Virtual reality drifting with Castrol Edge

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Precision-guiding a Roush ‘Stage 3' Mustang around a track is one (already quite difficult) thing. Doing it while your brain thinks it's negotiating a landscape of cresting waves of volcanic rock and huge, shifting stalagmites is another challenge entirely.

But that's exactly what Castrol asked drifting supremo Matt Powers to do in the latest Castrol Edge Titanium Trial.

Using a state-of-the-art Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 headset and a modified car, Matt took the tuned-up Mustang on a high-octane sideways spin around a deserted track.

But while his team watched him screech round cones and nail hairpins on the asphalt, Matt was swerving tumbling rock, dodging precarious drops off sheer cliff faces and racing with an artificial rival in a breathtaking virtual world.

The pioneering technology is the result of months of work by Castrol's creative tech wizards.

The team combined mountains of positional data from Matt's Oculus Rift DK2 helmet with that from the car's on-board sensors to orient Matt in his virtual world, effectively turning his real car into a giant game controller.

After taking on the trial, Matt said: "It was exhilarating and challenging like nothing I've ever done before. It's been awesome not only being involved and testing this next generation of gaming technology - but also the possibilities this opens up for motor sport in general are mind-blowing."

It's part of Castrol's research into the future of driving in the groundbreaking Titanium Trials.

Each trial places some of the world's top drivers in cars powered by Castrol EDGE with Titanium FST - Castrol's strongest and most technologically advanced oil to date - and invites them to push the boundaries of performance.

Matt said: "I had to rely on my instincts and the car to perform, with the strength of Castrol Edge in the engine to give me reassurance the car would reach its maximum performance..."