?" Balto asked his crew.
"It's still running, but it's a long way back, Balto," Rhinehold Joest answered back. "Maintain your lead, but ease up a bit so that you can make to your next scheduled pit stop."
"Got it," Balto shot back.
Balto drove the remaining laps before his pit stop as normal. The stop itself was routine, but include checking the left front tire for damage caused by the fender possibly rubbing it. No such damage was found, and after the fuel tank was filled and the tires changed, Balto returned to the track.
As the second half of Balto's first run in the car wore on, dusk began to set in. This would create a hazard on the run from Mulsanne to Indianapolis. Because that run down Route D338 ran west, it ran virtually right into the setting sun. Drivers would be nearly blinded by the glare from the onset of dusk until night fully set in. Luckily for Balto, his run would end while there was still daylight. Plus he was wearing dark goggles, so glare wouldn't be as big an issue. When it came time for his nighttime stint, he had a pair of clear goggles to switch over to.
One interesting feature about this race for these cars was that the pit boards used to provide vital information to the drivers like intervals between cars ahead and behind, when to pit, etc., were positioned not along the pit wall, but at Mulsanne Corner. The cars would be going to fast along the pit straight for the drivers to read the info on the pit board, so the best idea was to position the pit boards at the slowest corner on the track, which was Mulsanne. Arnage would have been another good position, as it is also a slow corner. Interestingly, Balto had suggested that his car's pit board be positioned there to avoid all the crowding at Mulsanne Corner. That was one of a few suggestions of his that was actually taken seriously. And that's where his pit board was eventually placed. The other reason why he decided Arnage would be the better location was because it was closer to the pits, meaning that a "pit this lap" message would be fresher in his memory. It worked the first time around for him. His seatmates took a while to warm up to that idea, but they eventually liked it, too.
Sure enough, Balto made it back to the pits safely for his second stop, during which he would had the car back over to Bob Wollek at the end of lap 90. A few laps earlier, on lap 86, the #3 Jaguar XJR-9LM retired from the race due to sustained damage from an off that Jeff Kline had while chasing Balto Wolf back down. Before heading back into the garage, Balto helped Bob buckle in, just as Hans had help him buckle in when he began his first stint. The stop went according to plan, with the driver and tires changed, the fuel tank refilled, and before long, Bob was back out on the track and still in the lead. Balto had done what he had hoped to do, build a sufficient cushion of a lead over his adversaries during his time in the car, so that when it came time to make a pit stop, the car would return to the race in the lead. Which is exactly what he managed to pull off.
"Good job out there, Balto," Reinhold told his driver after he went back into the garage. "The nearest opponent is just coming onto he pit straight right now. You managed to get us quite a lead out there."
"You sure managed to sock it to 'em out there," Kurt said after he walked over to where his driver and their boss were standing.
"That was some driving you pulled off out there," Hans added.
"I told you guys I wouldn't disappoint you out there," Balto responded to their comments.
After all the talk subsided, Balto immediately went over to see Jenna. As usual, she greeted him with a kiss and a hug.
"Sounds like you did really good out there," said Jenna.
"Sure did," Balto said, backing up what she heard from Reinhold, Hans, and Kurt.
Chapter 13: Nighttime is the right time(?)
Dusk at Le Mans typically last until past 10:00 PM. Nighttime fully sets in as late as 11:00. The best place to be for nighttime at Le Mans is at the Esses, watching the cars shriek down from the Dunlop Bridge, belching fire in the form of unburned fuel igniting in the exhaust pipe and disc brakes glowing like hot neon used to light up signs on the Las Vegas strip. It was about that time when Jenna headed down there with her camera to take some pictures. Balto, meanwhile, stayed behind with the team up in the garage. His next stint was due to start around 11:30 PM, so he couldn't go with her and expect to be back in time.
Balto had told Jenna about how breathtaking the view is at the Esses in the dark of night. From the way Balto described it, it sounded like quite an awe-inspiring sight, and after hearing about that, she couldn't wait to go there and see it for herself. Now was her chance to experience it.
