D-Type Jaguars won the Le Mans 24hr endurance race in 1955, 1956 and 1957. At the time of his mistake, the Mercedes were running 2 and 3 twenty-five miles behind the Talbot! [3], Both Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz issued official statements, mainly in self-defense against the accusations leveled against them and their drivers. An initial news report claims 82 spectators killed, some decapitated by a flying hood "like a guillotine." Search instead in Creative? . "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. [14][15], Levegh's front-right wheel rode up onto the rear-left corner of Macklin's car, which acted as a ramp and launched Levegh's car into the air, flying over spectators and rolling end over end for 80 metres (260ft). It commemorates the deadliest accident in motorsport history, which took place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on June 11, 1955. With the Mercedes-Benz team withdrawn and the Ferraris all broken, Jaguars main competition had gone. There was also the criticism of the winner Mike Hawthorne for celebrating excessively, but he pushed back, saying it was no fault of his. [15][8] The Jaguar team in turn questioned the fitness and competence of Macklin and Levegh as drivers. Fangio never raced at Le Mans again. The significant chunk of the car slammed into a concrete structure and disintegrated, causing the fuel tank to explode. [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. 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. There is no question that racing cars today are almost infinitely safer than those of 1955. The Lola was completely destroyed, debris from the car were all around the forest, Bonnier had been killed upon impact. From the pits, they couldn't get across to the wreck, and it was hard to tell how bad everything was. 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. Behind these fleeing spectators is the scene where many were killed when hit by flying pieces of the racer which exploded after crashing into a retaining wall. Footage of the 1955 Le Mans Disaster. : r/WTF - reddit 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. 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. 1955 Le Mans disaster | Autopedia | Fandom 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. That was my first thought. You have accepted push notifications for this content. The Le Mans organizers did not actually stop the race. During preliminary tests on a wet track on Saturday morning, April 2, 1966 he lost control and drove down an escape road. Bianchi decided to start early as organisers were speculating a wet session later in the day. [39], Fitch became a major safety advocate and began active development of safer road cars and racing circuits. The 300 SLR featured a body made of an ultra-lightweight magnesium alloy called Elektron. It was a sort of victory for motorsports somehow, a pyrrhic victory, albeit. 2023 Getty Images. The cars touched, Bonnier's was launched over the barriers and ended up in the trees. The car split into three pieces. But I am not fully convinced that everyone was as cold to the crash then as they are now. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Macklin moves over to the right to let him pass. In the middle as many as 130 died in the most horrific disaster in motorsports history. Here you can see the damage it took and how it could've acted like a ramp. The final verdict assigned blame to no one. Now it's recorded that Mercedes pulled out of the race following the crash. [3] Levegh was thrown out of his tumbling car and hit the ground, crushing his skull upon impact and killing him instantly. 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. Profitez de millions dimages, de vidos et morceaux de musique de qualit. Here's What Happened At The Tragic 1955 Le Mans Disaster - HotCars [14][3][18], Hawthorn had overshot his pits and stopped. At the time, it took over six hours for the team to withdraw its cars. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies of some of the victims felled by the explosion on Saturday. French magazin L'Auto-Journal published the image with the sarcastic laden caption, votre sant, Monsieur Hawthorn. ("To your health, Mr Hawthorn."). 'The hood decapitated tightly jammed spectators like a guillotine': Le He tried to avoid a collision with Macklin but he was too close and too fast. Levegh had no time to evade, and with possibly his last action, raised his hand, warning Fangio, thereby probably saving Fangio's life. The images may be black and white but even the faded frames of a tragedy 65 years ago still pack a powerful punch. [14][9] As a result, the car burned for several hours. The French magazine LAuto-Journal published it with the sarcastic caption, votre sant, Monsieur Hawthorn! (In English, To your health (Cheers), Mr. Hawthorn!). It had been Levegh's unprecedented solo drive in the 1952 race that failed in the last hour, which allowed Mercedes-Benz their first Le Mans victory. The importance of the crash is not how two cars crashed into each other. [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. Browse 63 1955 le mans disaster stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. [Warning: graphic content]. The death of the spectators was blamed on inadequate safety standards for the track design. The behemoths of sports racing all featured their sports cars with their respective drivers for another car racing festival. 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 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. In 1969, it was bought for 155 (equivalent to 2,714 in 2021). Browse 305 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. However, there was a return to the sport in the '90s. After his victory, Hawthorn celebrated with champagne. [43] It was then restored to its original condition.[44]. 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. Showing Editorial results for le mans 1955. All of this was from one car cutting through the crowd alone. Newsreels show the crash itself, and police rushing to tear down advertising banners by the wreck. Additional details emerged when the stills reviewed by Frre were converted to video form. Police managed to drag the Austin-Healey to the other side of the track. So what are we, in 2014, left with? 