What happens when a champion motocross superstar goes toe to toe with today’s drones, that too piloted by one of the best in the business?
What you get is a visual treat, the likes of one that you have never experienced before.
Tom Pages, a legend in Freestyle Motocross (FMX) for more than a decade, partners up with superstar Tom ‘Tomz’ Panaiva, one of the foremost pioneers behind the Freestyle drone. Together, they have collaborated on the Follow Me video, which sees Pages showing off his signature extreme freestyle skills on a motocross circuit, deftly being chased after by a drone flown by Panaiva.
The results are nothing short of jaw-dropping. And I think its time you should watch this tour de force in action here:
What Went Into This Gob-Smacking Video?
The feat these two guys pulled off seems impossible to emulate. Here are a few details what went into this death-defying collaboration.
As you may have glimpsed from the video above, the sequence is captured entirely by a FPV drone. The drone, piloted by Panaiva. followed Tom in First Person View mode, something that feels familiar for modern gamers everywhere.
Both the individuals were not allowed to make even one mistake. That’s how huge the stakes were. Furthermore, they both had to perform a perfect run, with no collisions or mishaps.
Tomz Panaiva captures how wild and adrenaline-fueled the experience was:
“On one of the jumps, I’m 20cm away from his (Gates) helmet!”
As for Tom Page, who performs four of his iconic motocross tricks in this video:
“A true technological and human challenge. Adjust the right proximity for one, get used to the sound of the drone for the other, follow the right flight lines for both, many parameters needed to be integrated to achieve a flawless performance. “It’s like taking people with me on the bike”
This whole stunt, which was sponsored by Red Bull Motorsports, has been viewed 30,000+ views already. One wonders what will they come up with next, because a freestyle motocross pro, with a drone getting into his face no less as he does stupefying stunts, is as brazen as it gets. But dang if it isn’t exhilarating!
