Tetsuya Ota

Tetsuya Ota (太 田 哲 也 Ōta Tetsuya, born November 6, 1959 ) is a former Japanese racing driver who gained greater fame, particularly through an accident .

accident

The accident happened on May 3, 1998 in a race of the Japanese Touring Car Championship ( JGTC ) in a safety car phase in the season finale at Fuji Speedway . Ota drove a Ferrari 355 Challenge this season . The racing conditions were difficult as visibility was very poor due to heavy rain and fog.

Course of events

The Porsche driver Tomohiko Sunako drove onto the man in front of him and then hit the left lane. Seconds later, Tetsuya Ota passed the scene of the accident and lost control of his car. At high speed his side hit the front of the Porsche standing there, whereupon both vehicles caught fire . The flames had come from the damaged Otas Ferrari tank and spread to the Porsche.
Some spectators were also affected in the accident. While Tomohiko Sunako was slightly dazed but was able to save himself from the car, the burning Ferrari rolled onto the opposite side of the home straight with the probably unconscious driver.
After about 50 seconds, the driver Shinichi Yamaji , who stopped his car directly behind the accident site, managed to smother the fire with a fire extinguisher. After Otas was successfully rescued by a marshals and Shinichi Yamaji, he regained consciousness.

legal action

Ota has sued the organizers of the JGTC for approximately $ 2.5 million in damages in the event of an accident in its contract, despite an accident waiver. In fact, he received just over $ 830,000.

The reason for the lawsuit was the inadequate technical equipment of the organizer, medical deficits and insufficiently trained staff. Above all, Ota had sustained serious facial injuries from the accident, caused by the charred visor of his helmet . Overall, he suffered third-degree burns on 40% of his skin.

Due to the unfavorable legal situation for those responsible, compensation was paid. As a result of the accident, numerous safety measures were initiated in the JGTC.

After the accident, Ota had to end his active racing career due to shoulder injuries.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1994	Simpson Engineering	Ferrari 348 LM	Robin Smith	Stefano Sebastini	failure	Clutch damage
1995	Ennea SRL	Ferrari F40E	Luciano della Noce	Not so Olofsson	failure	Gearbox damage
1996	Ennea SRL Igol Ferrari Club Italia	Ferrari F40 GTE	Robin Donovan	Piero Nappi	failure	Engine failure