| Stueck |
Nov 2, 2004 12:06 PM |
HUGE racing explosion
http://videos.cainer.net/Car_Vids/19...nship_fire.mpg
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.
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