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Other observers estimated the toll to be much higher. Levegh's Mercedes flipped into the air and struck the sandbank at the side of the track. Mike Hawthorne, the leader in the Jaguar, was getting close to the pit area as he approached driver Lance Macklin who he would lap. Although Marchal was taken to the hospital, he died the following day. Showing Editorial results for le mans 1955. This race report shows the crash, though the video is curiously backwards. At Le Mans 1955, 83 race fans were killed after debris from the highly-flammable magnesium-alloy bodied Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR went flying into the bleachers after it crashed on the track. [3] Levegh was thrown out of his tumbling car and hit the ground, crushing his skull upon impact and killing him instantly. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Just behind Hawthorn was a much slower Austin-Healey, actually a lap down on Hawthorn. [31] In contrast, Switzerland's ban, which also extended to the running of timed motorsports such as hillclimbs, was not quickly lifted. 312 Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 312 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Instead it pointed the finger of blame at the track layout which was deemed unsuitable for such high- speed racing. In picture, car numbered '17' (Equipe Los Amigos, XKD 513, 'short-nose') was third at Le Mans in 1957. Hawthorn and Bueb won the race by a margin of five laps from Aston Martin. At the 24 Hueres Du Mans in July 1955, the inevitable finally happened. That said, the circuit had been resurfaced and widened after the Second World War. With his eyes shut, Fangio with his own quick reflexes squeezed through the carnage and brushed Hawthorn's then-stationary Jaguar in the pits, allowing him to pass unscathed. The wreckage was examined and tested and, finally, returned to Mercedes-Benz nearly twelve months after the catastrophe. "As I was rolling along backward I saw Levegh's car following me in the air, with Levegh sort of hunched over in the cockpit. He recalled: "The scene on the other side of the road was indescribable. In 1969, it was bought for 155 (equivalent to 2,714 in 2021). He was not aware that a barrier had been placed across the escape lane and he crashed heavily. France in particular, as the host of Le Mans, lifted their complete ban on 14 September 1955. [25][16][29][3] It has remained the most catastrophic crash in motorsport history. The deadliest crash ever in motor sports history happened in Le Mans, France, on June 12, 1955. I've seen many shots of the '55 disaster, but never all of them in one place outside of the AP archives. 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. Browse 305 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. John Fitch, Levegh's American co-driver, had suited up and was ready to take over the car at the upcoming pit stop, and was standing with Levegh's wife Denise Bouillin. In its silence, you sense the horror of what's being recorded. At 125 miles an hour, "he had no chance to do so himself.". Extricating the Dead and Dying. If you had panned in your camera on Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorne drinking from the fizz of the victor's champagne bottle and ignoring the happenings at the Le Mans circuit, you would have been forgiven to think that it was another victor's dance at the podium. The doctor laid the boy in his car. Just as the race was having the average pedestrian pace for a car race, there was an accident that changed the cause of motorsports history. On Sunday morning, Bonnier approached the Indianapolis bend before Arnage and tried to avoid the slowly driven Ferrari 365GTB4 #35 of Florian Vetsch. Now it's recorded that Mercedes pulled out of the race following the crash. Other pictures show them dragging his body to the pits. Browse 265 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. (AP Photo/Jacques Marqueton), Spectators flee the searing flames of a smashed Mercedes racing car after an accident at Le Mans, France, endurance race which killed more than 80 persons, June 11, 1955. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Browse 63 1955 le mans disaster stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Eighty-three spectators and driver Pierre Levegh perished at the scene with 120 more injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history The other team cars were being kept on tighter leashes to conserve the cars, but still racing in the top ten. This newsreel without sound shows the crash as it actually happened. Simplifiez votre flux de travail avec notre systme de gestion des fichiers numriques. Even then, it took hours for that Mercedes boss to reach his superiors and get their approval to withdraw their cars. We may earn a commission from links on this page. A police officer helps carry out an injured man, dazed. A single accident that caused death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. Macklin swerved out from behind the slowing Jaguar into the path of Levegh, who was passing on the left in his much faster Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. 1955 Le Mans Disaster killed 84 people plus nearly 180 injuries when a driver slowed to make a pit stop causing the cars around him to serve. The official government inquiry into the accident called officials, drivers, and team personnel to be questioned and give evidence. The car rolled over during the incident. Les tableaux sont le meilleur endroit pour sauvegarder des images et des vidos. [36] Tertre Rouge was moved about 200m and new tyre barriers were installed at the exit in 2014. Two hours after the start, 77 were killed and another 77 injured when Pierre Le Veghs Mercedes somersaulted into the crowd. The accident reportedly occurred in heavy fog. [8] Coming out of the Maison Blanche portion of the course, he rapidly caught Lance Macklin in his Austin Healey 100S, who had seen him and moved over to the right to let him pass. This was only a few hours after the crash. Everything started when Hawthorn in his Jaguar cut in for the pits. Future British F1 champion Mike Hawthorn drove for Jaguar and then-F1 champion Fangio drove for Mercedes, along with British phenom Stirling Moss, American John Fitch, and Frenchman Pierre Levegh. I am including all of his pictures preserved by the AP, as well as all of the photographs taken by the AP itself. Modern race cars have fuel cells which keep fuel from spreading as it did here, and they don't use magnesium like they did then, either. The grandstand was demolished and rebuilt with new spectator terraces and a wide ditch between them and the racetrack. