While movies have made drifting seem like an easy feat, it's actually not. It needs coordination between the driver's arms, legs, and eyes to ensure that the maneuver is both successful and safe. But what if the driver doesn't have one of these senses?
Meet, Bartosz Ostalowski. He's an amputee and currently a professional drifter. The lack of arms doesn't seem to affect his current profession. In fact, he recently set a Guinness World Record for the world's fastest drift while steering with a foot.
Ostalowski set the record on September 30, 2022, using a BMW M3. He started to go sideways at 172 miles per hour (276.8 kilometers per hour), then held a record-setting speed of 143.9 mph (231.66 km/h) in a 165-foot (50-meter) measuring zone. He managed to do a maximum drift angle of 60 degrees.
The record attempt was done at Pila Airport in Poland, and the video atop this page should show you the highlight reel of that record-setting attempt.
The Guinness World Record file shows that Bartosz believes that the impossible does not exist and that it only exists in the mind. This latest feat has just proven that.
Ostalowski lost his arms from above the elbow in 2006 due to a horrible motorcycle accident. But that didn't stop him from pursuing his goal of becoming a professional drift driver.
Now, Ostalowski competes in the Polish Drift Championship using an E92 BMW M3 drift that's modified to suit his situation. Powered by a 7.0-liter LS3 V8, it packs up to 1,000 horsepower (176 kilowatts) and 944 pound-feet (1,280 Newton-meters) of torque. These are sent to the wheels via a ZF 8-speed transmission which Ostalowski shifts himself through a harness on the right shoulder.
