Bonding and Bonded - fujitsu.com · Mr. Ota said describing his personality. So when he retreated...
Transcript of Bonding and Bonded - fujitsu.com · Mr. Ota said describing his personality. So when he retreated...
Racing driver / Automotive critic
T e t s u y a O t a
Probably not many people have
been to a racing circuit. Not to mention,
driving a car on a race track may be
something you've never imagined doing
in your life.
But actually, many race circuits allow
anyone to drive their own vehicle if
they take training courses to obtain a
license. By reserving a race track, auto
parts shops, amateur racing clubs and
the editorial teams of car magazines
organize track meets and sandlot car
races, which gather auto enthusiasts to
compete with their stock-cars.
Among these amateur racing clubs,
the most unique of its kind is “Tetsuya
Ota and the Middle-aged racers”
(officially called TEZZORACERS CLUB).
The club is headed by Mr. Tetsuya Ota,
a race driver & automobile critic who
made his name in numerous races
including appearing four straight-years
in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and is also
known to be the “Japan's best Ferrari
handler.”
But here's the problem: in order to
join the club, you have to be not less
than 40 years old. “When you become
forty, you gradually get the idea about
where your life leads to and begin to
wonder about whether you can take
on a new challenge. But you know,
no matter how old you are, you can
challenge new things and stay cool.
Using cars as the driving force to
encourage more adults to be like that,
I think it will give dreams to children
and put the brakes on the current trend
of young people losing their interest
in cars,” Mr. Ota explained about the
purpose of the club.
Besides this, he also engages in
many other activities. He runs a driving
school at the racetrack to coach people
about the necessary driving skills
needed for safe driving on the road. In
order to teach the young generation
the can-do spirit, he started a non-
profit organization “KEEP ON RACING”
and visited many schools all over
the country to lecture children about
the importance of taking on new
challenges, as well as to provide
support for the recovery of the disaster
affected areas. On top of this, he owns a
tuning brand “TEZZO” that specializes in
his signature tuning, and a showroom
that displays and sells custom cars.
For anyone, this looks like a rose-
tinted, second career for a successful
racing driver who turns 53 this year.
But to get this point in life, it was not
that simple. In 1998, at the age of T e t s u y a O t aI N T E R V I E W
In no year before this last year after the devastating earthquake, have so many people felt that death is something that is all around us. Today when we are at a crossroads where the possibility of living our ephemeral life in the most sincere way is called into question, Tetsuya Ota shared his insights. All he needed to take the challenge was a bond of support and encouragement.
How to be a cool role modelthat inspires people to engage in life
Second Life to Sharethe Meaning of Challenge
38, he was critically injured in a crash
during a race, which not only put his
career as a racing driver on hold but
put his life on the verge of extinction.
He described his struggle as saying,
Text:Akira YokotaPhotograph:Yukio Yoshinari
Below pic: After the quake on March 11, 2011,
Mr. Ota immediately acted to set up “Keep on
Racing” - a team of volunteers to assist the
recovery of the disaster-stricken area. The move
quickly gathered support from the motorsports
community. Mr. Ota with Shinichi Ito, a
motorcycle road racer, who himself was affected
by the disaster, but came out of retirement last
year in order to give courage to the survivors, and
won the Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance Race. Shot at
the disaster-affected area.
Above pic: “Tezzo Racers Club” members in
matching racing suits strike a gallant pose at the
track.
KIZUNA – The Human Bond Bonding and Bonded 2
No Human can live alone. Every individual is supported by many other people and every individual supports many others. We are all intertwined by human bonds and we live our lives laughing at times and crying at times. What is created from the bond that ties us together?
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No Escape From the Deepest Bottom of Despair
him forcefully dragged him out to the
track for a meeting organized by his
publisher and reminded him of the joy
of driving on the racetrack. His wife
encouraged him to write his memoir
and introduced him to the book editor
by tracking down her acquaintances.
“I'm actually very pessimistic in nature,”
Mr. Ota said describing his personality.
So when he retreated into his own shell,
his friends joined hand in hand to break
the shell.
Mr. Ota 's books depict these
extraordinary struggles of a man to get
back on his feet in a rather ordinary
manner. And the real heroes in the
books are his wife and two children, the
doctors, and his friends. The story, in
tribute to these people who sometimes
had to play bad guys to help him
sustain the bond between him and the
world, has produced a new growing
bond.
“One high school girl who read ‘Crash'
sent me an invitation letter for an event
that brought together students from 50
high schools.”
On the day he appeared in public for
the first time since the accident, he held
a steering wheel with his casted right
hand and drove up in his Ferrari in front
of students. He instantly became the
center of attention, just like the same
hero prior to the accident.
“When girls asked for autographs, I
felt like, ‘I'm a hot shot.' Come to think
about it, kids today rarely see grownups
taking on real challenges.”
A criteria for a cool role model that
kids admire is that it is never just
about your appearance. It is about the
attitude to keep on challenging things.
“At that time, I bitched at the doctors
who saved my life, ‘why the hell did
you make me live?' All these fan letters
with a message ‘don't give up' didn't
make sense to me at all.” But going
through this turbulent stage helped
him build who he is today. So this is
literally a “second life” for him.
Among top athletes including racing
drivers, many of them are trained solely
for their specific sports from a very
young age. But such was not the case
with Mr. Ota.
“I joined an amateur racing club
through my friend during my college
years and helped with the sandlot car
races, but never thought of becoming
a professional. I had no plan for the
future and eventually I fell behind in
job hunting. So I reluctantly followed
my father's advise right before college
graduation to study accounting. But I
knew that wasn't in me.”
