[rmackintosh]

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/japancrash.html

(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

[tracknut]

Here's the story that goes along with that video:

Crippled car racer wins massive payout

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)