Sure enough, Hans brought the #9 Joest Racing Porsche 962C into the pits on schedule to hand the car over to Balto. The stop was routine and went according to plan. After less than a minute on pit road, Balto was back in the race. Seconds later, the pale pink #9 962C rocketed down the hill towards the Esses. As it passed under the light from a light pole, Jenna managed to get a snapshot of the car as it passed by. And judging by what she saw in the view finder - exhaust belching raw flame, brake discs/rotors glowing - what she saw was timeless. During C1 qualifying, Jenna even went down to the Kink for some good shots during the dusk hours. Watching the cars coming streaking through that horror at 240 mph (the Mercedes C9s reached 401 km/h, or 249 mph) truly was a sight to behold.
Back out on the track, Balto held a comfortable lead of more than half a minute over his nearest adversary, the #63 Sauber Mercedes C9, back in the hands of Stanley Dickens. Balto's seatmates had gone into fuel-saving mode during their latest stints to make sure that their 2,550 liter supply of fuel would last until the checkered flag. Balto had also been advised to go into fuel-conservation mode, which he did. With the lead that he had, he could afford to do so. Although Balto would still go foot-to-the-floor on the straights, he would shift at slightly lower revs, brake a tad earlier and less forcefully, downshifting at lower revs under braking, and more carefully re-applying the throttle after cornering were all the measures he used to help save fuel.
"How are my times looking?" Balto asked his crew.
"Looking good, Balto," Kurt replied. "You're lead has stabilized at 31 seconds on the dot."
"You're in good shape so far, Balto," Reinhold added. "You've already done enough fuel saving for this run."
"Thanks guys," Balto put in.
It was almost midnight when Balto started another lap, although he felt the car's handling to be a little erratic through the Dunlop Curve and Chicane, Esses, and Tertre Rouge. The hint was obvious: there were small raindrops on the windshield.
"Guys, when did they say the rain might arrive?" Balto asked, sounding very concerned.
"We don't know," Reinhold responded. "Remember, the local meteorologists were on strike, so no teams have any weather reports available."
"Well, I've got some drops on the windshield, here," Balto put in.
"How bad is it?" Kurt asked his driver.
"It's not very bad so far," said Balto, who by now was near the Mulsanne Kink. "Maybe it's the tire wear I've sustained so far that's making it worse."
"I don't know," said Kurt in a worried tone. "If you think it's getting bad enough, then pit."
Balto rounded Mulsanne Corner before replying.
"Mulsanne is bone dry," Balto radioed back. "I think it's just the north end of the circuit that's a mess right now."
"Yeah, we've got some moisture in the pit area," Kurt informed his driver.
"That's what I thought," Balto added as he reached over to make a brake bias adjustment, the only real such adjustment he could make from the cockpit. "It's-"
ZAP!
Suddenly, everything went black. Sparks flew inside the cockpit. And not in a good way.
"Ah, shit! Shit!" Balto exclaimed as he pulled his left paw back and winced slightly from the pain of the shock. Noticing that the radio went dead, he panicked.
"Come back! Come back pit lane! I've lost contact with you!"
But Balto's troubles were far worse than the radio blackout. Everything used for illumination - instrumentation gauge panel lighting, headlights and taillights - had short-circuited.
"Balto, come back! You're unreadable now!" Kurt frantically exclaimed. He had no luck getting through. Rhinehold's luck wasn't any better.
"Come back pit lane!" Balto exclaimed with the same frantic tone that Rhinehold and Kurt had. "Got some major problems here! Gauge illumination lights: gone! Headlights: OUT! I cannot see anything! It's completely dark out here! Come back pit lane! I'm in serious danger now!"
Balto had just reached the braking zone for the right-hander before Indianapolis Corner when the lights went out. He made it through Indianapolis Corner with no problems, but was now at a crawl on the run down to Arnage. As Balto tried to negotiate the turn, he was rammed from behind by a lapped C1 car and knocked into the tire wall right even with his pit board. The collision blocked the already narrow track. The public road sections of the full Circuit de la Sarthe are rather narrow, which can make overtaking, both for positions and lapping slower cars rather tricky.
"Just when I thought this couldn't possibly get any worse," Balto mumbled before trying to maneuver his now noticeably mangled car out of the barrier. "Son of a bitch!" During all that, he pounded the steering wheel in frustration.
