The 1955 le mans disaster directed for bbc winner best documentary reportage milan ficts 2009 enjoyed it immensely well crafted, dramatically told and full of detail. Documentary about the 1955 le mans 24hour race in which pierre leveghs mercedes went into the crowd killing 83 and injuring 120, the worst. With stirling moss behind the wheel, mercedesbenz had already conquered one major event the mille miglia in italy, and jaguar was determined not. If youre a really keen follower then youll have read hawthorns autobiography and macklins memoirs as well as countless other recollections of the disaster. Raw footages of the crash in hd read description youtube le mans car crash formula one race cars serious injury vintage auto auto racing benz youtube areabella birdsong saved to accidents and disasters. Disaster at le mans the worst disaster in motor racing history occurred at the 1955 24 hours of le mans, in which french driver pierre levegh and 83 spectators died. This thread is about explaining the events surrounding the disaster, where sportscar racing was then and is now, and the safety features that effected not only le mans but all other forms of motorsport. May 15, 2010 reckless british playboy behind motor racings biggest disaster. 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. Apr 27, 20 david greenhalgh is a professional lawyer, and has written in his native australia about the le mans disaster of 1955. Essentially it was tire to tire contact that lifted the mercedes enough to catch air underneath and lift. Watch online, bbc the deadliest crash the le mans 1955 disaster. Jul 25, 2010 le mans 1955 disaster post sun jan 16, 2011 11. It was destined to be the greatest endurance race of all time.
However, the 1955 le mans crash was on a completely different scale. The le mans disaster 1955 jaquo lifestyle magazine. The race had promised to be one of the fastest and most keenly contested ever held at le mans. On this day 77 people were killed in le mans in the worst motor racing accident of the era. 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. Motor racing is an exciting, fastmoving sport but its also dangerous. Deadliest crash is a three years in the making documentary looking at the tragic events of the 1955 le mans disaster the worst crash in motor racing history. Jun 12, 2011 i have been watching the 2011 le mans race and there have been some scary accidents this year. The le mans 1955 disaster is a documentary film made by bigger picture films for the bbc in 2009. On june 11, 1955, at the le mans 24hour race, at least 83 spectators were killed and hundreds more injured when the burning remains of pierre leveghs mercedes 300slr, flew into the crowd after a crash with mike hawthorn on the pit straight. Seventyseven people have been killed and 77 others injured when two cars collided on the race track and crashed into the spectators stand at le mans in northwest france. The programme tells the story of the 1955 le mans disaster in which pierre levegh s mercedes 300 slr smashed into. The carnage, seen through eye witness accounts, includes the stories of the survivors from the packed grandstands and members of the mercedes and jaguar teams at the heart of the disaster. It was originally aired on bbc four on sunday, 16 may 2010.
Using extensive archive as well as new footage, this documentary forensically examines the secondbysecond chain of events to discover exactly what happened at le mans, why so many people died and what technology was responsible. 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. First held in 1923, the 24 hours of le mans is a true test of speed, skill and, above all, endurance. On 11th june 1955, the world of playboy racers and their exotic cars exploded in a devastating fireball. Pierre leveghs mercedes crashed and blew up at 125mph. Fiftynine years ago, the 1955 le mans 24hour race started like any other. This could be the result of two possible scenarios. The 1955 le mans disaster, 60 years on 30 may 2015, 4.
Pierre leveghs mercedes crashed and blew up at 125mph, killing levegh and sending debris flying in to the crowd at. Tragedy struck the racing world on 11th june 1995, when early in the le mans 24hour race, french driver pierre leveghs mercedes 300 slr crashed into the crowd, erupting into a fireball and killing 38 people. I have been watching the 2011 le mans race and there have been some scary accidents this year. All limited use licenses come in the largest size available. The scene of pierre leveghs fatal crash at the le mans 24 hour race. Thanks to its sheer length, the event is designed to test endurance and engineering ingenuity as well as well as driving. For 1955, the germans prepared the magnificent 300slr, a 195455 f1 based twoseater. A gripping documentary on one of the greatest movie stars of all time. With 83 deaths it remains deadliest crash in racing.
Material relating to newsreel story le mans disaster 5548. If youre a le mans follower then youll know about the tragedy of the 1955 race. Switzerland banned all motor racing and still does. While none of these are its equal, it did make me think of the terrible crash at le mans that occurred in 1955. Fans come from across the globe to witness one of the great spectacles of world sport. In 1970 mcqueen set out to make the ultimate racing movie. Deadliest crash is the dramatic story of the day racing was changed forever. Though the spectators that packed the grandstands along the. The 24 hours of le mans is one of the worlds most prestigious motor races. The worst accident in motorsports history 1955 le mans disaster. Le mans 1955 accident raw footages of the crash in hd. Scene of accident at le mans race track getty images. Dec 30, 2009 deadliest crash is a three years in the making documentary looking at the tragic events of the 1955 le mans disaster the worst crash in motor racing history. Unusual film exploring images of war and peace some nice footage a hippie feel to the film.
Having very thin fenders over the wheels wasnt enough to prevent the tires from coming into contact, and maybe even sturdier fenders would not have prevented it. Six decades on, a look back at the tragedy of the 1955 24. All the best drivers of the day were there and over 250,000 fans had gathered to view the extravaganza. The 1955 le mans disaster was the most horrific and fatal racing accident in history. The disaster is looked at using a variety of techniques including eye witness testimony and interview, images, cinefilm from the day and a computer generated reenactment of the final.
