TOM: The stunts you're about to see were performed by trained drivers on a closed course.
Do not try this at home.
"This is Third Person Driving. Oli here is wearing video goggles..."
OLI: (STARTLED LAUGH)
TOM: "and so's his opponent, Paul.
"All they can see is the view from this hovering hexacopter drone,
"which'll be giving them cinematic, video game-like camera angles.
"Here's the course: down the runway, through a blind opening to the left,
"then round past some worryingly solid shipping containers and a hard-to-see mesh fence,
"then a tight turn, a chicane back out onto the runway,
"and a high-speed dash back to the finish line.
"Fastest time without crashing wins, and I'm in the passenger seat as an emergency spotter.
"Oli lining up for the hidden gap now."
OLI: Once you know you've got some clear space, it's fine.
Trying to hit a gate is -- it feels impossible.
TOM: You managed it, though, you went through that first gap at speed.
OLI: Yeah. I didn't really mean to, though. (LAUGHTER)
TOM: "Paul trying the same gap, taking a line much further to the left
"and hoping to go in while still turning -- but he's pulled too far to the left there,
"he's headed for the divider... oh, just scraped through."
PAUL: It's so disarming not knowing the angle of your current turn.
You usually have an idea, when driving visually, of how much further you need to turn.
There's no feedback at all.
TOM: "Both drivers thought there was a lag on the video feed to their goggles.
"There wasn't, it's just the brain isn't set up to deal with this.
"Oli coming in a little close on the right there, but he's pulled it back.
"Remember they're not seeing the glorious HD picture you've got,
"through their eyes the view looks more like a Game Boy held at arm's length.
"That wire mesh fence is almost invisible."
OLI: It's tough. It's so tough. I thought this would be dead easy.
(LAUGHS) Actually, it's also terrifying.
TOM: "He's pulled round there nicely though,
"but the view isn't perfect and I don't think he's corrected enough:
"he's headed for the concrete."
Stop!
"A quick emergency stop call there, and some gear-changing work from the passenger seat.
"That is going to cost Oli time."
Stop. Drive.
"Paul attempting the same corner now."
PAUL: You have no idea how far through the corner you are, not even from G-forces.
By the time the video feed says you're complete,
you've gone too far, and you've got a worried passenger.
I reckon if I straighten up now?
TOM: Yeah.
"That's a lovely bit of cornering, Paul is exactly on the line..."
That's pretty good.
"Through the chicane now, and that's pretty much spot on too.
"Good recovery afterwards, Oli tries the chicane...
"that line is good to start with, but he doesn't need to turn that far.
"He's now almost 90 degrees away from where he needs to be."
OLI: Now, right to straighten up onto the track...
TOM: "No, actually, you need to go left."
OLI: Honestly, it's hilariously good fun, it's just really hard.
Like, really hard.
TOM: "Oli starts to put his foot down for the final run,
"but if we compare the two drivers you can see that Paul's already going at a much higher speed
"and he's only going to accelerate from here. Bit more confidence, bit more of a lead foot
"either way, it doesn't matter, it's a clear victory,
"although there's a bit of a wobble there as the drone shows him where he needs to go.
"Doesn't matter: he's over the line first."
TOM: Yes! -- PAUL: Booyah!
Oh my god, that's so strange.
TOM: "Oli took about thirty seconds more, but that is still a good effort."
You're through!
(LAUGHTER)
TOM: Oh my god, that's terrifying.
PAUL: Dude!
TOM: Let's go back to base and see how that looked.
PAUL: Oh, man.
TOM: How do you feel?
PAUL: That's fantastic.