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Update on Daijiro Kato's condition

6K views 36 replies 22 participants last post by  factory_pilot 
#1 ·
Hi to all.
I see from your posts that you don't know much about kato's condition
This is a sad sad day for motorcycling. Kato had a daughter just 10 days ago, and would be 26 tomorrow.
Here's the information I have been able to gather from the Italian press (I'm italian).
Kato's condition is very serious. He is now in deep coma. Dr Costa says there is only ONE hope of saving him... Costa says Kato has a 15% chance of survival. But the real bad news is that there was a problem between his first and second vertebrae and even if he does survive he will have lost the use of his legs, arms and even breathing.. he won't be able to breathe by himself and will need a respirator at all times. He will be paralyzed from the neck down.
About his crash not much is known. There is no video. Gibernau is the only pilot to see him. Here's what he had to say:
"I broke something on my bike at the start and stopped at the pits to fix it. When I got back in the track I found myself behind Kato. I was right behind him and I was going about 250kph and I saw him start his braking and change gears. In that place all riders follow the same line, right left right. Kato instead suddenly went left. I don't know why and even the telemetry doesn't say anything. I could not believe my eyes. I saw him go suddenly left and crash into the wall at more than 200kph and I think in 4th gear. I've never seen anything like this.
It's crazy to crash into a wall in 2003 as has happened to Melandri, Barros, Poggiali and Ukawa.. Cecchinello was lucky but he got really close to the guardrail at full speed in the straight. We can no longer race here at Suzuka and everyone has to understand this. I don't want to race here again. it would be crazy".

Also what we know is that Kato's helmet was broken in two places and he has blood at the base of his brain.
Dr Costa also said that when kato got there he had no heartbeat and wasn't breathing. They reanimated him and put him on a respirator. He was then airlifted to the hospital.
He also said that Kato's life depends on the next few hours. he had a "catetere" (I don't know the english translation for that) apllied to his leg artery to try and lower the blood temperature to 32-33 C° and thus avoid the risks of an "edema" (again don't know how to traslate it) that could be fatal.
The doctors also said he has multiple wounds all over his body and probably has more damaged bones although so far they have only been trying to take care of his head/brain and neck and the rest will come later if he survives.

Costa also said that Kato will indergo a therapy of "barbiturici" (again no translation) to reduce his brain activity and not stress the brain, and hypothermia.

And lastly about how this happened, but it's not confirmed yet... it appears some photographer noticed that his right front brake disc had the carbonium braking strip missing while the brake pump and left disc appeared to have no damage. So his brake was probably working on the left side only which mighy explain why he suddenly went left during braking. The bike in now in the custody of Dorna officials who will investigate the crash.

Well all I can say is good luck kato... we'll miss you.

Omar
 
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#5 ·
This is very sad indeed. Apparently, the incident happened near the entrance to the last chicane before start/finish. Is it me, or did the modified chicane seem VERY tight? From last year's videos, i don't think the chicance flicked right at that sharp an angle. This may be due to a different camera angle this year, though.

Wow, as my friends and i were cheering-on the Ducati, little did we know that Kato was fighting for his life... Kinda puts things into perspective...

This may sound cynical, but as the doctors have pointed out, even if he pulls through the critical stages, he will be paralysed from the "nose down". Don't know if it may have been better to have ended it right then and there.

Although most of us don't have the chance (or the balls) to go 200 mph braking hard into a chicane, it doesn't take much to put a dent into some softer parts of our bodies. It's sobering to hear it happening to a professional rider at the top of his game. And that was his job.

Ride careful and smart out there, everybody...
 
G
#8 ·
that is a shame for such a talented racer... this year was supposed to be a break out season for him... all i can say is that we are all praying for him and his family... i saw pictures of the crash and it looked hella scary... it is unfortunate... but we all know that he was just satisfying his passion for riding... it is just a shame to see the racing season to have such a gloomy start...
 
#9 ·
I watched the race last nite and when the paramedic team put him on the a Stretcher and his arms were hanging losely I knew he was in trouble. My Prayers go out to him. Thanks for the updated dude. They don't say much on motogp.com
 
G
#13 ·
Hang in there Daijiro. :(

I was really looking forward to the MotoGP 2003 season and Daijiro was one of the reasons along with the rest of this season's field.

We'll miss watching you in the races, but hang in there.
 
#14 ·
Talk about depressing. What a lousy way to start the season. It's time race officials took seriously complaints from drivers\riders about dangerous circuits and conditions. It was retarded to run the GP at Interlagos yesterday given the conditions, and it's lucky Alonso didn't kill himself hitting debris.
 
