The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ordered Fuji International Speedway Co. and the organizers of a 1998 car race to pay some 90 million yen in damages to a driver who sustained serious burns in an accident during the event.
The driver, Tetsuya Ota, 43, had alleged that the track manager and the organizers of the event, Japan GT Championship, failed to guide the cars properly at the start of the May 1998 race and neglected to take appropriate rescue measures. He had demanded 290 million yen in compensation.
According to the court, when the vehicles entered their second preliminary lap behind the pace car, some racers mistook it as the start of the race and accelerated, leading to collisions. Ota's car caught fire.