It was the turning point in the industry as considerable changes were made towards improving the safety of drivers and spectators. Fifty-nine years ago, the 1955 Le Mans 24-hour race started like any other. Extricating the Dead and Dying. Your email address will not be published. The Mercedes' body was partially made of a magnesium alloy. The first media accounts were wildly inaccurate, as shown by subsequent analysis of photographic evidence conducted by Road & Track editor (and 1955 second-place finisher) Paul Frre in 1975. The Worst Accident in Motorsports History (1955 Le Mans Disaster) - YouTube 0:00 / 2:27 Sign in to confirm your age This video may be inappropriate for some users. One spectator actually recorded the crash head-on. They use them to cover one of the bodies in the road. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This breathtaking animated film retells the 1955 Le Mans disaster Showing Editorial results for le mans 1955. But after Hawthorne makes the move, he suddenly decides to cut right and breaks very hard to enter his pit area. Browse 312 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 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. All of this was from one car cutting through the crowd alone. The media also speculated on the violent fire that engulfed the wreck, which intensified when fire marshals poured their water-based extinguishers on the flames. However, a press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium drinking from the victor's bottle of champagne. It ended with the usual champagne, as well. Macklin survived the incident without serious injury, jumping out of the wreck and over the bank. He was not aware that a barrier had been placed across the escape lane and he crashed heavily. Find Le Mans Disaster stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Going into the second hour, Castellotti started dropping back, but Hawthorn and Fangio continued the duel, swapping the lead and dropping the lap record further and further, lapping most of the field.[4][5]. You can see a man here, his arms outstretched in shock. [3], Both Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz issued official statements, mainly in self-defense against the accusations leveled against them and their drivers. 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 death toll led to an immediate temporary ban on motorsports in France, Spain, Switzerland, West Germany, and other nations, until racetracks could be brought to a higher safety standard. 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. By 1955, top speeds for the leading cars were over 270km/h (170mph). [14][18] When he got to the media centre to use a telephone, he got his first inkling of the sheer enormity of the disaster, overhearing a reporter filing that 48 deaths were already confirmed. Search instead in Creative? Bianchi decided to start early as organisers were speculating a wet session later in the day. 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. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. (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. Aside from two layout changes to make the circuit shorter, the Circuit de la Sarthe was largely unaltered since the inception of the race in 1923, when top speeds of cars were typically in the region of 100km/h (60mph). It was Hawthorn's Jaguar that started the whole incident, after all. Filmmaker Quentin Baillieux paints a picture of sport and tragedy at Circuit de la Sarthe. On lap 35, Hawthorn and Fangio were racing as hard as ever. That said, many contemporary race reports treat the crash unbelievably mildly. That was my first thought. 77 deaths at Le Mans | Motor sport | The Guardian [3][25][27], Hawthorn and the Jaguar team kept racing. [40], Macklin's Austin-Healey 100 was sold to several private buyers before appearing on the public auction block. The momentum of the heaviest components of the car the engine block, radiator, and front suspension hurtled straight on into the crowd for almost 100 metres (330ft), crushing all in their path. Much recrimination was directed at Hawthorn, saying that he had suddenly cut in front of Macklin and slammed on the brakes near the entrance to the pits, forcing Macklin to take desperate evasive action into the path of Levegh. It is one part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, including the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. It was the most catastrophic crash in motorsport history, and it prompted Mercedes-Benz to withdraw from motor racing until 1989. It was only ten years after the end of WWII, and dead bodies in the French countryside was fresh in everyone's memory. 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. 1955 Le Mans disaster | Autopedia | Fandom 1955 - the Le Mans Crash in 90+ pictures from the Mike Hawthorn Tribute Large. [15] The initial media accounts were wildly inaccurate, as shown by subsequent analysis of photographic evidence conducted by Road & Track editor (and 1955 second-place finisher) Paul Frre in 1975. 1955 le mans hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy There was great anticipation for the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, as Ferrari, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz had all won the race previously and all three automakers had arrived with new and improved cars. The death toll led to an immediate temporary ban on motorsports in France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and other nations, until the racetracks could be brought to a higher safety standard. [36], The official government inquiry into the accident called officials, drivers, and team personnel to be questioned and give evidence. Other bodies are scattered near the picket fence where the Mercedes racer crashed. The action was still unresolved when Hawthorn was killed in a non-racing crash on the Guildford bypass in 1959, ironically while overtaking a Mercedes-Benz in his Jaguar. