Grab the popcorn and settle in, because this is rally racing that you NEED to watch. An FPV drone chased the world’s best rallycross drivers during the final 2021 World RX event at the Circuit de Lohéac in France last weekend. And the resulting footage is pretty dope!
Brothers Timmy and Kevin Hansen dominated the action at the Lohéac track that provides just the right blend of dirt and asphalt. The road to their commanding one-two finish is riddled with intense shoulder-to-shoulder driving and short fast laps.
You see the vehicles rubbing into each other on the mixed terrain, with one car suffering damage that resulted in billows of tire smoke. The Hansen brothers then decide to speed away from their pursuers in a textbook getaway, with the tires on their Peugeots screaming in front of 25,000 enthusiastic fans.
Video of FPV drone vs. rallycross racing
As Timmy remarked after the win:
Rallycross is about much more than just being quick, and there have been many races in my career where I have had the speed but not come away with the result. Kevin was super-fast in the final – he was on my bumper the whole time, so I had to keep pushing as hard as I could.
FPV drones are a game changer for sports videography
FPV drones have changed the game for action sports. They give us what you’d call the “video game angle.” Being fast, quick, and agile, they allow you to get really close to the cars. This unique perspective puts the viewer smack in the middle of the action, providing results so impressive that, sometimes, it may even feel better than experiencing the thing in real life.
A hat tip to the FPV drone pilots, too. Because the job doesn’t require them to just “keep up” with the racers. Having an instinctual eye to anticipate the moves and speeds of the racers is a prerequisite for any FPV pilot filming live-action sports. And the amount of skill required to keep the cars in the frame while turning at speeds like these? That’s just insane.
It’s little wonder then that more and more sporting franchises are looking to implementing first-person drone views into their footage. Recently, NFL teams Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins gave us a tour of their state-of-the-art practice facilities with FPV drones. And who can forget the ridiculously impressive FPV drone fly-through at the PGA Tour Championship that coincided with the World RX race!?
Read more: NYPD is taking no chances with drones at the US Open
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