Advertisement
BBC TopGear
BBC TopGear
Subscribe to Top Gear newsletter
Sign up now for more news, reviews and exclusives from Top Gear.
Subscribe
Motorsport

Watch a man drift with his feet

Published: 18 May 2015

Here at TG, we've got serious respect for professional driftmeisters. Doing monster skids at silly speeds with limiters bouncing off the red line and a cabin full of tyre smoke isn't easy at the best of times. But let us introduce you to dorifotu kingu extraordinaire, Bartek Ostalowski - a genuine helmsman who does massive, world-class slides using just his feet.

After a car accident in 2006, doctors were left with no option but to amputate both of Ostalowski's arms. But through dogged determination and skill we can't quite comprehend, this hasn't hampered his efforts to become a professional drift pilot.

Thanks to a modified R34 Skyline and quicker feet than Michael Flatley, Bartek is currently shredding tyres in the Polish drift leagues.

How? Well, the car's fitted with a bespoke semi-automatic gearbox so Bartek can use his shoulder to nudge the cogs back and forth, his right foot hopping between the accelerator, brake and foot-operated handbrake as his left foot takes care of steering duties.

Watching Bartek's onboard footage is truly mesmerising. Drifting is a dark art, requiring supreme balance of throttle, steering inputs and timing to equal slithery sideways. To nail it so spectacularly with only half the conventional complement of limbs is ambitious, but most definitely not rubbish.

Click the video above to watch Ostalowski doing stuff with his feet that the rest of us can't do with arms and legs combined.

Advertisement - Page continues below
Advertisement - Page continues below

Top Gear
Newsletter

Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

More from Top Gear

Loading
See more on Nissan

Subscribe to the Top Gear Newsletter

Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, you agree to receive news, promotions and offers by email from Top Gear and BBC Studios. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy policy.

BBC TopGear

Try BBC Top Gear Magazine

subscribe