Meanwhile, the pit board holder for Balto's #9 Porsche, whose radio was not affected by the blackout on board the car, radioed the pits about the problem.
"Joest pits, be advised, car #9 has lost its lights," the pit board holder radioed the pits.
"Lost its lights?" Reinhold asked.
"Both the headlights AND taillights are out," the pit board holder replied. "They're absolutely not working. He's also probably got some suspension damage at either end of the car."
Balto proceeded to drive slowly back to the pits, relying on following the taillights of other cars as they came speeding past at frightening speeds considering his predicament. He couldn't go very fast because not only had he lost his headlights, but he had also suffered a left front puncture when he got shunted into the tire barriers. Steering through the Porsche Curves, Maison Blanche and the Ford Chicane was gonna be very challenging due to the flat left front tire. Fortunately, he got through with no problem, despite holding up a few cars even though he tried to stay off the racing line as much as he possibly could.
Eventually, Balto brought his slightly mangled Porsche back to the pits. The crew was in a state of absolute disbelief. Kurt couldn't believe it what he saw. Hans and Bob couldn't believe it, either. Neither could Reinhold. When Jenna saw the state of Balto's car, her jaw dropped and her arms hung limp at her side.
"What happened?" Reinhold asked as Balto took off his helmet and unbuckled his safety harness.
"I don't know," Balto responded, shaking his head. "All I remember is reaching down for the brake bias adjustment knob to make an adjustment to that. Next thing I know, ZAP! Everything just shorted out right there in the cockpit. The illumination lights for my gauges were gone, my headlights were gone, everything. I'm surprised that the short didn't affect the engine in anyway."
Immediately after pulling onto the garage, the mechanics began working on the #9 962C. Further diagnosis revealed that water had somehow gotten into the wiring for the lights on the car, causing them to short circuit. The entire wiring setup for the lights would have to be replaced. Oddly, the ECU for the engine wasn't adversely affected. The impact with the tire barrier had also damaged the front bodywork of the car in addition to the damage done by the punctured tire.
As the crew went to work on the car, Balto could only stand and watch with his head hanging down. Once again, a race that appeared to be in the bag had gotten away from him as a result of circumstances that appeared to be out of his control. He could not believe his rotten luck. His chances of a podium finish appeared to be dying right in front of him.
"What did I ever do to deserve this?" he asked himself to no avail.
The car was eventually repaired and sent back out with Bob Wollek at the wheel. But they had lost a huge amount of time - over 30 minutes - and were now seventh overall, 9 laps down on the leading #63 Mercedes C9. Worse yet, before Balto had his problems, the #7 Joest Porsche of Frank Jelinski, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, and Louis Krages, had dropped out after completing 124 laps due to a crash that resulted in terminal suspension damage.
They now had a fight on their hands to get back in the hunt. With one car out, and the remaining two too far back to be of any threat, only attrition could help them advance back through the field. The #8 car, in the hands of Henri Pescarolo, Claude Bellot-Lena, and Jean-Louis Ricci, had already lost several laps due to mechanical problems in addition to the fact that it was the "tortoise" in the Joest lineup, meaning it was the slowest of their three cars.
Chapter 14: Day Two
Bob Wollek and Hans-Joachim Stuck had been making up time and positions all throughout the night following the mysterious electrical short that struck exactly at midnight while Balto Wolf was at the wheel during his nighttime stint. Balto himself was due back in at around 3:20 AM. By this point of the race, a new opponent emerges to make the race a far greater challenge: exhaustion. Drivers, mechanics, flag marshals, everyone is affected in one way or another by this foreboding adversary. They may catch some sleep every now and then, but their nerves are still strung tight, always on the edge. So while they may find time to recharge, it's not a very peaceful time for them.
Because of the time they had lost in the garage due to repairs, Bob, Hans, and Balto were able to push a bit harder than normal race pace because the fuel consumption pressures were relaxed due to the time spent in the garage. By the time Balto began his third stint in the car, they had gained back one of the laps that they had lost. It was still wet out, as during Bob's most recent stint, it rained rather heavily. Tom Walkinshaw Racing, who fields the works Jaguar XJR-9LMs, said that they feared what these Bob and Hans were capable of in the wet the most, and were expecting a big challenge from the #9 Porsche in the event of a rain shower.