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Fifty-nine years ago, the 1955 Le Mans 24-hour race started like any other. 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. With the Mercedes-Benz team withdrawn and the Ferraris all broken, Jaguars main competition had gone. 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. 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 [1], After conquering F1, Mercedes-Benz had debuted its new 300 SLR in that year's World Sportscar Championship, including a record-setting win at the Mille Miglia for Stirling Moss. However, there was a return to the sport in the '90s. Here is a full view of the crash site from the nearby stands. "I felt the heat of his exhaust as he went by me, no more than three feet over my shoulder. Entering the straight, his Matra veered off the inside of the track and exploded into flames. [citation needed], Over the next year, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) set about making extensive track improvements and infrastructure changes at the Circuit de la Sarthethe pit straight was redesigned and widened to remove the kink just before the start-finish line, and to give room for a deceleration lane. Another 120 were "maimed," according to current writing, though initial news stories estimated around 70. [15][16], Prior to the crash, the car was involved in a previous incident with partial damage to the front bodywork, as photographic evidence shows. Levegh would die before sunset. However, a press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium drinking from the victor's bottle of champagne. In the background of the picture below, you can see people on the other side of the track, standing on top of teams' pit garages, trying to see how bad things were. "Mike could have been mistaken about how fast my car was going," Macklin would tell Sports Illustrated in a 1986 interview. Large pieces of debris, including the Mercedes' engine block, radiator, front suspension, and bonnet (hood), were sent flying into the packed spectator area in front of the grandstand. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh [lvk] in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. A reporter for Life magazine recounted that: the Mercedes took off like a rocket, struck the embankment beside the track, hurtled end over end and then disintegrated over the crowd. There had been claims that when Lafosse attempted to make up for lost time, either suspension or tyre failure caused the car to veer off suddenly into the barrier.[2][30][31]. They suggested that Mercedes-Benz had tampered with the official fuel-supply with an explosive additive, but the intensity of the fire was due instead to the magnesium-alloy construction of the chassis. The French magazine L'Auto-Journal published it with the sarcastic caption, " votre sant, Monsieur Hawthorn!" The 1955 Le Mans Disaster Via: Youtube On the 11th of June 1955, about 300,000 spectators gathered at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Northern France for another endurance car race event. 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. The Jaguar boss didn't have to report back to the factory, and when Mercedes came up to him to say they weren't going to finish the race, they asked if he would too. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large fragments of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies of some of the victims felled by the explosion on Saturday. . It remains the worst disaster in motorsports history. Ivor Bueb and Norman Dewis, both Le Mans debutants, had to step into their respective cars for their first driver stints. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is safer, much safer, than it was in 1955, but it is still a deadly track. All of this was from one car cutting through the crowd alone. 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. RELATED: 10 Of The Coolest Le Mans Prototypes No One Remembers. I stood as if in a dream, too horrified to even think. The Le Mans organizers did not actually stop the race. Accounts put the death toll at 80 to 84 (spectators plus Levegh), either by flying debris or from the fire, with a further 120 to 178 injured. During the closing period of the preliminary practice session, Weber took an unscheduled lap of the circuit. Pierre Levegh, in a Mercedes Benz, was next on the scene. When Mercedes pulled out, they approached the Jaguar team. [14] Levegh's lifeless body, severely burned, lay in full view on the pavement until a gendarme hauled down a banner to cover it. The Austin-Healey driver had to swerve out of the way as Hawthorn darted into the pits. Collect, curate and comment on your files. From the pits, they couldn't get across to the wreck, and it was hard to tell how bad everything was. The investigation zeroed in on Hawthorns attempt to overtake British driver Lance Macklins Austin Healey and a sudden catastrophic decision to pit. "I think he misjudged the speed of my car [which would have been around 120 at this point] and its position and that he was afraid of having to go around again and run the risk of running out of petrol. In the United States, the American Automobile Association (AAA) dissolved their Contest Board that had been the primary sanctioning body for motorsport in the U.S. (including the Indianapolis 500) since 1904. "But by overtaking me and braking sharply he forced me to overtake him again, which meant I had to pull out in front of Levegh and Fangio. During the first lap of Haller's stint (and his second participation) at 9 pm, his, Near the end of his driving stint and half an hour after the green flag came out, the Rondeau of Lafosse, who was lying in seventh place at 5:03 pm, was approaching the Lola T600 of, At 12:40 pm, part of the rear bodywork of Enjolras's WM came loose at Arnage, causing the car to go airborne over the safety barriers.