Video: This is what an eight-minute gearbox change looks like | GRR
What could you do to your car in eight minutes? Sweep it out, check the oil, hose her down? Heck, you could even top up the type pressures if you got a move on…
However, those 480 seconds have a totally different meaning to race mechanics, who can perform complicated tasks in the tightest of turn arounds. Tasks such as gearbox swaps, for example. Yep, you heard that right – it takes pit teams just eight minutes to swap the entire rear transmission out of a Le Mans challenger.
It’s hard to visualise, we know. So tune in to this epic clip from the 2000 24 Heures du Mans and watch as the Audi pit crew swap the rear transmission in a damaged LMP900 for a fresh unit.
The video starts as Christian Abt, in the no.7 Audi, crawls back to the pit with a blow-out. His crew soon discovers that there is more to the damage than meets the eye, and set about removing the back end and replacing the transmission at a blistering pace. Within eight minutes the job is completed and Abt is heading back to the track, on his, and team-mates Michele Alboreto and Rinaldo Capello way, to an eventual third place victory. It’s almost unbelievable.
Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: This footage shows how crazy the Targa Florio was