By the time Balto began his next stint, the rain had let up, although the track was still damp in the more open areas that weren't surrounded by trees. The wooded areas, on the other hand, remained thoroughly soaked. And with sunrise not for another two hours, the track wouldn't fully dry out for quite some time. One problem with a long track like Le Mans is because it covers such a large area, the weather can vary greatly around the circuit. It can be raining hard at one end, yet completely dry at the other. All long road courses can have this problem, which really complicates race strategy. And can make for some really crazy races. For a really good example, look no further than the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix on the old layout of Spa-Francorchamps, which back then was an 8.77 mile long, roughly triangular shaped connection of public roads touching the villages of Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot. The cars accelerated away from the starting grid in dry conditions, but a quarter of the way around they hit a wall of rain and nearly everyone went off. In all, only six cars completed the first lap. The rest were in ditches or, in Jo Bonnier's case, teetering over a precipice.
Most of the field was eliminated in a succession of minor accidents, but Jackie Stewart's BRM had the biggest shunt of the all when it crahsed into the basement of a woodcutter's cottage adjacent to the Masta Straight. He was trapped in the wrecked car and soaked in leaking fuel until he was rescued by fellow competitors Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant. This experience was the spark that ignited Jackie's career-long commitment to safety in motorsports, which is still being felt even today.
Balto had opted for full rain tires, or wets, due to the fact that the wooded areas remained thoroughly soaked. And a good decision it was. Unfortunately, everyone else was also on wets, so Balto wasn't making up much ground on the track. He did, however, make up places due to other cars having problems. Among them were the #1 Jaguar XJR-9LM and the #62 Mercedes C9. As his turn in the car was due to end at roughly 4:50 AM, the sky would still be dark for about another hour, which would really hinder track drying. The only thing helping out would be the heat the cars were generating. Still, it would be a slow process.
"Where am I running, position-wise?" Balto radioed to the pits.
"You're in P5, Balto," Kurt responded. By P5, he meant position 5, meaning fifth place overall and in class.
"How am I faring in terms of lap times?" Balto asked again.
"Marginally quicker than the leaders," Kurt replied. "You're still not gaining much. Hans has done most of the gaining for us in recovering."
Sure enough, darkness lasted until after Balto had finished his next stint. He was still considerably discouraged to be so far back after the headlight snafu that occurred around midnight during his third run in the car at around 4:50 AM. When he handed off the car to Bob, the #9 Porsche was up to fourth overall and in C1. His next run was due to start around 7:50 AM.
Chapter 15: Push To The Finish
The next several hours were rather uneventful for Balto Wolf, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bob Wollek. They had managed to keep their car out of trouble for the most part after the drama of the nighttime hours. By 9:00 AM, the #9 Joest Racing Porsche 962C was up to third overall. The other remaining Joest entry, car #8, was hanging on in the top 10 as well, albeit farther back. If either one of them was gonna mount a charge for the lead, time was starting to run out. And car #9 was their best hope. It would take them staying out of trouble and the cars ahead of them having trouble as well for them to get back in the hunt. But with 7 hours to go, there was still plenty of time left. But less and less of it remained with every lap that passed. All they could do was soldier on.
The class that had the heaviest toll taken on it was the C2 class. Less than ten of that category's starters were still in the race. This isn't much of a surprise, as C2 cars have generally been unreliable at endurance races, which may have had something to do with the shortening of races on the World Sportscar Championship schedule from 1000 km to just 480 km. The fuel consumption rules still applied, however.
Balto handed the car off to Bob at around 9:20 AM. About 45 minutes later, they had another setback when the starter motor had failed during a routine pit stop. The starter motor would have to be replaced. And it was in just 10 minutes. But in doing so, Bob, Hans, and Balto lost 3 laps on the leaders and were now 10 laps down. Their hopes of mounting a comeback appeared to be slipping away. However, they didn't lose any positions in the process, as the next-placed car was too far back to have made up the deficit it had on them in the time it took to change the starter motor.
