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Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Bodies were strewn throughout the stands The majority of the dead were French, with the numbers injured running into the hundreds. 2023 Getty Images. [40], Macklin's Austin-Healey 100 was sold to several private buyers before appearing on the public auction block. 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans - Wikipedia 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. This race report shows the crash, though the video is curiously backwards. This was only a few hours after the crash. 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. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in Le Mans, France in June 1955, when a crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd. 77 deaths at Le Mans Mon 13 Jun 1955 04.33 EDT Le Mans, June 12 Le Mans is in mourning today for the 77 people killed when the blazing wreckage of a Mercedes sports car crashed through. His Mercedes Benz clipped the edge of the Austin Healey and was launched skywards. Footage of the 1955 Le Mans Disaster. : r/WTF - reddit The significant chunk of the car slammed into a concrete structure and disintegrated, causing the fuel tank to explode. The pits and grandstands had been reconstructed, but there were no barriers between the pit lane and the racing line, and only a 4ft (1.2m) earthen bank between the track and the spectators. Here's What Happened At The Tragic 1955 Le Mans Disaster - HotCars The investigations and reviews of the accident continued for a year and a half afterwards. [3], Jaguar driver Duncan Hamilton, watching from the pit wall, recalled, "The scene on the other side of the road was indescribable. A special Mass was held in the morning in the Le Mans Cathedral for the first funerals of the victims. Rassembler, slectionner et commenter vos fichiers. With two other drivers still in the race, Mercedes-Benz continued, but after so many calls for them to abandon the meeting and with the desire to avoid a PR disaster, they pulled out of the race in the wee hours of the morning and went home. 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. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Show more. However, there was a return to the sport in the '90s. ". Extricating the Dead and Dying. The shadow of World War Two crept over the race. At exactly 4:00pm, the race began with the normal pace expected, with some of the big wigs such as Mercedes-Benz having a slow start and falling behind lesser-known names. 1955 - the Le Mans Crash in 90+ pictures from the Mike Hawthorn Tribute The 300 SLR featured a body made of an ultra-lightweight magnesium alloy called Elektron. It became part of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012 after previous stints in the Sportscar Championship and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Bueb in particular was very reluctant, but given Hawthorn's condition had no choice, as Dewis firmly pointed out to him.[3]. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Neubauer got the French authorities to test residual fuel left in the wrecks fuel injection and the result vindicated the company. Registered in Ireland: 523712. Organisez, contrlez, distribuez et mesurez tous vos contenus digitaux. 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. That was my first thought. Newsreels show the crash itself, and police rushing to tear down advertising banners by the wreck. Search instead in Creative? I am including all of his pictures preserved by the AP, as well as all of the photographs taken by the AP itself. That being said, while the Audi successfully protected its driver, it hit an unprotected, hard wall. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Bianchi decided to start early as organisers were speculating a wet session later in the day. 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. 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. [39], Fitch became a major safety advocate and began active development of safer road cars and racing circuits. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies . 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. 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 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. 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. Supposedly they were concerned that crowds of people leaving the track would keep ambulances from getting to those in need. . The Le Mans organizers did not actually stop the race. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race. Years later Fitch claimed, based on his own recollection and from what he heard from others, that Hawthorn had caused it. The healthy carry bodies away from the wreckage. 'The hood decapitated tightly jammed spectators like a guillotine': Le Mans '55 and the worst disaster in motorsports history, Palhinha stunner helps Fulham into FA Cup quarter final, Division Two moving weekend affords Cork chance to right wrongs of recent Clare record, Longstaff bids to fulfil final dream with Magpies after lost years, Ukraine ally Kallas fights for re-election in Estonia vote, Thai cave boys ashes arrive home from UK for final farewell, Chinese defence spending boost to meet complex security challenges, Injuries opening door to Irish team for O'Brien, Cork farmer given less than three weeks to sell 80 animals left in 'chronic neglect', Cork woman Margaret Buttimer jailed for abusing Ukrainian refugees at Bandon hotel, Cork soccer club says CCTV footage shows discrepancies with referee abuse claims. With Levegh dead, Macklin presumed that Hawthorns implication was that he (Macklin) had been responsible, and he began a libel action. Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Mike Hawthorn were household names in the fifties with the marquee manufacturers of Ferrari, Jaguar along with Mercedes Benz all throwing resources at claiming the crown. (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. During the closing period of the preliminary practice session, Weber took an unscheduled lap of the circuit. The dead and dying were everywhere; the cries of pain, anguish, and despair screamed catastrophe. Behind them were two Mercedes: Levegh ahead of Fangio. Despite expectations for the race to be red-flagged and stopped entirely, race officials, led by race director Charles Faroux, kept the race running. It's hard to say just how many people died in the crash. 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. 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. [3][25][27], Hawthorn and the Jaguar team kept racing. Another 120 were "maimed," according to current writing, though initial news stories estimated around 70. Waiting until 1:45 am, when many spectators had left, he stepped onto the track and quietly called his cars into the pits, at the time running first and third. [14] Levegh's lifeless body, severely burned, lay in full view on the pavement until a gendarme hauled down a banner to cover it. France kept the ban until they they made safety improvements to the tracks, such as breaking down the grandstands at the crash site. [2] Marius Mestivier was the first race fatality, occurring only a few hours after Guilbert's death. 