"Kato veered (from his planned direction) in a straight line at approximately 170 km/h from the centre-left side of the racing course... after which the front left side of his bike struck the tyre barrier at approximately 150 km/h at an incident angle of 16.5 degrees. Kato and the bike progressed forward together along the surface of the tyre barrier, then crashed into the side of the adjacent foam barrier at approximately 140 km/h," said the report.
"Kato remained mounted on his bike as it travelled along the tyre barrier, but when his bike struck the adjacent foam barrier he was momentarily caught between the compressed foam barrier and the bike.
"As the foam barrier was unable to completely absorb the motorcycle's substantial kinetic energy at that point, the bike flipped forward into the air, springing up higher than the top of the foam barrier, and landing in the grassy area to the left side of the course 48 metres forward from where it initially struck the tyre barrier.
"After impacting the foam barrier, Kato was separated from his bike. He plunged head first into the foam barrier, and was then thrown into the air. Rotating horizontally through the air in the manner of a discus, he landed face up in the centre of the course 33 metres forward and to the right of the point where he first struck the tyre barrier."
In summary, if anything is to blame for Kato's death, the report said it was the lack of consistent barrier protection and limited runoff area (2-2.5 metres) available:
"If (Kato) had been able to decelerate sufficiently once he left the course (if there had been more runoff), the incident might have ended as a simple course departure," stated the report. "Further, if there had not been a (1.2m) gap between the two barriers, Kato would not have crashed into the side of the foam barrier, which would have changed the extent and type of injury he received."