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large parts of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. Chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut had gone to the Jaguar pits to ask if the Jaguar team would respond in kind, out of respect for the crash victims. During preliminary tests on a wet track on Saturday morning, April 2, 1966 he lost control and drove down an escape road. "[16] Spectators who had climbed onto ladders and scaffolding to get a better view of the track, and those crowding to use the underpass to get to the pits, found themselves in the path of the lethal debris. The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Other observers estimated the toll to be much higher. In its silence, you sense the horror of what's being recorded. As a result, Macklin's car veered across to the centre of the track, apparently briefly out of control. "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. A single accident that caused death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. 82 people were killed during a crash at Le Mans 24-hour race in 1955 Pierre Levegh's Mercedes ricocheted into the pit-lane grandstand The race between leaders Mike Hawthorn (Jaguar) and Juan. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. 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. 1950s, accident & disaster, event & history, footage & video, france, Le Mans, sports, vehicles However, there was a return to the sport in the '90s. Cole was killed when his Ferrari left the road, impacting one of several farm houses lining the road at Maison Blanche. 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. In terms of human toll, it is the most catastrophic accident in motorsports history. Mike Hawthorne, the leader in the Jaguar, was getting close to the pit area as he approached driver Lance Macklin who he would lap. In the middle as many as 130 died in the most horrific disaster in. The AP states that it's unclear how this body ended up as it lay. One British race report praised the variety of the field representing "a United Nations of motor racing." The accident reportedly occurred in heavy fog. I stood as if in a dream, too horrified to even think., Mike Hawthorn and the Jaguar team kept racing. These big wigs included Ferrari, Jaguar, and Mercedes Benz, who were past winners of the competition. The Mercedes crashed into the embankment that bordered the track, killing Levegh instantly. 2023 Getty Images. The action was still unresolved when Hawthorn was killed in a non-racing crash on the Guildford bypass in 1959, coincidentally while overtaking a Mercedes-Benz in his Jaguar. . Your brain acts so fast you can see everything, and I can remember as I was spinning I saw the timekeepers watching me from their booth. An explosion followed, sending metal into the crowd of spectators. That said, the circuit had been resurfaced and widened after the Second World War. [3], Jaguar driver Duncan Hamilton, watching from the pit wall, recalled, "The scene on the other side of the road was indescribable. 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. "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. What stands out in these pictures is the confusion. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France on June 11, 1955. Levegh crashed into the back of the Austin-Healey. The significant chunk of the car slammed into a concrete structure and disintegrated, causing the fuel tank to explode. . [15][8], Macklin, on reading Hawthorn's 1958 autobiography, Challenge Me the Race, was embittered when he found that Hawthorn now disclaimed all responsibility for the crash without identifying who had caused it. The 300 SLR featured a body made of an ultra-lightweight magnesium alloy called Elektron. Visible at left is the fire from burning Mercedes racer which careened crazily down the course, crashing into an earth barrier back of the picket fence. Flying metal following the explosion killed some 80 and injured many spectators. (AP Photo/Jimmy Prickett), A few of the living come to the rescue among the dead and injured following the worst tragedy in racing history at Le mans, France, June 11, 1955. Organise, control, distribute, and measure all of your digital content. In the background are the pit stalls for the racers. The Worst Accident in Motorsports History (1955 Le Mans Disaster [36] Tertre Rouge was moved about 200m and new tyre barriers were installed at the exit in 2014. 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. Le Mans, France: Rescue workers pursue the grim task of extricating . Stewart's campaign gained momentum after the deaths of Lorenzo Bandini and Jim Clark. Le Mans 11th June 1955. Le Mans 1955 - The Nostalgia Forum - The Autosport Forums Two hours after the start, 77 were killed and another 77 injured when Pierre Le Veghs Mercedes somersaulted into the crowd. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France on June 11, 1955. "It's a most extraordinary sensation," Macklin said when recalling an incident that spun his car around and sent it skittling down the track backward. Here he is, still in his car after crossing the finish line, reaching up for a kiss from a local girl. [39], Fitch became a major safety advocate and began active development of safer road cars and racing circuits.

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