| Arnie | 05-17-2006 06:58 PM |
Mike Kojima seriously injured in race
�
�
Just found out that Mike Kojima was seriously injured in a racing incident 2 weekends ago. He broke his back in two places but is fortunately not paralyzed. He's on the long road to recovery now. Mike is a technical writer for magazines such as Sport Compact Car and Turbo magazines. His well written suspension tech articles are always a good read.
Let's wish him all the best!
Let's wish him all the best!
| vlady | 05-17-2006 07:05 PM |
Never heard of him, but best of luck! He's lucky he only sustained the injuries he did. I wish him the best...
| JZ oo7 | 05-17-2006 07:17 PM |
no wonder his name sounds so familiar...is he the one that wrote the "suck, squash, bang, blow" articles?
| Arnie | 05-17-2006 07:18 PM |
Do a google search. He's a pretty prolific writer, you've may have read some of his articles.
| Arnie | 05-17-2006 07:19 PM |
[QUOTE=JZ oo7]no wonder his name sounds so familiar...is he the one that wrote the "suck, squash, bang, blow" articles?[/QUOTE]
Yup! Here's one: [url]http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/9912scc_intake_exhaust_systems/[/url]
Yup! Here's one: [url]http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/9912scc_intake_exhaust_systems/[/url]
| artkevin | 05-17-2006 07:20 PM |
[QUOTE=vlady]Never heard of him, but best of luck! He's lucky he only sustained the injuries he did. I wish him the best...[/QUOTE]
+1 for sure. Best of luck to him.
+1 for sure. Best of luck to him.
| JZ oo7 | 05-17-2006 07:22 PM |
[QUOTE=Arnie]Yup! Here's one: [url]http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/9912scc_intake_exhaust_systems/[/url][/QUOTE]
those were some really good articles. my prayers to a speedy recovery.
those were some really good articles. my prayers to a speedy recovery.
| WRXRATED7 | 05-17-2006 07:23 PM |
He's well known on sr20forum.com. Hopefully he makes a full recovery. A lot of SE-R guys still use some of the great info he's posted from years ago. Godspeed!
| semaj | 05-17-2006 07:39 PM |
WOW...hope he rehabs quickly...I just read one of his suspension articles in the john. What car was he driving? His SE-R?
| WRXedUSA | 05-17-2006 07:43 PM |
Yeah, I know him from teh Sr20forum and SCC writings.
Wish for full recovery.
Wish for full recovery.
| CamaroFS34 | 05-17-2006 08:36 PM |
I met Mike a few years ago at an SE-R meet here in Maryland. To hear he was in an accident is horrible. I wish him well!!!
Karen
Karen
| Chiketkd | 05-17-2006 08:45 PM |
[QUOTE=WRXedUSA]Yeah, I know him from teh Sr20forum and SCC writings.[/QUOTE]
That's where I know him from as well. Get well soon Mike!!! :)
That's where I know him from as well. Get well soon Mike!!! :)
| GSRNick | 05-17-2006 09:59 PM |
He dislocated two discs in his back. Recovery is not going to include surgery but he's going to be out of action for awhile. This happened on a track in Cali while he was driving someone else's car (I can't remmeber which track it was, May 6-7th weekend at an SE-R Cup race) He basically got run off the track by a rookie (not intentional but **** happens and there is no one really to blame) and the spot where he tried to come back on happened to have about a 6-8foot drop/ledge, but he couldn't tell from his vantage point, it just looked like he would end up back on track.
| aircrook | 05-17-2006 11:27 PM |
wow...
�
�
that sucks. I have been reading his stuff way before he was a SCC writer. He was always the godfather of SR20DE and general motorsports tech. He has been on the SE-R.net forums way back in 1996 when it was an email list. Damn... I am old. I am glad he is ok... :(
| Arnie | 05-18-2006 12:52 AM |
I'll email him this thread so he can see how much support we have for him!
| Joel Gat, 1.8L | 05-18-2006 06:22 AM |
Hello,
When I saw this post, I jumped - EVERYONE whose been around tracks in California knows Kojima! I pinged some friends of mine and found Tom Paule's description of what happened:
[quote=Tom Paule at sr20forum.com]Mike needs to rest and relax, and not do his typical "If I don't do it, no one will" routine the results in him not ever getting better.
Mike, in the words of Rocky's trainer... "Stay down! STAY DOWN!!!!"
Get better Mike, I mean it.
Here's my take on what happened, I was standing on the bleachers with Tim in turn 1 and watched the race from start to finish...
