edit: copy paste following link into new browser
http://www.motorsportmediamulti.com/Tetsuya_Ota_1998_Japanese_GT/TBK_FAMEFLAME_DK_Tetsuya_Ota-1998_Japanese_GT_Championship_at_Fuji_Internationa l_Speedway.mpg
probaby one of the worst accidents I've seen on video...
thankfully the dude lived - but his limbs are disabled
news links below
http://www.japantoday.com/gidx/news277270.html
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 03:40 JST
TOKYO — The Tokyo District Court ordered a group of race promoters Wednesday to compensate a driver injured in an accident in 1998, dismissing a pre-race written pledge obtained from the driver not to seek compensation over crashes.
Fuji International Speedway Co and other defendants were ordered to pay 90 million yen in damages to Tetsuya Ota, whose limbs remain disabled after sustaining burns in the accident in the May 1998 "Japan GT Championship." (Kyodo News)
http://insiderracingnews.com/headlines/110603.html
NASCAR followed through with a good idea by curtailing all racing back to the yellow flag. From the land of the rising sun, and that really odd beverage called Saki, comes a story that could have happened in America. On May 3, 1998.. Japanese racing star Tetsuya Ota was involved in a chain reaction collision during a GT championship race. Ota was trapped in his car for more than 50 seconds while exposed to 800-degree temperatures. There was no safety crew coming to the rescue as fellow drivers frantically extinguished the flames. The result ended with serious burns to Ota and a lawsuit against track promoters and sponsors. Agreed upon event requirements called for safety crews to rescue a driver and extinguish any fire within 30 seconds or less. Ota signed papers claiming he would not seek damages from event organizers as is typical in some venue use agreements. In a District Court ruling, the hold harmless paperwork was thrown out and Ota was awarded 90 million ($809,352) Yen. Changes in the sport now include a “doctor car” and some fire engines standing by for such an emergency. The court also ruled that Ota could have slowed his vehicle quicker thus a reduction from the originally requested 300 million ($2,697,841) Yen. Some suggest that if it were not for TV coverage of the fire, Ota could not have proved his case of the 50 second time lapse. TV Tokyo Corp. was held partially responsible in the case. Even though NASCAR is still honing their response format, the Cup sanctioning body is miles ahead of other racing groups.
BIG race crash video - explosion, ouch **caution when viewing**
Linear Mode