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. Thirty-five laps in the worst disaster in motorsports history unfolded. It is one part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, including the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. However, a press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium drinking from the victor's bottle of champagne. Other observers estimated the toll to be much higher. The images may be black and white but even the faded frames of a tragedy 65 years ago still pack a powerful punch. It was an appalling tragedy that shocked the world and changed the face of motorsports forever. 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. "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. Levegh would die before sunset. In other racing events where a car's ability is based on how fast it moves and in record time, this is a test of car reliability. 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. 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. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. 1955 Le Mans disaster - Wikipedia As the Austin-Healey moved across the road, Levegh raised his hand. Even then, it took hours for that Mercedes boss to reach his superiors and get their approval to withdraw their cars. 1955 Le Mans disaster | Autopedia | Fandom The Le Mans endurance race is organized by France's Automobile Club de L'Ouest and has been held . 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. 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]. Extricating the Dead and Dying. At a gathering for his 92nd birthday, Mercedes driver John Fitch explained just how little the drivers knew. [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. Macklin also decided to retire after being involved in another fatal crash, during the 1955 RAC Tourist Trophy race at Dundrod Circuit. There was the inevitable finger-pointing as to whose fault this event was, but everyone was absolved of blame after a thorough investigation. Just How Horrifying Was The Worst Crash In Motorsports, Le Mans '55? Fangio and Moss were the lead pairing for the German company who had pinned their hopes on a new 300 SLR which boasted an ultra-lightweight magnesium alloy body. Indeed, the German company withdrew from all motor racing at the end of that season and did not return until 1987. 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. My instant reaction when he did it was, 'Bloody Mike Hawthorn, he must be out of his mind!' Now it's recorded that Mercedes pulled out of the race following the crash. In the end the enquiry ruled that no specific driver was responsible for the crash, and that it was merely a terrible racing incident. June 11, 1955: 83 People Were Killed at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. It's Shortly before he died, he wrote of the race: "It was as though we were at the point where a great rock had been hurled into a pond, sending out waves of shock and horror and indignation which would later flow back, bringing consequences which no one could foresee. It exploded like a grenade spewing debris through the grandstand, killing anyone within the blast radius. Exiting the Tertre Rouge corner, Larivire lost control of his car and launched over a sandbank along the. Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh, and injuring nearly 180 more. 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 On lap 35, Hawthorn and Fangio were racing as hard as ever. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images '"[6][7] The lap before, Hawthorn's pit crew had signalled for him to come in the next lap. On that date, the Ministry of the Interior released new regulations for racing events and codified the approval process that future racing events would need to follow. As a result, Macklin's car veered across to the centre of the track, apparently briefly out of control. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 1950s, accident & disaster, event & history, footage & video, france, Le Mans, sports, vehicles The protagonists were Pierre Levegh representing Mercedes, Mike Hawthorn driving for Jaguar, and Lance Macklin of the Austin-Healey team. 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. Pierre Levegh, aged 49, had been hired by Mercedes-Benz . You can see a man here, his arms outstretched in shock. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. In the current world of social distancing, it is hard to imagine the crowd of. I stood as if in a dream, too horrified to even think., Mike Hawthorn and the Jaguar team kept racing. Le Mans, France: Rescue workers pursue the grim task of extricating . 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. Below is that interview in full. Simplifiez votre flux de travail avec notre systme de gestion des fichiers numriques. Mike Hawthorne, the leader in the Jaguar, was getting close to the pit area as he approached driver Lance Macklin who he would lap. Shortly after midnight Mercedes retired its cars from racing were running first and third. "Mike could have been mistaken about how fast my car was going," Macklin would tell Sports Illustrated in a 1986 interview. The Mercedes crashed into the embankment that bordered the track, killing Levegh instantly. However, an inopportune press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium swigging from the victors bottle of champagne. 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. 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 24 Hours of Le Mans is safer, much safer, than it was in 1955, but it is still a deadly track. 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 cars touched, Bonnier's was launched over the barriers and ended up in the trees. 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. The engine and front axle cut a swath like an artillery barrage. Race car at Le Mans crashes into spectators, killing 82 At the Circuit de la Sarthe, the audience stands at the pits were demolished. He was among the dead. [25], Opinions differed widely amongst the other drivers as to who was directly to blame for the crash, and such differences remain even today. The AP states that it's unclear how this body ended up as it lay. Your email address will not be published. It commemorates the deadliest accident in motorsport history, which took place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on June 11, 1955. 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. