Watch Corvette Racing Crew Do Complete Brake Change in 12 Seconds
Just when we thought we were pretty good at brake jobs, along comes Pratt & Miller’s amazing Corvette crew.
The dynamic duo of Corvette Racing and Pratt & Miller Engineering have proven to be a rather formidable force over the years. Together, they’ve racked up over 100 individual race wins, as well as 8 victories at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. This match made in heaven has obviously paid dividends for both General Motors and P&M, but there are also many moving parts in any racing effort.
Things like engineering and the car itself are clearly important. Then, you’ve got to have a great managing team and some talented drivers. But one component of any race team that doesn’t really receive the credit they deserve are its pit crews. The group of folks who perform things like tire changes and refueling sessions at lightning quick speeds. And judging from this amazing video we came across on Facebook, Pratt & Miller has one heck of crew in that regard.
In around 35 seconds, the pit crew manages to cram around 24 gallons of fuel into this Corvette during a Le Mans stop. But even more incredibly, they also managed to change all the brakes in just 12 seconds! Granted, these things are designed to be easy and quick to swap out, but that doesn’t make the effort any less impressive.
It almost doesn’t seem real. After removing the wheels and tires, one crew member detaches the brake lines and pulls the entire assembly, calipers and all, off the car and out of the way. Meanwhile, a second crew member grabs the new assembly and sticks it in place while the first guy attaches the lines. It’s one of the smoothest things you’ll ever see. But that’s what happens when you spend a lot of time practicing.
Heck, we thought we were pretty good at brake jobs, but we’ve got nothing on these guys. And in our opinion, their efforts deserve a little more praise. Sure, it takes a lot to make any racing team successful. But at least today, let’s give a little credit to these Corvette experts and their beautifully-synchronized ballet of maintenance!
Photos: Facebook
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