But things weren't all bad for the team from Mannheim. The leading C9 also had a starter motor fail and lost as many laps in the pits, putting the gap right back to where it was. The time lost in the pits bumped the estimated time of the next scheduled pit stop to roughly 11:00 AM, when Hans was next scheduled to take the wheel. Balto would get back in the car at 12:30 PM and stay in the car until 2:00 PM. By now, Balto was clearly feeling the full effect of the fatigue from the race. Almost immediately after climbing out of the car and debriefing with Kurt, Balto immediately went to find a place to nap. He had tried to sleep during between stints during the night, but with all the problems he had during the nighttime hours, he was on edge, all strung up. And it showed during his latest stints. He seemed very exhausted.
Balto wasn't alone, however. His own co-drivers, Bob and Hans, were also worn out from more than 18 hours of racing at speeds exceeding 240 mph. The engineers, however, feel the effects of fatigue to an even greater degree than the drivers or the mechanics. They're the ones with the responsibility of keeping track of everything going on with the car all the time. And when in their position, there's practically very little to no time for sleep. Kurt was a very obvious example. He'd been a nervous wreck since Balto had the #9 car's headlights short circuit on him in the middle of the night. He hadn't slept at all since.
After looking around, Balto eventually sat down in a lawn chair that wasn't being used at the time and went to sleep for a while. Jenna took notice and put a blanket over Balto to help keep him warm. Although he didn't exactly need it, Balto did appreciate Jenna's gesture, showing it with a cheery, yet tired, smile. Jenna pulled up another lawn chair and sat down next to him.
"You gonna be okay to drive later, baby?" Jenna asked.
"I think so," Balto replied.
Hans was sitting next to them catching a brief break of his own. He didn't stick around much longer, as he had to get ready for his next stint. Sure enough, at exactly 11:00 AM on the dot, Bob brought the #9 Joest Porsche 962C into the pits and handed the car off to Hans. Like Bob's most recent stint, Hans's turn in the car was largely uneventful. However, he did have a close call with the #10 962C from Kremer Racing, which locked its brakes under braking for the Mulsanne Corner and flew across the track in front of Hans. Through great evasive action, Hans avoided getting it and possibly being taken out of the race. Balto had a similar close call during his latest stint when the #25 Nissan R89C, driven by IMSA GTP rivals Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson, along with Arie Luyendyk, after passing him at the entrance to the Porsche Curves, had a high speed suspension failure that threw the car into the barrier, and in doing so, almost collected him. That incident almost scared Balto witless.
"Nissan off! Nissan off in front of me!" he remembered hollering into the mike.
The incidnet also reminded him of seeing John Morton do that blowover at Lime Rock Park last year.
"Which car was that?" Balto asked. "I couldn't tell!"
"The #25 Nissan," Reinhold answered back. "The one being driven by your IMSA buddies Geoff and Chip."
The "buddies" part was meant a bit sarcastically, as Reinhold Joest knew what happened between Balto, Chip, and Geoff recently at Lime Rock. Also out of the race at this point was the #2 Jaguar, driven by John Nielsen, Andy Wallace, and Price Cobb (all of whom Balto knew from GTP), meaning that TWR was now down to two XJR-9LMs. And neither of them were in a position to win at the moment without help from attrition.
Right now, as the race wound down, the focus became more about finishing the race, making sure the car came home in one piece. Sure enough, during their remaining stints in the car, Bob, Hans, and Balto were ordered to make sure that they brought their car to the finish. Bob finished off the remaining two hours of the race, bringing the car home in third place in C1 and overall. It wasn't what they hoped for, especially after how well they ran earlier in the race. But for Balto, who returned to Le Mans for the first time since his near-fatal accident one year ago, who put up a performance that raised several eyebrows up and down pit road, and who never gave up despite being largely out of the hunt for the latter two-thirds of the race, it felt like a win. In his first full appearance in the greatest endurance race on the planet, which is also one of the three biggest races in the world (along with the Indy 500 and F1 Monaco Grand Prix), he had proven his worth. And that, to him, was a victory in its own right.
