This drift racer has no arms, but he made it to the podium using his feet

Bartosz Ostalowski has just finished third overall in the semi-pro class of Polish drifting, making him the second runner-up in Polish Drifting 2024. A particularly exceptional achievement is that Ostalowski has no hands. Dude drives with his feet—left on the steering wheel, right on the pedals. A legend.

Ostolovsky has been drifting for several years. In fact, he gave the only one Ken Block trip in 2019. This old KB video gives you a good look at how Ostolovsky knows how to drive and compete. It looks like the handbrake is rigged as just another pedal, old school truck style.

Ostalovsky lost his arms in a motorcycle accident in 2006, and before that he was involved in motorsports, but only started drifting after the incident. Besides racing, he also gives motivational talks, because of course. His website there are lots of pictures and information about him if you want to learn more about his backstory, although you’ll have to translate some of the Polish.

It is very tragic that he lost two important limbs and it is hard to imagine how horrible that experience was. But the guy’s attitude in all his YouTube videos looks exceptionally positive. It’s really inspiring. Watching Ostalowski work, I get the sense that nothing is impossible, which seems to be the guy’s mantra.

As I mentioned, he’s a pretty well-established rider, but only came onto my radar this week when his team sent out a release about how he finished the season this year. Here’s a quick bio we got for a little more context:

“The world’s only foot-driven professional sports driver. He has an FIA international racing license and successfully competes on an equal footing with able-bodied drivers in the Polish championship and European leagues. He is a motivational speaker at conferences and business meetings. He tries to support people in achieving success, as well as in personal development. In addition, he is an artist and a member of the AMUN publishing house, which unites people from mouths and feet.”

This season he drove a heavily modified E92 Bimmer with many custom controls.

The Polish drift podium in 2024 was broken down as follows:

1. Kevin Wrubel (champion of Poland) – 342 points
2. Krzysztof Juzwiak (vice-champion of Poland) – 334 points.
3. Bartosh Ostalowski (2nd vice-champion of Poland) – 303 points

YouTube channel of Ostalovsky worth a subscription if you also learn about it today. He is not only into driving and drifting, but is also often hard at work building and renovating his automotive workplace. A real gearbox through and through. I especially liked this clip, which shows off some smooth moves:

Congratulations to Mr. Ostalowski for making it to the series podium with no hands and a great attitude. I’m glad I know about this guy now and can’t wait to see what else he does in the future. Here’s the statement he made after winning the third-place trophy in ’24:

“It was a difficult season for us, so I’m all the more glad to end it on the podium of the Polish Drift Championship. My rivals did not give me discounts. They fought on equal footing and often small nuances decided the victory. Drifting as a motorsport discipline is developing very quickly, and this is also reflected in the fact that the competition is getting even tougher. For me, a victory on the podium is success, and as an athlete I long for victory and will come back next year to climb even higher. I don’t hide that I strive for the Polish championship.”

If there are other riders who have inspired you, tell us about it! You can contact the author at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.