Drones produce some cool aerial footage, but there’s a good reason why most racing events tell you to leave them at home. This is what happens when one flies directly into a car’s path on a World Rally Championship stage. It doesn’t end well for the drone.
Here’s Toyota WRC driver Esapekka Lappi taking Micky’s Jump on the Monte Lerno stage of this weekend’s Rally Italia Sardegna. Unfortunately, there’s a drone in the flying Finn’s way.
It’s a good thing Lappi is well-versed in the rally adage of “press on regardless.” If that drone had surprised him into making any sudden moves on this jump—where a lot of people were standing around watching—it could have ended with a lot worse than just a broken drone. That’s why they tell you to keep drones far, far away from the cars.
Needless to say, it’s pretty satisfying to see a drone get hit for being where it shouldn’t have been. My only regret is that the drone still managed to stay airborne after getting visibly broken by Lappi’s car.
Leave the cool close-up drone shots to the pros working with the series who’ve presumably been read the riot act on where it’s okay and not okay to film before getting released into the wilderness. Your quest for the perfect shot isn’t worth potentially ruining the rally for everybody.
[H/T oregonwings!]