It may not always get the mainstream attention that it deserves, but Rally driving is a serious sport with serious risks. This was once again demonstrated last week when an Evo race car took a turn for the worse and flew off of a mountain onto a steep rocky slope.

Jeremy Foley, and his co-driver, Yuri Kouznetsov were making good time in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb when they reached the Devil’s Playground corner, infamous for sending cars careening over edge. In a matter of split seconds they were flying over the edge of the mountain, headed for a “45-degree slope into a rock field.” When the car finally came to a standstill, it had fallen more than 30m and rolled 14 times. The fact that both passengers walked away with only minor injuries wasn’t due to luck as much as it was thanks to the NASA-developed roll cage. Not only did it save them, but the car’s engine, transmission and transfer case all survived to race another day! Science!

Here’s the crash from another angle.

[Source: YouTube, Autoblog]