Onboard live cameras have become the norm, and in many championships around the world required in the rulebook. But 13-time motorcycle Grand Prix winner Randy Mamola and his son and rider Dakota have recently trialed the latest technology: a live 360-degree virtual reality camera.
VR itself is common now, too – you can lap the national circuit at Silverstone with Jenson Button in a McLaren, join Nissan for a pit-stop at Spa, be taken round Assen by Sebastien Buemi in an RB8, and crash out of the Putrajaya round of Formula E.
With the latest camera technology it has gone a step further. Randy ran virtual pillion with Dakota during the recent MotoAmerica round held at Salt Lake City, despite being across the other side of the world at Assen for the MotoGP. Live. Streaming the footage he could turn around to see his son’s pursuers real-time. It could take the role of spotters and their real-time knowledge and information to a whole new level.
Watch all of the videos below.
The VR funtionality in the videos above works best in the Google Chrome browser. Safari doesn’t support VR videos.
The 2025 Japanese GP showed a much more extreme change than next year's technical regulations is needed to make racing at classic F1 tracks interesting
Is Verstappen could be F1 title favourite after his Japanese GP win; McLaren might already need to back one of its drivers; question marks over whether Red Bull made the right choice with Tsunoda. These are the main takeaways from Suzuka
Take a look at some of the best F1 fan outfits from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix – from replica race suits and helmets to homemade hats
McLaren's dominance came to an end in Japan as Max Verstappen put on a masterclass to show the Woking team's seasons will not be the cakewalk some suspected. Here's how the world champion defeated his rivals