The podium finishers for each class were as follows:
C1
#63 Sauber C9 - Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter, Stanley Dickens; 398 laps
#61 Sauber C9 - Mauro Baldi, Kenny Acheson, Gianfranco Brancatelli; 384 laps
#9 Porsche 962C - Balto Wolf, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Bob Wollek; 382 laps
GTP
#201 Mazda 767B - Dave Kennedy, Pierre Dieudonne, Chris Hodgetts; 368 laps
#202 Mazda 767B - Takashi Yorino, Herve Regout, Elliot Forbes-Robinson; 365 laps
#203 Mazda 767B - Yojiro Terada, Marc Duez, Volker Wielder; 339 laps
C2
#113 Cougar C20B - Jean-Claude Andruet, Phillipe Farjon, Shunju Kasuya; 312 laps
#171 Spice SE88C - Robbie Stirling, Ross Hyett, Don Shead; 307 laps
#108 Spice SE87C - Dudley Wood, Evant Clemens, Phillipe de Henning; 303 laps
The best placed Jaguar finished fourth overall, while the third of the three Sauber C9s came home in fifth place, and the other remaining Joest Porsche, the #8 car with the all French driver lineup, would finish in sixth position.
A huge crowd started to form on the main straight and the pit area under the winner's rostrum. This is a moment every sports car racing fan dreams of: to be on the track before the start and/or after the finish. For the drivers, mechanics, engineers, and other team personnel, it is the moment they can at long last catch their breath. For the winners, it's a chance to enjoy their reward for all their hard work, knowing that they have joined an elite, illustrious group of athletes. For the rest, a look at what might have been. That may have been the case for Balto and his seatmates, Bob and Hans, but in a 24-hour endurance race like Le Mans, a podium finish is never an easy accomplishment. For Balto himself, it was quite an honor to share the car with two of sports car racing's best. And to do as well as he did during the run-up to the race and the race itself felt really good for him.
"You did a good job out there, kid," Reinhold Joest told his driver.
"Thanks, Reinhold," Balto replied.
Kurt also had to praise the driver he engineered for during race week.
"You did better than I expected, Balto," Kurt said.
"Really, I did?" Balto asked quizzically.
"You sure did," Kurt responded.
Seeing how happy Balto was with his 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, resulting in Mazda and Nissan leaving, which left Toyota with the only remaining works team. The gradually diminishing variety of cars would disappoint race fans and eventually kill off the series, critics said. GTP cars ran their last race at Phoenix International Raceway on October 2, 1993.
GTP is often credited with many automotive innovations, including traction control, active suspension, and antilock brakes. One team innovated hospitalities now used by many major race teams. But most notably, it is best remembered for the camaraderie among its drivers, especially rivals. Hans Stuck commented in the Forward for the book Prototypes: The History of IMSA GTP, sarcastically compared GTP's camaraderie with F1's lack of such.
IMSA GT's final season came in 1998, with Exxon having taken over as title sponsor in 1994. It is currently the sanctioning body of the American Le Mans Series, which is based off the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Out of Balto's two seatmates for the main race covered in this story, only one is still alive today. In the week leading up to the 2001 12 Hours of Sebring, Bob Wollek was struck by a car while riding his bicycle and died of injuries he suffered in the crash.
Who played who: The names on the left indicate Balto characters that appeared in the story. The names on the right designate who they played in the story.
Balto = Balto Wolf
Jenna = Jenna Morrison
Boris = Boris Gossinov
Steele = Bradley Steele
Nikki = Nikki Adams
Kaltag = John Kaltag
Star = Ryan Star
Dixie = Dixie Thompson
Sylvie = Sylvie Tremblay
The following human names are original names created by the author:
Kyle, Kelly, Rodney and Alvin Fox
Stan Ridgemount
Nikki Sechs
All other names are those of real people.
All Balto characters are (c) Universal Studios and Amblimation.
FIA and ACO names are (c) Federation Internationale de l'Automobile and Automobile Club de l'Ouest (Automobile Club of the West), respectively.
IMSA and ALMS names (c) International Motor Sports Association.
Porsche, 956, 962, 962, and WSC-95 (c) Porsche AG.
All other car manufacturer, race circuit, and sponsor names (c) their respective owners. I don't remember all of them and list would be too long, anyway.