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh [lvk] in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. It shows you not only how the crash happened, but how little stood between those watching and the flying wreckage. The crash happened only a few hours into the race, just as the leaders started making their first pit stops. [14][9] As a result, the car burned for several hours. The car landed on the earthen embankment between the spectators and the track, bounced, then slammed into a concrete stairwell structure and disintegrated. If you would like to manage your push notification preferences, you can do so here. At the time of his mistake, the Mercedes were running 2 and 3 twenty-five miles behind the Talbot! [34] The ban was lifted in May 2022.[35]. Vintage Everyday RELATED: These Le Mans Racers Dominated The Worlds Most Famous Race. Eighty-three spectators and driver Pierre Levegh died and 120 more were injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history. 776 60 60 comments Best Add a Comment . Mercedes team manager Alfred Neubauer assembled a multinational team for the race: pairing his two best drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in the lead car, 1952 race-winner Karl Kling with Frenchman Andr Simon (both also in the current F1 team) and American John Fitch with one of the elder statesmen of French motor-racing, Pierre Levegh. The circuit at Le Mans is incredibly long, and information was even more sparse away from the immediate vicinity of the crash. outstanding team of sports writers. [14] When Fitch returned to his pit, he urged the Mercedes team to withdraw from the race, as continuing to compete would be a public relations disaster for Mercedes-Benz regardless of whether they won or lost. Most vehicle manufacturers focus on this particular race to test the fuel efficiency of their vehicles and know the viability of their cars and engines throughout the 24 hours rather than learning how fast their cars can go. [30], Most countries lifted their racing bans within a year after the disaster. The main aim of the competition is basically to test the endurance of sports cars. 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). [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. [37][15][38] Track safety technology and practices evolved slowly until F1 driver Jackie Stewart organized a campaign to advocate for better safety measures ten years later. [2] Sixteen during the race itself, five during pre-race practice and testing sessions, and one en route to the race. Hawthorn and Bueb won the race by an easy margin of five laps from Aston Martin. Tony Rolt and other drivers had been raising concerns about the pit straight since 1953. During a downpour of rain at dusk, Brussin entered the Dunlop Curve too fast and rolled after hitting an earth bank. France and Switzerland both banned motor racing after Le Mans. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies of some of the victims felled by the explosion on Saturday. Instead it pointed the finger of blame at the track layout which was deemed unsuitable for such high- speed racing. It might have been the case that determined who was at fault once and for all, but Hawthorn died before the case could be resolved. The French magazine L'Auto-Journal published it with the sarcastic caption, " votre sant, Monsieur Hawthorn!" Fitch explained that he only got an idea of how bad things were when he overheard a journalist friend of his reporting news that some 65 people were reported dead. "Then there was a hell of a bang like a bomb had hit.". Levegh and competitor Mike Hawthorn were running near each other at the beginning of the pit lane when Hawthorn slowed for a pit stop. In picture, car numbered '17' (Equipe Los Amigos, XKD 513, 'short-nose') was third at Le Mans in 1957. These roads are not predictable and can have so many unforeseen dangers. 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. In its silence, you sense the horror of what's being recorded. 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. The weather had closed in on Sunday morning and there was no victory celebration. The crash started when Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorn pulled to the right side of the track in front of Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin and started braking for his pit stop. This is a list of 24 Hours of Le Mans fatal accidents, which consists of all the drivers who have died during a 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend, or in pre-race testing or practice sessions in preparation of the event. Neubauer got the French authorities to test residual fuel left in the wreck's fuel injection and the result vindicated the company. An initial news report claims 82 spectators killed, some decapitated by a flying hood "like a guillotine." Stewart's campaign gained momentum after the deaths of Lorenzo Bandini and Jim Clark. 63 1955 LE MANS DISASTER Premium High Res Photos 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 rear-ended Macklin at high speed, overriding Macklins car and launching his own car through the air. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. A police officer helps carry out an injured man, dazed. Look at how dense the crowd was. Everything started when Hawthorn in his Jaguar cut in for the pits. The dead and dying were everywhere; the cries of pain, anguish, and despair screamed catastrophe. Being 98 years old, it is the oldest endurance racing event. Leveghs car, which was estimated to be travelling at over 150mph (240khm), flipped over and flew on before slamming into the bank by the spectator enclosure. Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 23:30, "Historic Motor Racing - historicracing.com", "Lucien Bianchi Profile - Drivers - GP Encyclopedia - F1 History on Grandprix.com", "Race Car Driver Deaths: The Medical Causes of Racing Deaths w Examples", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans_fatalities&oldid=1140404005, Guilbert was making his way to the circuit during the morning of the race in his Ravel, a car designed by. The scene in the aftermath was hellish. 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. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. . [25] In the end the enquiry ruled that no specific driver was responsible for the crash, and that it was merely a terrible racing incident. At the 24 Hueres Du Mans in July 1955, the inevitable finally happened. . Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images "He came alongside me, and I gave him the thumbs-up sign as he overtook me to wish him luck. A special mass was held in the morning in the Le Mans Cathedral for the first funerals of the victims. While all of this unfolded, the race continued. An estimated attendance of between 250,000 and 300,000 crammed together to witness one of the most spectacular driver line ups ever assembled to contest the venue's iconic 24-Hour race.