Rally Champion Meets Family of Cows During Race

Rally Guanajuato, held some 250 miles northwest of Mexico city, might be the most challenging leg of the World Rally Championship. It's hot as hell, and the hard-packed gravel picks up ruts soon as the first car runs; in the thin air of 9000-foot mountain passes, any mistake is punished with a devastating loss of momentum. Also, there are cows.

Cows are bred for deliciousness, not for an instinct for self-preservation. Thus, when reigning champion and current WRC points leader Sébastien Ogier rounded a corner at high speed and came upon a small herd of cattle crossing the road, the result seemed to be a foregone conclusion: One battle-damaged Volkswagen Polo racecar, one large steak tartar.

However, rally drivers aren't like us. They've all got the reaction times of a Halo veteran and the car control of Michael Schumacher in his prime. Ogier skirts the calfs dashing towards his car, skimming past close enough to pick up a bumper-full of cow snot, but not actually contacting a panicked animal. In his wake, Ogier left a huge cloud of Mexican dust, a few appreciative fans, and a couple of bewildered cows. Mind you, bewildered is pretty much the base state of being a cow.

While disaster was averted, the swerve might've been enough to knock Ogier down from first place: He finished second at Guanajuato, but still has a comfortable 33-point lead over Ford's Matt Østberg.