I'll try and give an explanation of how it happened, why so many people died, and why the organizers didn't cancel the race after the crash. At 125 miles an hour, "he had no chance to do so himself.". France and Switzerland both banned motor racing after Le Mans. When he finally made it into the pits again, past what was then the scene of the crash, tears were streaming down his face. While all of this unfolded, the race continued. By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser. Racing fuel exploded. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies of some of the victims felled by the explosion on Saturday. Now it's recorded that Mercedes pulled out of the race following the crash. The alloy burst into white-hot flames, showering the track and crowd with magnesium embers, made worse by rescue workers unfamiliar with magnesium fires who poured water onto the inferno, greatly intensifying the fire. It smacked the barrier and the road shoulder rolling at hurtling speeds through 85 yards and over a further 100 yards, the engine, radiator, and suspension already ablaze were flung through a cluster of spectators destroying everything and anything in its part. His Monopole flipped at Maison Blanche, trapping and killing the driver. The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd 24 Hours of Le Mans and took place on 11 and 12 June 1955 on Circuit de la Sarthe.It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. Hawthorn retired from motorsport soon after but was ironically killed when overtaking a Mercedes on a slippery road near his Surrey home in 1959. Jaguar concentrated their racing almost exclusively on Le Mans and had a very experienced driver line-up, including Formula 1 (F1) Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn. 1955 June 11 Race car at Le Mans crashes into spectators, killing 82 On June 11, 1955, a racing car in Le Mans, France, goes out of control and crashes into stands filled with. The main aim of the competition is basically to test the endurance of sports cars. Dveloppez votre marque de manire authentique en partageant son contenu avec tous les crateurs Internet. You can read a recent interpretation from a lawyer right here for a deeper look into what it would take to assign definitive blame. By year [ edit] References [ edit] ^ a b 24 FACTS ABOUT LE MANS' 24 HOURS Police managed to drag the Austin-Healey to the other side of the track. (In English, "To your health ('Cheers'), Mr. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race. After his victory, Hawthorn celebrated with champagne. Many other drivers tried to describe the whole crash as a blameless 'racing incident,' but Hawthorn blamed Lance Macklin, the driver of the Austin-Healey. "There was a doctor who was carrying his young son on his shoulders," Raymonde Galisson, a Le Mans resident who was among the spectators that day, told Sports Illustrated. At the 24 Hueres Du Mans in July 1955, the inevitable finally happened. RELATED: These Le Mans Racers Dominated The Worlds Most Famous Race. One of the main shortcomings of the Circuit de la Sarthe as at the period of the disaster was that there were no barriers between the pit stop and the racecourse, and every sudden pit stop by a driver was a heart in the mouth moment as any minor collision could result in something fatal. Two hours after the start, 77 were killed and another 77 injured when Pierre Le Veghs Mercedes somersaulted into the crowd. "The man was not injured by the flying debris, but his son was killed. It decided that auto racing detracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning and officiating. That was my first thought. 58 men, 15 women, and 6 children were reported dead at the time, but there was a further casualty of 5 people after later findings, with 170 (approximate figure) people suffering injuries of varying degrees. [3], Jaguar driver Duncan Hamilton, watching from the pit wall, recalled, "The scene on the other side of the road was indescribable. Noticing that Hawthorn was slowing down, Macklin swerved left to avoid Hawthorn, whether it was an instinctive reaction, a loss of control from going onto the change of road-surface, or his car's disc brakes operating unevenly. The official inquiry held none of the drivers specifically responsible and criticised the layout of the 30-year-old track, which had not been designed for cars as fast as those involved in the crash. died when he crashed into an insufficiently protected tree, crashed and nearly careened over a low wall into a large row of photographers. Paul Frere - It is completely clear from these photographs that Hawthorn did not make a sudden-brake-and-pull-sharp-right manoeuvre only a short distance from the pits Tony Bailey No use without acknowledgement Plagiarism of this site will NOT be tolerated Home Home [25][3] Tony Rolt and other drivers had been raising concerns about the pit straight since 1953. But you quickly start to see people running towards the smoldering wreck, hoping to rescue anyone still alive. 