#15 ·
VTwinVince said:
Talk about depressing. What a lousy way to start the season. It's time race officials took seriously complaints from drivers\riders about dangerous circuits and conditions. It was retarded to run the GP at Interlagos yesterday given the conditions, and it's lucky Alonso didn't kill himself hitting debris.
..........I absolutely second your opinion VTwin........I was appalled at the reaction or rather, lack of reaction for both those incidents (Formula 1 and Moto GP). I was actually yelling at the T.V. for a red flag in both those incidents before anything went out, yellow or red. I mean c'mon, world class drivers/riders with poorly trained corner workers?? Geez, maybe I'm being too harsh, but at the speeds these guys are racing at.....to delay could and almost, resulted in a unnecessary death. I heard that the riders were concerned about the Suzuka curcuit due to the proximity of the guard rail on that fast corner. It's a real shame is all I can say..........best wishes to Alonzo and Daijiro.......:(
 
#16 ·
If that prognosis for the spine damage is accurate I almost hope he just passes away. No autonomous breathing activity means the reast of his life would be in an "iron lung" that will mechanically pump the air into his lungs. For myself at least that would truly be a fate worse than death.

If there's even a chance of rehab to some level of mobility even if it's in a wheel chair then I wish him all the best.

It's always a sad day when a racer falls. No one that has ever spent time on a track can hear about things like this without feeling bad.
 
G
#18 ·
If he can watch his child grow and communticate with him, that is reason enough to fight for his life. As for the corner workers, well its life befor limb paramedics are to do any means nessecary to get the man breathing if that means taking his helmet off then so be it. Also I think that they were trying to get him off the track so he didn't get plowed. Also unqualified corner workers?? I think not, this isn't AMA every corner workr to touch a rider, is very qualified. I inquired about this when I was at Phillip Island in Aus. for the second last round in the 2000 season. Everyone on the trcks employment list is qualified and some workers travelle with the series.
 
#20 ·
Every sport has its inherent risks.Unfortunately in motorcycle racing death or injuries such as this are more prevalent than in most motorsports.But it still sucks.I hate seeing stuff like this.

That pic of his helmet gave me shivers.It takes a hell of a hit to break a lid like that.
 
#22 ·
My best wishes go out to Jaijiro Kato's family and friends.

Its hard to see this kind of thing happen. On one hand you have notoriously dangerous track, and on the other you have (speculation) faulty equipment. I'm confident we'll all findout exactly what caused the accident upon close investigation.

What I would like to look at is what positive learnings and lessons we can all gain from Jaijiro's missfortune. For one, everyone will standup, take notice and act on safety level of both the race venues and the equipment such as fundamentally crutial braking systems. I'm sure there are many other learnings here, so please offer any other insights.

:tredmill
Klaus
 
#23 ·
1L Duck Eater said:
If he can watch his child grow and communticate with him, that is reason enough to fight for his life. As for the corner workers, well its life befor limb paramedics are to do any means nessecary to get the man breathing if that means taking his helmet off then so be it. Also I think that they were trying to get him off the track so he didn't get plowed. Also unqualified corner workers?? I think not, this isn't AMA every corner workr to touch a rider, is very qualified. I inquired about this when I was at Phillip Island in Aus. for the second last round in the 2000 season. Everyone on the trcks employment list is qualified and some workers travelle with the series.
i'm not so sure about the quality of the corner workers (at Suzuka). The video footage saw a couple corner workers rushing to lift Kato onto the stretcher haphazardly (without a neckbrace nor supporting the head). From what i remember of my basic first aid course, this is a huge no-no! You may have caused more harm than not! Throughout many of the MotoGP rounds (i'm not saying all of them), i have noticed that corner workers have a hard time lifting and moving a fallen bike. Granted, levers and knobs may have fallen off, but it just seems so novice, the way they try. I understand that many a corner-worker are volunteers but that is no excuse for incompentance or ignorance! It is the race and track organizer's responsibility to train their staff properly and effectively. And yes, i agree, they should have red-flagged the race when they noticed he was unconscious and in the middle of the track. This investigation may cause some heads to roll.
 
#24 ·
HRCboy said:
when the paramedic team put him on the a Stretcher and his arms were hanging losely I knew he was in trouble.
It was obvious that he was seriously injured by that horrific crash and I was completely shocked to see those corners workers just grab him and throw him on the stretcher. Where was the red flag to stop the race and attend to him properly? I'm sure some lawyer out there is going to have a hay day with this.

It's very sad to see people suffer doing something they love so much. :(
 
#26 ·
Here are a couple of pics of the crash. If I were him I would want to be taken off support. I wouldn't want to live for 50 years living on all that medical equipment. If he has brain damage, there is not much use in living. It would be better to end it now then let him live like that for many years and wishing that you would die. Just my thoughts.
 
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