Still slick track. Factory driver Mark Webber is in the midst of a thrilling race, clocking very good lap times in the 919 Hybrid. “Box, Mark, Box,” radios the racing engineer, requesting full service: refueling plus a new driver and tires. The pit team now takes over the race for around 50 seconds. Every movement is perfectly coordinated and has been practiced thousands of times. Just as on the track, every tenth of a second is crucial, and the crew wants to be faster than the competition. The pressure is enormous. Cars are refueled at every scheduled stop during endurance races. While the car is being fueled, it’s forbidden to change the wheels. That has to be done afterward. To minimize the downtime, tires and drivers are usually changed at the same stop. An extra break would take too much time. At the entrance to the pit, Mark slows down to 60 km/h. He unplugs the radio cable and pulls out the drinking tube. Then the action starts.

919 Hybrid,pit stop, 2014, Porsche AG
Arrival: 60 km/h maximum
919 Hybrid, pit stop, 2014, Porsche AG
Refueling: 30 times in 24 hours
919 Hybrid, pit stop, 2014, Porsche AG
Driver switch: 3 men, 1 car
Jacking up: Upward at 50 bar
919 Hybrid, pit stop, 2014, Porsche AG
Wheel change: 4 wheels, 2 mechanics
Departure: 1,053 drills

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