Round Five of Formula D lit up the night sky above a scorching-hot Las Vegas Motor Speedway late this August, and it must have been in the cards for Falken Tire, who took podium spots one, two, and three-the company's second sweep in Formula D history. Read on to see who hit the jackpot, and who almost lost it all. Man, do these Vegas puns practically write themselves.
Taka Aono
Taka Aono doesn't mess around. Dude crushed his leg mid-drift at FD's Monroe event, and what does he do? He goes to the hospital for a temporary fix, heads back to the track to spend time with fans, hitches a ride back to L.A., has his bone set with metal plates and screws, gets 30 stitches, then-not skipping a beat-he drifts at the very next event in Las Vegas. He didn't perform as well as he would have liked, but just give him time to heal-trust us, we'll be hearing much more from this unstoppable badass.
It was the previous event at Monroe, WA. There I was, doing my thing, when I felt my AE86's rear contact the wall. The whole left side of my car was grinding against Evergreen Speedway, and my left mirror got ripped clean off-oh crap! I thought of just trying to minimize the damage, but then it happened.
I heard a big "BANG!" and felt a lot of pain from my ankle. Then my AE86 completely stopped. I shut off the engine and heard my spotter Yoshie's voice from my radio, "Are you OK?" I think I said (I don't remember too well), "My left leg is wedged. I can't get my leg out!" Then, Formula D official Nick and EMS crews came over and got me out, and I was taken into the ambulance. I felt major pain in my whole left leg, but I couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from. I could feel and hear cracking sounds from my shin when I moved my leg. I was taken to the E.R. for X-rays. Diagnosis: fracture of distal tibia. Ouch.
Since Yoshie and I couldn't drive back to L.A. until the next day, I got a temporary cast, some pain medication, and a pair of crutches and headed back to the track to see my AE86 and kick it with the fans. The damage wasn't as extensive as I thought, so I was confident she'd be back in action soon. A lot of people stopped by our pit area to see if I was OK. One guy asked, "Are you able to drive the rest of this season?" I said, "Sure, three more races to go." "Vegas too?!" he asked. My reply: "Why not?"
The next day, I was drugged out in the back of the pickup while Yoshie drove all the way to L.A. The road conditions were terrible the whole way there. So bumpy. Especially the 405. What a nightmare!
On July 14, I was admitted to a local hospital and had a metal plate and fasteners placed in my left leg to set the bone. Prognosis: four to 15 weeks for healing of the bone, three to six months for complete recovery. The good news was that my fracture was clean and well secured. From my experience as a chiropractor, I had the confidence to regain just enough function of my leg to compete in the Las Vegas event. My AE86 was admitted to the body shop for surgery as well.
At the first doctor's visit after I was discharged from the hospital, I was told to wiggle my toes. At the second visit, the cast and the staples from surgery were removed, and I was told to do some weight-bearing exercises little by little.
The fourth week after the surgery, I was able to put 100 percent of my body weight on my leg, and I was able to walk short distances without crutches. From that day, I started to drive my five-speed Cressida wagon as therapy. BTW, my left leg didn't like L.A. traffic at all (who does?).
The AE86 came back from the body shop and was revived with the help of Alex P., Robert (my mechanic), Naoki, Danny from Megan Racing, and Yoshie. I even had extra time to concentrate on my rehab until the Las Vegas event.