24 Hours du Mans (in French), held at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Northern France, is a 24 hours' endurance-focused sports car race that started in 1923. Mercedes-Benz won both of these events, and was able to secure the constructors championship for the season. [15][8] The Jaguar team in turn questioned the fitness and competence of Macklin and Levegh as drivers. NOJ393 after its restoration by Steve Pike and before its sale at auction by Bonhams. Fitch approached one of the Mercedes team bosses and explained to him why it made sense for the very German team (many of those working at the team were very much active when Mercedes race cars had swastikas painted on the side) to pull out of this French race. He was among the dead. Getting out, he was immediately ordered by his team to get back in and do another lap to get away from the total confusion and danger. The '55 Le Mans race looked like it would be one of the greatest since WWII. As Macklin cut towards the middle of the track, Pierre Levegh, a Mercedes-Benz driver, was approaching at a speed of close to 150 mph; Macklin's car acted as a speed ramp for Pierre catapulting the car towards the spectators. [36], The official government inquiry into the accident called officials, drivers, and team personnel to be questioned and give evidence. ". "Mike could have been mistaken about how fast my car was going," Macklin would tell Sports Illustrated in a 1986 interview. Fifty-nine years ago, the 1955 Le Mans 24-hour race started like any other. The importance of the crash is not how two cars crashed into each other. 24 Hours du Mans (in French), held at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Northern France, a 24 hours' endurance-focused sports car race that started in 1923. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. The deadliest crash ever in motor sports history happened in Le Mans, France, on June 12, 1955. During trials the veteran. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. It's easy to find reports of the crash today that talk about how desensitized the public was to the crash. Showing Editorial results for le mans 1955. Search instead in Creative? The circuit at Le Mans is incredibly long, and information was even more sparse away from the immediate vicinity of the crash. Macklin claimed that Hawthorns move to the pits was sudden, causing an emergency that led him to swerve into Leveghs path. . Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Meanwhile, Macklin's car, heavily damaged, rammed the left-side barrier, then veered to the right of the track into the pit lane, narrowly missing Kling's Mercedes-Benz, Roberto Mieres's Maserati, and Don Beauman's Jaguar, all of which were already in the pits refuelling before the accident. Entering the straight, his Matra veered off the inside of the track and exploded into flames. Browse 63 1955 le mans disaster stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. [14] Levegh's lifeless body, severely burned, lay in full view on the pavement until a gendarme hauled down a banner to cover it. In his biography, Hawthorn said he was "momentarily mesmerized by the legend of the Mercedes superiority Then I came to my senses and thought Damn it, why should a German car beat a British car. Browse 305 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. There were two key factors regarding the track layout at that time first, there was no designated deceleration lane for cars coming into the pits, and second, that just before the main straight, there was a very slight right-hand kink in the road just after which Hawthorn started braking. The Le Mans organizers did not actually stop the race. The 1955 Le Mans disaster of 11th June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Levegh's wife was inconsolable and Fitch stayed with her until she could be comforted. In all, a total of 22 drivers have died in and around the Circuit de la Sarthe,[1] with more than half occurring along the circuit's Mulsanne Straight. Shortly after midnight Mercedes retired its cars from racing were running first and third. Neubauer got the French authorities to test residual fuel left in the wreck's fuel injection and the result vindicated the company. The race authorities never called the race off. Le Mans, France: Rescue workers pursue the grim task of extricating . On 10 June 2009, the Stnderat (upper house of the Swiss parliament) defeated a proposal to lift the ban for the second time. These were the days of patriots racing Red, Blue, Green, White and Silver cars for the national glory of their country. A major crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Bouillin (who raced under the name Pierre Levegh) and injuring nearly 180 more. In picture, shown on Finishing Straight, car numbered '25' (Jaguar Works, XKD 605, 'long-nose') was 6th at Le Mans in 1956. Life reported that it was days before drivers put together exactly what happened and the public at large learned the gravity of the crash. It was only ten years after the end of WWII, and dead bodies in the French countryside was fresh in everyone's memory. On the other hand: damn those Jaguar D-types look nice. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. The behemoths of sports racing all featured their sports cars with their respective drivers for another car racing festival. Fitch said that in light of "recent unpleasantness," Mercedes "should not win this race over the bodies of however many.. French people." The death of the spectators was blamed on inadequate safety standards for the track design. Macklin is startled at not having the more technologically advanced disc brakes as the Jaguar, which leads him to move to the right, kicking up dirt before veering towards the center of the track. Organisez, contrlez, distribuez et mesurez tous vos contenus digitaux. The pits complex was pulled down and rebuilt, giving more room to the teams, but thereby limiting spaces to only 52 starters rather than the previous 60.