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. In 1957, D-Types were placed 1-2-3-4-6, with only a solitary Ferrari in 5th spoiling the parade. . 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 total, two drivers died in the 1920s, another two in the 1930s, one in the 1940s, five in the 1950s, six in the 1960s, two in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, one in the 1990s, none in the 2000s, and one in the 2010s. (AP Photo/Jimmy Prickett), A man holds a child in the left background while a woman bends over a lifeless body following the racing car crash and explosion during the 24 hour endurance race at Le Mans, France, June 11, 1955. His Monopole flipped at Maison Blanche, trapping and killing the driver. The French press, who knew better than most how awful the crash had been, scorned Hawthorn, blamed him for the crash, and in disgust carried pictures of him celebrating after the race, as the BBC reports. He was not aware that a barrier had been placed across the escape lane and he crashed heavily. 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. Five days after his accident, Hansgen died in the American military hospital of Orlans, France, where he had been admitted. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Years later Fitch claimed, based on his own recollection and from what he heard from others, that Hawthorn had caused it. Sign in The Worst Accident in. [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. Three years ago, another Audi crashed and nearly careened over a low wall into a large row of photographers. [25], Opinions differed widely amongst the other drivers as to who was directly to blame for the crash, and such differences remain even today. Tony Rolt and other drivers had been raising concerns about the pit straight since 1953. This was indeed one of the most terrible accidents in the early decades of motorsports. Showing Editorial results for le mans 1955. June 11, 2020 then went back and tried to rescue others.". [42] The car retained the original engine SPL 261-BN,[41] but was reported to be in 'barn find' condition. It was an appalling tragedy that shocked the world and changed the face of motorsports forever. These are all that are available to Jalopnik. Le Mans 1955 - The Nostalgia Forum - The Autosport Forums Shortly after midnight Mercedes retired its cars from racing were running first and third. 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. 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. His Mercedes Benz clipped the edge of the Austin Healey and was launched skywards. Here he is, still in his car after crossing the finish line, reaching up for a kiss from a local girl. Browse 265 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. "Mike could have been mistaken about how fast my car was going," Macklin would tell Sports Illustrated in a 1986 interview. Levegh would die before sunset. The horror of the crash caused some drivers present, including Americans Fitch (after completing the season with Mercedes), Phil Walters (who had been offered a drive with Ferrari for the rest of the season[2]), and Sherwood Johnston, to retire from racing. Levegh rear-ended Macklin at high speed, overriding Macklin's car and launching his own car through the air. It turned friends into enemies, fans into critics, and winners into losers. Although Marchal was taken to the hospital, he died the following day. The Austin-Healey spun into the wall, killing one spectator but leaving its driver unharmed. Maybe that's what makes these pictures still so very chilling. France in particular, as the host of Le Mans, lifted their complete ban on 14 September 1955. The dead and dying were everywhere; the cries of pain, anguish, and despair screamed catastrophe. Rassembler, slectionner et commenter vos fichiers. [34] The ban was lifted in May 2022.[35]. This became the semi-official pronouncement of the Mercedes team and Macklin's story. 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. On Sunday morning, Bonnier approached the Indianapolis bend before Arnage and tried to avoid the slowly driven Ferrari 365GTB4 #35 of Florian Vetsch. 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. 1950s, accident & disaster, event & history, footage & video, france, Le Mans, sports, vehicles Browse 305 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. In the background are the pit stalls for the racers. Macklin claimed that Hawthorn's move to the pits was sudden, causing an emergency that led him to swerve into Levegh's path. 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. Being 98 years old, it is the oldest endurance racing event. 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. Eighty-three spectators and driver Pierre Levegh perished at the scene with 120 more injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history 1955 le mans hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy In the United States, the American Automobile Association (AAA) dissolved their Contest Board that had been the primary sanctioning body for motorsport in the US (including the Indianapolis 500) since 1904. 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans - Wikipedia The crash was right in front of a densely packed crowd and grandstands, protected by nothing more than a few hay bales. 63 1955 LE MANS DISASTER Premium High Res Photos Extricating the Dead and Dying. The wreckage was examined and tested and, finally, returned to Mercedes-Benz nearly 12 months after the catastrophe. 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 weather had closed in on Sunday morning and there was no victory celebration. 2023 Getty Images. The shadow of World War Two crept over the race. Amateur driver Kippeurth lost control of his. 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. At a gathering for his 92nd birthday, Mercedes driver John Fitch explained just how little the drivers knew. A police officer helps carry out an injured man, dazed. 