Matteeboy

Enormous crash and nothing graphic but the incompetence of the marshalls is staggering.

YouTube - motorsport crash - big explosion

davyboy

FIAF

davegtt

Ferrari in a Fire?

Not clicked on the link but got a good idea what it is.

P.S. there is a second video which is fairly graphic showing the drivers burn injuries

stilover

Yeah, seen it before. Truely shocking.

EddScott

Theres footage of him about 12 months later being interviewed. Looks pretty messed up.

He tried to sue the track for negligence (sp) but not sure if he won.

It is flippin shocking to watch. The 2nd vid of him wondering about after upsets me. I won't watch it again.

wrx-kris

davyboy

Before the crash:


5 years after the crash:


And his helmet:
[/QUOTE]

sherburn spen

**** me how bad is that!!!!!!!!

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

amazed he got out alive but what were they doing hauling him around like that?

if he did sue he best have won. even basic first aid ignored there.

5t.

warrenm2

he won

r32

When was that? What year? Any one know.

Tidgy

pre 2000, but if you saw the vid you'd be shocked, basicly he got out of the car as a walking ball of fire, just like you see in the movies.

very very lucky to be alive, but shows how good race fire gear is and how much you need it

Matteeboy

" 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)"

EddScott

Jeez, was it 5 years afterwards?

Horrific

GazTheHat

Mark Miwurdz

Poor b@stard looks like Austin Powers.

brihoppy

ive had a look at this video a couple of times and a few things spring to mind...

firstly, someone authorised that race in those conditions which are almost surely what caused the accident.

secondly, nobody forced a gun to the drivers heads and made them race...they all knew the risks of driving in those conditions.

regarding the on-course assistance, it looked to me like the car stopped on the opposite side of the track so surely the rescuers would have to wait until they were absolutely sure no other cars were going to come flying out of the fog at them before the attended the scene...hazard assessment is the first rule of first-aid...

the removal of his helmet is a no-no, and should only be done by paramedics/doctor on the scene or at the hospital, and it was obvious almost immediately that he was alive as he was all over the place...as they told us on a team medic course 'if hes crying, he aint dying!' (battlefield trauma management and triage)...what i will say is i thought the guy that attended him shouldve stayed with him and not been faffing about trying to help his mates...

just my own observations, not by any means an expert opinion...

Chip Sengravy

Agree, coming away from bad off looking like Austin Powers, is truly horrific

DOH! ( mark miwordz beat me to it )

Mark Miwurdz

Great minds mate

Cheers
Kav

kilo_4que

Eh I just dont understand how such a big ball of fire occured. Surely the impact wasnt that great to cause such an explosion.

Chip

Fuel tank maybe

Chip