The accident left Daijiro in a coma with serious head, neck and chest injuries. Almost exactly two weeks later it was announced that he had lost his fight for life but the report states: "It is also our judgment that Kato may have experienced clinical brain death immediately after receiving his injuries."
Former GP rider Kyoji Namba, a committee member, also explained that lesser riders would have been thrown off long before the bike finally veered into the barrier – had Kato not been able to control his machine for so long he may have survived.
A mechanical failure was dismissed since Tohru Ukawa (and others) suffered a similar type of 'weave' - the shaking motion which triggered the accident. Ukawa had an identical factory spec RCV, and experienced side-to-side oscillation at the same part of the racetrack, but his machine recovered as it wasn't on the very limit.
"It can be seen from the fact that other competitors experienced 'weave mode' in the same race in which Kato's accident occurred that it is a common oscillation phenomenon. In the case of this accident, however, Kato's vehicle was operating at its performance limits," confirmed the inquiry.
The Suzuka circuit has been removed from the 2004
MotoGP calendar while safety modifications are made.
However, question marks still remain as to whether Kato's immediate treatment after the accident was acceptable. Despite the 26-year-old lying unconscious on the racetrack, the event wasn't red flagged and marshals instead quickly carried the unconscious Telefonica rider away on a stretcher.
"Four rescue workers took hold of Kato, who lay collapsed face up in the middle of the course, held him by the right shoulder, the torso and both legs, and moved him sideways just a few dozen centimeters onto the stretcher. It certainly appears that sufficient care was taken to immobilize his head and neck area," said the report. "However, when the stretcher was moved Kato's head drooped markedly, and it cannot be denied that this might have additionally injured his neck."
