Two of the planet’s best drone pilots tackle a unique obstacle course that includes a drifting Focus RS, a smoking Ford Mustang, and a robot. Pilots Luke Bannister and Brett Collis navigate their drones remotely with the help of special goggles, which provide a first-person view as they fly under the Ford Ranger pickup and through the Ford B-MAX’s pillarless doors. A rig of 36 GoPro cameras captured the drones mid-action in a style made famous by the 1999 film The Matrix.
“It’s basically like stepping into the cockpit. It was a tough course and we had some mishaps – but at least the Mustang’s all right, that’s all that matters,” said 16-year-old World Drone Prix champion Luke Bannister who took on the course with Tornado XBlades team mate and fellow Brit, Brett Collis, 22.
Named in tribute to the YouTube phenomenon Gymkhana, starring Focus RS consultant Ken Block, “Dronekhana” was filmed at Ford’s European headquarters in Cologne, Germany, the city which this week hosts Gamescom Europe’s biggest interactive games trade fair. It follows previous “Snowkhana” videos that have become a festive Ford tradition.
Ford has also invited five gamers from across Europe to Cologne to try to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the “Longest video marathon on a racing game”, in Forza Motorsport 6. They face a two day stint behind the wheel of a virtual Ford GT race car to take on the simulated Le Sarthe circuit used for the Le Mans 24 Hours – where the real-life Ford GT race car won earlier this year. To set a new record, the gamers will need to race for more than 48 hours 1 minute – starting at 14:00 C.E.T on Tuesday Aug. 16. If successful, a presentation will be made to the record-breaking gamer on the Microsoft stand, at Gamescom, on Thursday.