After initially getting away from Anne and "Viper Dude" Stu Frederck (who was in my car), Mike got caught by both of them about 1/2 way through the race. Jason had checked out into 1st and was pretty much on cruise control 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the SE-Rs. Stu eventually got by Anne and passed Mike, putting Anne behind Mike. Mike and Anne were battling for 3rd, Mike was in 3rd, Anne was closing on him and Anne got under Mike going up the hill in the Omega. She stayed under him around the top of the hill, and Mike came down to the apex on the back of the hill, and Anne was still there, her front wheel even with his rear. They had contact, putting Mike sideways, then off to the inside of the track. Mike seemed to gain control of the car in the dirt and kept in the gas and got it pointed down hill for re-entry to the track at the start of turn 5. From the stands in turn 1, it looked like Mike stayed in it to keep his position. Anne slowed up to stay behind Mike after the contact and came down the track slow enough to stay behind him in order for Mike to gain the position back. Unfortunately for Mike, his only spot to re-join the track was off a 3-4 foot embankment that is there to keep cars from coming off track and into the corner workers station at the start of turn 5 (on inside of the track). You can't see that when coming down the hill like Mike was, it just looks like you'll just end up back on track, no big deal. It turns out he caught 3-4 feet of air vertically, and travelled about 6-8 feet off the embankment and the car nosed into the ground at about a 30 degree angle at probably 60-70 mph. To add insult to injury, he was driving Tim Nichols' car. The impact pushed the bottom of the nose pushed back and up a few inches. He's lucky he didn't roll when he landed, if he had any more side angle to his landing, he might have. Instead, he came straight off the hill. His landing was like coming down a steep hill that has the bottom cut off it, and landing on the level ground at the base of the hill. The car continued on across the track and stopped on the other side of the course. Mike's back probably got hurt from when the rear end of the car smacked the ground. Same thing happened to a BMW coming off in 9 and getting a lot of air, and like Mike, the driver of that car had a compression fracture and ended up taking it easy for 8 weeks and fully recovered.
Mike has a compression fracture of one of his lower vertibrae, and is still in the hospital until the doctors are satisfied he is stable enough to transfer. It looks like he'll be there for another day or two. I'm not sure of what hospital he's in, or what the visitors hours are. I have not spoken to him, but I understand he's in a lot of pain and I can imagine he's not feeling too comfortable. I would think if I were laid up like Mike is, I wouldn't want to be reaching for my cell phone every 5 minutes, so I'm not going to call his phone. I will be in contact with Sharon later today for more details. I'll find out from Sharon if he can/should take phone calls. I'm glad to hear from Merritt that he said he's saying he's okay.
Even though Mike got hurt, the racing was really good and close both days. Everyone had a great time until Mike went Duke's of Hazzard in Tim's car. Tim said he may paint it orange now...
Mike, please take it easy so you can get better fast.
__________________
Tom Paule
#157 SE-R Cup
Sponsored by HotShot Performance and Wheel Studio [/quote]
Best wishes and hope Mike recovers soon! Who else are we going to trick and fill his soda with ketchup, just to see him get a mouthful of nasty?
Joel
When I saw this post, I jumped - EVERYONE whose been around tracks in California knows Kojima! I pinged some friends of mine and found Tom Paule's description of what happened:
[quote=Tom Paule at sr20forum.com]Mike needs to rest and relax, and not do his typical "If I don't do it, no one will" routine the results in him not ever getting better.
Mike, in the words of Rocky's trainer... "Stay down! STAY DOWN!!!!"
Get better Mike, I mean it.
Here's my take on what happened, I was standing on the bleachers with Tim in turn 1 and watched the race from start to finish...
After initially getting away from Anne and "Viper Dude" Stu Frederck (who was in my car), Mike got caught by both of them about 1/2 way through the race. Jason had checked out into 1st and was pretty much on cruise control 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the SE-Rs. Stu eventually got by Anne and passed Mike, putting Anne behind Mike. Mike and Anne were battling for 3rd, Mike was in 3rd, Anne was closing on him and Anne got under Mike going up the hill in the Omega. She stayed under him around the top of the hill, and Mike came down to the apex on the back of the hill, and Anne was still there, her front wheel even with his rear. They had contact, putting Mike sideways, then off to the inside of the track. Mike seemed to gain control of the car in the dirt and kept in the gas and got it pointed down hill for re-entry to the track at the start of turn 5. From the stands in turn 1, it looked like Mike stayed in it to keep his position. Anne slowed up to stay behind Mike after the contact and came down the track slow enough to stay behind him in order for Mike to gain the position back. Unfortunately for Mike, his only spot to re-join the track was off a 3-4 foot embankment that is there to keep cars from coming off track and into the corner workers station at the start of turn 5 (on inside of the track). You can't see that when coming down the hill like Mike was, it just looks like you'll just end up back on track, no big deal. It turns out he caught 3-4 feet of air vertically, and travelled about 6-8 feet off the embankment and the car nosed into the ground at about a 30 degree angle at probably 60-70 mph. To add insult to injury, he was driving Tim Nichols' car. The impact pushed the bottom of the nose pushed back and up a few inches. He's lucky he didn't roll when he landed, if he had any more side angle to his landing, he might have. Instead, he came straight off the hill. His landing was like coming down a steep hill that has the bottom cut off it, and landing on the level ground at the base of the hill. The car continued on across the track and stopped on the other side of the course. Mike's back probably got hurt from when the rear end of the car smacked the ground. Same thing happened to a BMW coming off in 9 and getting a lot of air, and like Mike, the driver of that car had a compression fracture and ended up taking it easy for 8 weeks and fully recovered.
