on may 3, 1998, during round 2 of the jgtc at fuji speedway, ota was badly injured. there were 47,000 spectators in attendance for the jgtc round scheduled for 300km (67 laps). at the time of race there was torrential rain and visibility was limited. following the parade lap, the safety car drove through the starting line at 150 km/h (93 mph) then suddenly slowed down. this caused 910 racing's porsche 911 rsr driven by tomohiko sunako to aquaplane and strike the rear of kaoru hoshino's 911 gt2. of the gt300 cars, the third car in front of the porsches (and 22nd on the grid), the bmw m3 of yasushi hitotsuyama, behind, managed to avoid the porsche by driving onto the grass and then back to the circuit, while the porsche struck a barrier and rested on the grass. a caution flag was waved out.