63 1955 Le Mans Disaster Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 63 1955 LE MANS DISASTER Premium High Res Photos Browse 63 1955 LE MANS DISASTER stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies of some of the victims felled by the explosion on Saturday. Hawthorn retired from motorsport soon after but was ironically killed when overtaking a Mercedes on a slippery road near his Surrey home in 1959. The Austin-Healey driver had to swerve out of the way as Hawthorn darted into the pits. 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. 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. When Mercedes pulled out, they approached the Jaguar team. 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 hood decapitated tightly jammed spectators like a guillotine. It remains the worst disaster in motorsports history. Catastrophe aux 24 heures du Mans en 1955 (France 3 Ouest, 2008), Apokalypse in Le Mans Das Rennen in den Tod (2010), Deadliest Crash: the Le Mans 1955 Disaster (Programme Website), "Crash and carnage at 150 mph This is how the worst racing accident happened", "1955 24 Hours of Le Mans - History, Profile, Information and Photos", "Mike Hawthorn & the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Cause and the Effect", "BBC Four - The Deadliest Crash: the Le Mans 1955 Disaster", "1956 Sebring 12 Hours Grand Prix - Race Photos, History, Profile", "Switzerland Officially Lifts 67-Year Ban On Circuit Racing", "Sir Jackie Stewart and Halo: No stranger to F1 safety ridicule", "Historic Austin-Healey car in Le Mans disaster to fetch '1m at auction", "1953 Austin-Healey has been restored to its former glory", Le Mans 1955 from The Mike Hawthorn Tribute Site, Newsreel footage of the 1955 race and crash, Life Magazine report of the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, 1955 Le Mans Disaster depicted and analyzed in depth by a witness (currently available only in French), Deadliest Crash: The Le Mans 1955 Disaster, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1955_Le_Mans_disaster&oldid=1142738568, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2017, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, that if the huge crowd of spectators had tried to leave, that firms participating in the race could have sued the race organizers for huge sums of money, that "the rough law of sport dictates that the race shall go on"; Faroux specifically pointing to the, that he did not, in fact, have the authority to stop the race at all, and that, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 02:57. [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. This forced Swiss racing promoters to organize circuit events in foreign countries including France, Italy, and West Germany. Dewis ventured the opinions that Macklin's move around Hawthorn was careless and that Levegh was not competent to meet the demands of driving at the speeds the 300SLR was capable of. Within hours of the crash, the local police reported sixty five dead, as one racer remembered, and now the death toll is usually reported as something in the 80s. "He came alongside me, and I gave him the thumbs-up sign as he overtook me to wish him luck. Pierre Eugne Alfred Bouillin (22 December 1905 - 11 June 1955) was a French sportsman and racing driver. Entering the straight, his Matra veered off the inside of the track and exploded into flames. It exploded like a grenade spewing debris through the grandstand, killing anyone within the blast radius. Le Mans 11th June 1955. At the 24 Hueres Du Mans in July 1955, the inevitable finally happened. Other pictures show them dragging his body to the pits. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Organise, control, distribute, and measure all of your digital content. The accident happened at 6:26 pm, at the end of lap 35, when the first pit stops for the leading cars were starting. The film cuts short as the recorder dives for cover. 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. The accident reportedly occurred in heavy fog. [31] In contrast, Switzerland's ban, which also extended to the running of timed motorsports such as hillclimbs, was not quickly lifted. This newsreel without sound shows the crash as it actually happened. 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. Hawthorn and Bueb won the race by a margin of five laps from Aston Martin. "Then there was a hell of a bang like a bomb had hit.". Thirty-five laps in the worst disaster in motorsports history unfolded. But widen the scope of the camera, and you get a real feel that this victory had been tainted with something utterly terrible. . Collect, curate and comment on your files. By year [ edit] References [ edit] ^ a b 24 FACTS ABOUT LE MANS' 24 HOURS 77 deaths at Le Mans | Motor sport | The Guardian '"[6][7] The lap before, Hawthorn's pit crew had signalled for him to come in the next lap. 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. Neubauer got the French authorities to test residual fuel left in the wrecks fuel injection and the result vindicated the company. The most recent death is Allan Simonsen, who died in the race of 2013. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile 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. The greatest carmakers in the world were competing, as were the best drivers. The French magazine L'Auto-Journal published it with the sarcastic caption, " votre sant, Monsieur Hawthorn!" The car rolled over during the incident. A large tree behind the Armco has been considered to be an integral part of the impact, causing an aortal separation in the driver's chest. Years later Fitch claimed, based on his own recollection and from what he heard from others, that Hawthorn had caused it. Showing Editorial results for le mans 1955. 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. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Fitch said that in light of "recent unpleasantness," Mercedes "should not win this race over the bodies of however many.. French people." Bodies were strewn throughout the stands The majority of the dead were French, with the numbers injured running into the hundreds.