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Bluff City 42: Engines on the Track Pt. 01
🕑 Added 2023-02-27 17:01:01 +0000 UTCPit Lane Light-Pulse: Reappraising the Choi Method: Part 1
An interview with Choi Moon-soo
“Back in the day, you’d see the car come down the pit lane and screech to a halt. Like clockwork, the pit crew would be waiting, tools in hand, and they’d descend on the thing like vultures on a carcass. Wheels off. The fuel line comes in. Temperature and electricity probes. Wheels on. Signal to the driver. Away it goes.
In the early part of the 21st Century, many years ago, it took them about fourteen seconds. Before she disappeared, my sister got it down to two.
When we started, a full turnover took about six seconds. The number’s not clear in my head. Feels so long ago, and so distinct from what the teams do now, with the Choi Method. Maybe the difference between two and six seconds doesn’t feel like a lot to you, but it’s a while, I tell you. Whole span. And she whittled it down, second by second.
People talk about the Choi Method now like it’s any other part of the race. Fair enough. They print it on some of the ceramic engine mountings, too. Let folks know the Method will work: Choi Certified. Every time I hear it, a little hand closes around my heart for a second. Apparently some guys at an auto repair in Bangkok figured out how to make it work with a normal car.
Liana was never secretive about how she did it. Her team had to know, and once the Method took hold, the other teams did too. Incheon Thunderbolt never tried to lock it down. Knowing Liana, there was some line in her contract that stopped them. She’d give talks, walk teams through it. Once you know how it’s done, it’s just a matter of practice.
Just a matter of practice. They say the Austrians don’t call it a pit stop any more. You want to learn the Choi Method? Close your eyes. Can you hear it? It’s coming down the pit lane. Here we go.”
Featuring: Austin Walker, Ali Acampora, Art Martinez-Tebbel, and Sylvi Bullet
Music & Description by Jack de Quidt
Gravity RIP is available at https://gravity.rip/
A transcription is available for this episode here.
A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project.
Comments
Obcerd
I was really hoping you all would land on "The Big Clipper"
Nepenthe
Hood Tony the Tiger reference pics in the show notes would be extremely helpful.
pavak
that intro was well worth the wait
