Discussion
Was watching something else on YouTube when I saw this video 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUFRpQ38NoQ&mod...
I don't think I have ever seen anything so horrific before... bar of course the Le Mans accident when the car when into the crowd and the tragic 1994 Imolaweekend of course.
Two of the luckiest men alive I think.
Does anyone know more about this, did they fully recover from this accident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUFRpQ38NoQ&mod...
I don't think I have ever seen anything so horrific before... bar of course the Le Mans accident when the car when into the crowd and the tragic 1994 Imolaweekend of course.
Two of the luckiest men alive I think.
Does anyone know more about this, did they fully recover from this accident.
Yes, the Ferrari driver went on to sue the race organisers.
post-accident news said:
A racing car driver whose career ended with a sickening crash five years ago Wednesday was awarded 90 million yen compensation after the Tokyo District Court ruled race organizers were to blame for his crippling accident.
Tetsuya Ota fell well short of getting the 300 million he had been asking from the five organizers and the marshal of the 1998 race where he suffered severe burns that ruined his driving career, but received the vindication he had been looking for.
"The crash was caused when the flag car suddenly slowed down," Presiding Judge Tsuyoshi Ono said. "Firefighting and rescue preparations were also not up to scratch."
Ota was delighted with the court win. "I would like to thank everybody who has supported me along the way," the 43-year-old once referred to as Japan's best Ferrari handler said in the wake of the ruling.
Those ordered to pay Ota include Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the horrifying crash occurred, and TV Tokyo, which broadcast the race.
None of the defendants have stated whether they will appeal against the ruling, including TV Tokyo, which spent the entirety of the court battle arguing that it could not be regarded as one of the race organizers.
Court records said Ota's terrifying crash occurred during a warm-up lap before the official start of the race in May 1998. Ota's car burst into flames after slamming into another vehicle that had already stopped because of a different accident.
Ota was stuck in the fireball for almost 90 seconds before rescuers finally dragged him out. He sustained burns across his body and is still unable to move his right arm, right shoulder and fingers properly.
Judges ruled the flag car should have been traveling at about 60 kilometers per hour instead of the 150 kilometers it was doing, and caused the accident by slowing too quickly. Ota was forced to unexpectedly drop his pace and, as a result, he lost control and smash into the stationary vehicle.
They also decided that Ota was left in his flaming vehicle for too long and organizers had neglected their responsibility to get him out of the burning car within 30 seconds of the blaze erupting.
A pre-race agreement between Ota and the organizers not to pursue legal action in the event of an accident was also dismissed as unacceptable.
"A letter that tries to eliminate one party from taking any responsibility for major accidents caused by gross negligence is incorrect, unfair and not void in this court," presiding judge Ono said.
TV Tokyo's attempt to avoid being regarded as one of the race organizers was dismissed by the court, which ruled it was involved in sufficient decisions made about the race to be viewed as one of the organizations directly concerned with running it.
Ota made his debut in 1982, racing in the Formula 3000 series before switching to GT car races in which he competed in four straight Le Mans 24-hour races. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Oct. 29, 2003)
Tetsuya Ota fell well short of getting the 300 million he had been asking from the five organizers and the marshal of the 1998 race where he suffered severe burns that ruined his driving career, but received the vindication he had been looking for.
"The crash was caused when the flag car suddenly slowed down," Presiding Judge Tsuyoshi Ono said. "Firefighting and rescue preparations were also not up to scratch."
Ota was delighted with the court win. "I would like to thank everybody who has supported me along the way," the 43-year-old once referred to as Japan's best Ferrari handler said in the wake of the ruling.
Those ordered to pay Ota include Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the horrifying crash occurred, and TV Tokyo, which broadcast the race.
None of the defendants have stated whether they will appeal against the ruling, including TV Tokyo, which spent the entirety of the court battle arguing that it could not be regarded as one of the race organizers.
Court records said Ota's terrifying crash occurred during a warm-up lap before the official start of the race in May 1998. Ota's car burst into flames after slamming into another vehicle that had already stopped because of a different accident.
Ota was stuck in the fireball for almost 90 seconds before rescuers finally dragged him out. He sustained burns across his body and is still unable to move his right arm, right shoulder and fingers properly.
Judges ruled the flag car should have been traveling at about 60 kilometers per hour instead of the 150 kilometers it was doing, and caused the accident by slowing too quickly. Ota was forced to unexpectedly drop his pace and, as a result, he lost control and smash into the stationary vehicle.
They also decided that Ota was left in his flaming vehicle for too long and organizers had neglected their responsibility to get him out of the burning car within 30 seconds of the blaze erupting.
A pre-race agreement between Ota and the organizers not to pursue legal action in the event of an accident was also dismissed as unacceptable.
"A letter that tries to eliminate one party from taking any responsibility for major accidents caused by gross negligence is incorrect, unfair and not void in this court," presiding judge Ono said.
TV Tokyo's attempt to avoid being regarded as one of the race organizers was dismissed by the court, which ruled it was involved in sufficient decisions made about the race to be viewed as one of the organizations directly concerned with running it.
Ota made his debut in 1982, racing in the Formula 3000 series before switching to GT car races in which he competed in four straight Le Mans 24-hour races. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Oct. 29, 2003)
Edited by FourWheelDrift on Wednesday 20th June 13:35
Tetsuya Ota is in fact racing again, not at as high a level, but all the same. He also runs a website and non profit club to help disabled young people and people in problems by teaching them to make the best of any situation.
Website here or translate it through google if you can't read japanese.
http://www.keep-on-racing.com/
Website here or translate it through google if you can't read japanese.
http://www.keep-on-racing.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS2k0JbOpDQ
terrible incident but from 0.17 seconds to 0.37 there is absolutely no way a marshal could have got to him. from then on, a marshal should ensure that they do not put themselves in danger before attending to an incident.
one does feel however, that the marshal spotted at the bottom of the screen at 0.41 should reall be trying a little harder, he is either having trouble with his extinguisher or is not sure what to do.
a slightly longer video but you will need to log in to view, it just looks like panic and in my poinion, the marshals are in shock and any training went out of the window as they tried to deal with the consequences. i am not sure whether it is fair to say they were incompetant but in the UK, a CoC should be confident his marshals are capable of dealing with a situation should the need arise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?search=&mode=rela...
terrible incident but from 0.17 seconds to 0.37 there is absolutely no way a marshal could have got to him. from then on, a marshal should ensure that they do not put themselves in danger before attending to an incident.
one does feel however, that the marshal spotted at the bottom of the screen at 0.41 should reall be trying a little harder, he is either having trouble with his extinguisher or is not sure what to do.
a slightly longer video but you will need to log in to view, it just looks like panic and in my poinion, the marshals are in shock and any training went out of the window as they tried to deal with the consequences. i am not sure whether it is fair to say they were incompetant but in the UK, a CoC should be confident his marshals are capable of dealing with a situation should the need arise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?search=&mode=rela...
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