Living in a perplexed adolescence is
something called “bluebird syndrome”
today. However, “One day I saw a
professional racing driver on the race
circuit for the first time, and suddenly
the picture of my career became so
real.”
His talent has blossomed quickly. In
an amateur race he entered with a used
car, he finished on the center of the
podium right away. While taking part-
time jobs day and night to raise money,
he made the step up to the entry-level
formula races and demonstrated his
ability. In his third year, he signed with
a racing team as a professional driver.
However, “My father didn't think
that a racing driver would work out as
a career. So when I told him that I'd
be a professional racing driver, he just
cut me off with a shilling,” he said. It is
part of parental love to wish that their
children pursue a career of their choice,
while not wanting them to walk on a
tightrope.
But his professional career was not
always a smooth ride. He signed with
an auto manufacturer's team, and just
when he thought everything was going
well, the team had to be dissolved
after the bust of the bubble economy.
At the last minute before he would
have ended up on the street, he finally
managed to get a sponsor.
Even after that, unlike the previous
team, the situation was not always
ideal. With support from many people,
he entered a race with a handmade vehicle
and a pickup team, and eventually his
approach has garnered more fans.
When he finally built his own team
and was about to reach his prime as
a professional racing driver, the crash
happened.
It caused severe burn injuries that
covered 40% of his body. Right after
the accident, the doctor pronounced
that he would survive for only 72 hours,
and when everyone around him was
preparing to accept his death, his life
was miraculously sustained. But it
was the beginning of an agonizing
journey. Time will heal external
injuries involving bone fractures and
bruises when the crisis passes, but
in the case of burn injuries, it is a
different story. Thinking back to those
days, he said “The doctor said it would
take 3 years, but I thought not a chance
in million years.”
Not only did he have to endure pain
of going through multiple operations
and rehabilitations in order to recover
movement of his burned hands and
legs, but he had to confront deep
despair. Being devastated by his own
appearance, where his eyelids, nose
and lips were all burned away, he made
a desperate attempt to go up to the
roof of the hospital and throw himself
off, but he found out that the rooftop
was surrounded by a protection fence.
His agony grew deeper when he knew
that there was no escape.
Even after he left the hospital, he
stayed cooped up in the house for
the fear of people's curious gaze and
spent days in smoldering grief. “It was
agonizing. But through that time of
hardship, I've found my answer. Looking
back now, I guess that was a kind of
discipline,” he said.
His experience is well documented
in his autobiography “Crash” and its
sequel “Rebirth” - exceptional best-
sellers as sports memoirs (both
published by Gentosha). And his books
opened up a new chapter in life.
It took him a year to accept that his
body wouldn't get back to its previous
state and to make a firm decision to
live. During his readjustment to normal
life and thereafter, his family, the
doctors, the auto racing community and
motorsports media gave their support.
One day, a magazine editor close to
I N T E R V I E W
Thus, this gave birth to the middle-aged
racers.
“When I wrote this idea on my regular
article in the magazine, applications
came from all over the country. The club
now has 70 members. We also have a
member who made a race debut at the
age of over 60,” he said joyfully.
In the beginning, however, when the
club was making an order for matching
racing suits, the middle-agers preferred
to choose conservative white or gray
racing suits. But Mr. Ota set the tone
for them: “only RED is allowed here.”
When one of them got sloppy on the
racetrack, Mr. Ota's sharp words darted
off, “Get off your ass and tidy yourself
up to be picture-perfect.” Even though
they hold modest positions at their
workplaces, they are dowdy old men on
the weekend. But Mr. Ota's “coaching”
gradually changed their appearance.
Through these experiences, today he
puts up a slogan - “Revive Japan with
Cars.”
“You know, the auto industry seems
to feel pressure from all directions now.
There's this notion of skepticism about
driving a car in the eco-friendly era.
But you know, cars are indispensable
commodities in the earthquake-affected
areas. Also in Europe, no one says we
don't need cars. In any age, cars are
fascinating icons. That's why, through
this activity, I try to tell people to openly
promote the joy and attractiveness of
driving cars, and let's cheer up Japan.”
He explained that his standard at the
center of his action is based on “whether
it's good for society.”
“Since nearly experiencing death in
the accident, I began to have a strong
Sponsored by auto magazines and
car manufacturers, “Tetsuya Ota
Enjoy & Safety Driving Lesson” has
gathered many participants. Learning
the limitations of the automobile on
a safe racetrack can help safe driving
on the road. For more information,
visit http://www.sportsdriving.jp
The World Won't Turnits Back on the Goodof the World
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P R O F I L ETetsuya Ota / Born in 1959 in Gunma Prefecture.
After graduating from college, Ota made his debut
as a race car driver. His success in the racing scene
including four-straight appearance in Le Mans 24
Hours has garnered him the moniker “Japan's best
Ferrari handler.” In 1998, he was severely injured in
the car crash during the race that left him with no
hope of recovery, but undergoing 23 operations and
2 and a half year rehabilitation, he made a comeback
on the circuit. As an automotive critic, he regularly
writes for many publications and is involved in a wide
range of activities including lectures, a driving school
at the racetrack, and production work for his own
tuning brand TEZZO. For more information, visit:
http://www.keep-on-racing.com
KIZUNA – The Human Bond Bonding and Bonded 2
Pictures courtesy of TEZZO BASE showroom
desire to pass down something to
society while I'm alive. These days, I
begin to realize that, if you do something
good for the society, it will not turn its
back on you.”
To live is to challenge. Mr. Ota's words
and activities, built on his real experience
in confronting death and overcoming
despair with the bond of support shown
by many others, shed a guiding light
over our path.
That's right. We should also make our
statement loud and clear: “Revive Japan
with Cars.”
I N T E R V I E W
Kids adore cool cars, not useful cars.
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