Jun 12, 2015 jaguar took the first le mans win in 1953, and in the following year, it was ferrari who claimed the throne. Instead the 1955 le mans became the worst disaster in motor racing history. It occurred during the 1955 24 hours of le mans motor race in france and claimed the lives of 84 people of whom 83 were spectators. Shortly after the crash the mercedes manager instructed the two remaining mercedes to withdraw from the race as a mark of respect to those killed in the disaster. David greenhalgh is a professional lawyer, and has written in his native australia about the le mans disaster of 1955. Initially, the cause of the disaster was shrouded in mystery, and conspiracy theories abounded. The mercedesbenz being driven by pierre levegh hit the bank by the grandstand and immediately exploded. That crash has been extremely well documented in christopher hiltons book le mans 55, subtitled. Eightythree spectators and driver pierre levegh perished at the scene with 120 more injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history.
Unfortunately your browser does not hava javascript capabilities which are required to exploit full functionality of our site. Reckless british playboy behind motor racings biggest disaster. Jun 11, 2015 pierre levegh in his 300 slr at le mans in 1955. The three teams competing were ferrari, jaguar and mercedesbenz. The deadliest crashthe le mans 1955 disaster uk bbc 16 may 2010. Although the tragedy happened more than 64 years ago, we can point to its consequences.
Jul 27, 2011 this sporting tragedy is the most catastrophic accident in motor racing history. Subscribe with itunes subscribe with rss download this episode. This weekend le mans reflected on the front stretch the worst tragedy in motorsports. Series 1 episode 1 the worst disaster in motor racing history occurred at the 1955 24 hours of le mans, in which french driver pierre levegh and 83 spectators died. Reckless british playboy behind motor racings biggest.
The annual 24 hours of le mans is renowned as one of the toughest and most prestigious races in the realm of motorsports. 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. The scene of pierre leveghs fatal crash at the le mans 24 hour. Eightythree spectators and driver pierre levegh died and 120 more were injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history. A ceremony was held to honour the lives lost 60 years ago during the 1955 running of the 24 hours of le mans. The worst crash in motor racing history killing more than 80 people was. The cause and the effect by jeremy mcmullen unfortunately your browser does not hava javascript capabilities which are required to exploit full functionality of our site. By clicking on continue you confirm that you are 18 years and over. The short film le mans 1955 examines racings worst crash autoblog. It was several hours before spectators on the far side of the track knew of the crash.
Some nice shots of mike at the beginning and, of course, his winning efforts in the jaguar dtype, xkd 505. The prestigious and exciting twenty four hours of le mans race, or les 24 heures du mans, is the oldest sportscar race in the world, having been run since 1923. It was subsequently repeated on bbc two and bbc four. In the middle as many as died in the most horrific disaster in. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. This book is the pinnacle of information on the mercedesbenz jaguar duel at le mans in 1955. French motor racing track is reconstructed after this years tragic disaster. This thread is about explaining the events surrounding the disaster, where sportscar racing was then and is now, and the safety features that effected not only le mans but all other. Le mans motor racing disaster 1955 british pathe youtube. On june 11th on the home straight, stirling mosss codriver fangio, pierre levegh, lance macklin and future british world champion mike hawthorn became embroiled in a disaster of unprecedented scale. I have heard about this tragedy the took 85 lives at the le mans but could never. On the home straight early in the le mans 24hour race, future world champion mike hawthorn made a mistake and pulled the trigger to a massacre. Heres coverage of 1955 le mans in colour via youtube, produced by the standard motor co, all done in just over 9 minutes. Mike hawthorn celebrating the 1955 le mans victory despite causing the deadliest accident in history of racing.
Thanks to its sheer length, the event is designed to test endurance and engineering ingenuity as well as well as driving skill. Photo courtesy of the revs institute for automotive research, inc. Even though it happened more than half a century ago, the 1955 le mans disaster is still the deadliest crash in motorsport history. Le mans 1955 accident raw footages of the crash in hd read description. The 1955 le mans disaster occurred during the 24 hours of le mans motor race, when a crash caused large fragments of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. Paul frere it is completely clear from these photographs that hawthorn did not make a suddenbrakeandpullsharpright manoeuvre only a short distance from the pits. The le mans 1955 disaster the worst disaster in motor racing history occurred early in the 1955 le mans 24hour race when pierre leveghs mercedes 300 slr left exploded. Warning thread le mans disaster 1955 might contain content that is not suitable for all ages. Just how horrifying was the worst crash in motorsports, le.
Richard klein, controller bbc 4 telling the story of the biggest tragedy in motor sports history needed an exceptionally skillful touch and this film has it. His inventions, born out of this disaster, have gone on to save thousands of drivers and spectators. Youll also have seen the very clear photos and the grainy old footage of the crash. Information news donations twitter discord contact. In the following article, he examines what happened, looks at how things have changed and gives us his insight into the way such events might be investigated more than fifty years later. The worst accident in motorsports history 1955 le mans. It was the most horrific, and deadliest crash in the history of motor racing. This sporting tragedy is the most catastrophic accident in motor racing history. Le mans disaster claims 77 lives seventyseven people have been killed and 77 others injured when two cars collided on the race track and crashed into the spectators stand at le mans in northwest france. Velocity airs an indepth look at the 1955 crash at lemans.