When a racing driver is speeding along the track, aiming for the win, a rogue bird hitting them in the face is likely the least of their worries - or so you'd think...
Teenage racer Tommy Foster got a shock when he was nearly knocked out by a pheasant during a practice run in mid-June - with the camera attached to his Formula Four car catching the whole thing on film!
The 17-year-old Brit was practicing at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire on June 14 when he decided to return to the pits.
That had to hurt! Check out the outrageous video here:Still traveling at 105 miles per hour, a pheasant seemingly came out of nowhere and hit him hard in the face.
Thankfully, the young driver was not badly injured and suffered no concussion. However, he needed medical officials to sign off on his condition before he was allowed to compete in his next race two days later. Despite his dramatic scrape with the pheasant, he still came fifth.
Writing on his Youtube page about the incident, Tommy joked: "If you think getting hit by a pheasant in your road car is bad enough, try taking one to the FACE at 170 KPH around Croft, during practice."
He added: "Thanks to the fantastic team at @Arai Helmets for making such an amazing product or things could’ve ended A LOT worse."
Tommy, raised in Newquay, Cornwall, first discovered his love for speed whilst on holiday, watching racing on the streets of Monaco.
After returning to England, his parents took him to the St Eval Kart Circuit and he has never looked back.
From the age of eight to 16, he won multiple English and British Championships, also putting it on Pole for the World Finals in Portugal in 2017.
According to his website, he has already undertaken extensive single-seater testing, simulator and human performance training programmes, all of which contributed to securing a seat with the defending British F4 Teams’ Champions.
He is currently competing in the 2019 F4 British Championship for the TRS Arden Junior Team.
