June 27, 2009 9:00 AM PDT
Big Crash, Fire in the Rain
My final web video blog dedicated to some of the scariest car fires in modern auto racing history, we have this video that isn't accompanied by much supplementary information, but it's almost irrelevant - this is one of the baddest crashes in auto racing. The conditions are rainy and misty, and at first we just see a car skid off to the side of the track. But that's just the calm before the storm. As the car just sits there, all of a sudden at the :27 mark another vehicle plows right into the skidded car, resulting in an awe-inspiring fiery explosion the likes of which most have never seen before. I can only hope that no one was seriously injured or worse as a result of this horrendous wreck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsuya_Ota
He was seriously injured, and lucky not to be killed. His life was almost certainly saved by the heroic actions of another driver (Shinichi Yamaji) who stopped, took his own fire extinguisher and went to the aid of Ota.
The full video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSIz-KXjvE
It's horrifying to watch IMO. The race should not be happening at all, and plainly the organisers have completely lost control.
By the way, it's pretty disingenuous having a "fiery wreck" post as a "tribute to the brave drivers" and ending the article saying you hope that that the driver is okay. If you don't know the circumstances and aren't willing to dig for them, there's nothing to learn here; it's just voyeurism, plain and simple. Just be honest and admit that you don't really give a s--- about the driver as long as the crash is spectacular.