A pin-on-disc machine has been used to make in situ observations of the dynamics of the contact between brake pad materials and a glass disc, while simultaneously monitoring the friction force. The machine, that is normally used to study elastohydrodynamical film formation, has been slightly modified and fitted with a brake pad material sample instead of a rolling ball. The glass disc facilitates direct microscopy and video recording of the dynamic contact situation using a microscope equipped with a CCD-camera. The most obvious features of the topography of a brake pad are the contact plateaus, small flat islands rising typically a few microns above the rest of the surface. These plateaus are based on the more wear resistant constituents of the pad such as fibres and abrasive particles, but also include softer ingredients. The study shows that the softer and more porous areas surrounding the contact plateaus are worn mainly through three-body abrasion. When the disc is sliding against the plateaus, a large number of small particles (wear debris) are transported through the narrow labyrinth between the surfaces, milling down the weaker constituents. The wear debris can also form very small particles or a continous friction film that may become compacted in front of the initial contact plateaus based on, e.g. a metal fibre. In this way larger but softer plateaus form. The investigation elucidates the rapid changes of the contact situation on a microscale.