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.

Mainichi Shimbun
"I still love car racing," Ota said after the ruling.

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)"