Yesterday, April 19, saw Fausto Gresini and his Fortuna Honda team commemorate the third anniversary of their fallen rider Daijiro Kato, who lost his life two weeks after sustaining critical injuries in the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, at Suzuka.
"It's a sad moment for all of us," said Gresini yesterday. "The relationship with Daijiro was special and there are no words to describe this loss. Kato was a dear person before being a great champion. We are still very close to his family and today I called Daijiro's father, Takashi Kato and I spoke with Makiko, Daijiro's wife to share with them this sad day."
26-year-old Kato suffered a high-speed accident on lap three of his home event when he lost control of his Gresini run Honda RCV after the fast 130R corner and veered almost head-on into a trackside barrier at approximately 140 km/h. The resulting impact left him in a coma with serious brain injuries, dislocation of the 1st and 2nd vertebrae with fracturing of the 3rd and devastating damage to his spinal cord as well as numerous shoulder and upper limb fractures.
Kato's heart was restarted in the ambulance, and had defied the odds by showing small signs of improvement - increased blood pressure and stronger pulse - in the days immediately following the incident, although the spinal injuries to his neck alone would never have allowed him anything approaching a full recovery.
Kato only commenced his full-time world championship career in 2000, but was already on his way to becoming Japan's most successful grand prix rider.
In 2001, he beat Mike Hailwood's record of ten wins in a season on his way to the 250cc world crown, while his 17 World Championship victories were enough to equal Japan's greatest GP winner, Tetsuya Harada.
2002 saw Daijiro step up to the
MotoGP class as he attempted to become Japan's first ever premier class champion. Initially racing an NSR500 two-stroke, Kato was promoted to a full factory RC211V at the German GP, in July. He would take two second place finishes that season, on his way to 7th in the series.
