Published July 03, 2019
That had to hurt.
A race car driver in England nearly got knocked out by a pheasant during a practice run in mid-June — and the camera attached to his Formula Four car captured the whole thing on film.
Tommy Foster, 17, had been practicing at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire on June 14, and was returning to the pits when the incident occurred — although he was still traveling at around 105 miles per hour when the pheasant struck him in the side of the helmet.
“It felt like I was hit by a brick in the face,” Foster said, according to SWNS. “The visor buckled in but didn't fracture.”
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Foster said he’d actually seen animals on the tracks during his time as a junior Formula Four driver, but usually, he spots them from a distance. The pheasant was a different story.
"I didn't even see it until it was inches away from my face. I had no time to react or avoid it,” he said.
Foster claims he likely would’ve sustained serious injury if not for the “good quality” helmet, as “Lots of drivers and karters wear lesser quality helmets and visors.”
Despite this, Foster needed medical officials to sign off on his condition before he was allowed to compete in the subsequent race two days later.
Foster had not suffered a concussion, they determined, and he ended up competing in the race. He finished fifth.
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The young driver, from Cornwall, has been racing since he was 8. He plans on becoming a Formula One driver when he’s older, according to his spokesperson.
"We put him into a Formula Four car to show what he can do. He's qualified pole and has consistently been in the top five,” the spokesperson said, per SWNS.
"But we've had some really bad luck this season, and this is the latest bit.”
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/pheasant-hits-racecar-driver-head-105-mph