Mike has a compression fracture of one of his lower vertibrae, and is still in the hospital until the doctors are satisfied he is stable enough to transfer. It looks like he'll be there for another day or two. I'm not sure of what hospital he's in, or what the visitors hours are. I have not spoken to him, but I understand he's in a lot of pain and I can imagine he's not feeling too comfortable. I would think if I were laid up like Mike is, I wouldn't want to be reaching for my cell phone every 5 minutes, so I'm not going to call his phone. I will be in contact with Sharon later today for more details. I'll find out from Sharon if he can/should take phone calls. I'm glad to hear from Merritt that he said he's saying he's okay.
Even though Mike got hurt, the racing was really good and close both days. Everyone had a great time until Mike went Duke's of Hazzard in Tim's car. Tim said he may paint it orange now...
Mike, please take it easy so you can get better fast.
__________________
Tom Paule
#157 SE-R Cup
Sponsored by HotShot Performance and Wheel Studio [/quote]
Best wishes and hope Mike recovers soon! Who else are we going to trick and fill his soda with ketchup, just to see him get a mouthful of nasty?
Joel
| Joel Gat, 1.8L | 05-18-2006 06:32 AM |
Hello,
Ahh, he started walking again and...
[quote=Tom Paule again]Mike returned home tonight. TIm and I were up seeing him when he got the news he was being discharged. He was so happy his blood pressure went too high and they had him taken home in an ambulance. He's back home now and very happy :-)[/quote]
Hahah... Cool.
Joel
Ahh, he started walking again and...
[quote=Tom Paule again]Mike returned home tonight. TIm and I were up seeing him when he got the news he was being discharged. He was so happy his blood pressure went too high and they had him taken home in an ambulance. He's back home now and very happy :-)[/quote]
Hahah... Cool.
Joel
| SR20gawd | 05-18-2006 03:46 PM |
Yeah Mike is a great guy, full of tons of valuable information. Knows his Nissans too. Spoke with him before on SR20forum when I had my 200sx se-r. Get well mike!!
| makofoto | 05-18-2006 10:54 PM |
Get well Quick Mike ... I looked through my mail folders ... five personal answers to my, looking back, newbie questions. Thanks for taking the time to patiently answer them. Always looking forward to your articles ... just frustrating when Part 2 is not in the next issue! :furious: :lol:
| homiusang | 05-18-2006 11:07 PM |
I met Mike Kojima at the Turbonetics 350Z/G35 meet last year. What a true car guru and I wish him the best of luck to recovery.
| eddie1982 | 05-18-2006 11:08 PM |
wish him the quickest recovery
| RUrunning | 05-19-2006 07:15 AM |
oh man, i was getting an alignment at westend when mike was in there replacing the ecu on his race car. that's teh suck... :(
| AlpineFD | 05-19-2006 03:42 PM |
I remember reading his articles in SCC a few years back, he was one of the best technical writers for import magazines.
Just out of curiosity, was this a seat belt issue? Could this have been prevented by changing any safety equipments?
Just out of curiosity, was this a seat belt issue? Could this have been prevented by changing any safety equipments?
| pio!pio! | 05-19-2006 03:50 PM |
not really..when you drive off a jump in a racecar not designed to go off jumps, and the ass end slaps down liek that, your body is gonna compress
| IntensePower | 05-19-2006 04:33 PM |
Mike is an Outstanding guy. Had dinner with him on several occation and a very fun person to hang out with. One of the fastest drivers out there too and very very knowledgable about Nissans and turbos. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see back out there again very soon
| qingshan | 05-19-2006 06:12 PM |
Hope for a full recovery
Would that I never see a crash in a race again
Would that I never see a crash in a race again
| brentlz | 05-19-2006 09:39 PM |
Wish Mike the best! Appreciate all he's added to the Nissan community.
Another (ex) SR20 guy...'93 SE-R.
Brent.
Another (ex) SR20 guy...'93 SE-R.
Brent.
| wil69 | 05-19-2006 10:00 PM |
i rode in his ungoddly fast sentra race car at california speedway. hope he has a speedy recovery and all the best.
| WRXedUSA | 05-19-2006 11:39 PM |
[url]http://sr20forum.com/showthread.php?t=155992&page=5&highlight=frederck[/url]
Mirror thread.
Mirror thread.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét