1955 Le Mans Disaster

The 1955 Le Mans disaster was arguably the greatest tragedy in motor sport history. Not only did it kill a driver, scores of spectators also lost their lives. Modern sources give varying totals for the number of dead, giving the figure as 77, 82 or 83.

But whatever number actually was, the death toll was appalling. It should also never be forgotten that some 120 were also injured amid the carnage.
 
The disaster had repercussions for motor sport as whole. It led to Switzerland banning motor racing on its territory. The embargo on Swiss motor racing was not rescinded until 2007, some 52 years later.  France, the home of the Le Mans, Spain and Germany demanded improvements in track safety before racing could continue on their circuits.

So what actually happened at the race which took place over June 11th and 12th 1955? The Le Mans 24 Hours is one of the most gruelling races on the planet. Though cars are usually raced by both a driver and co-driver, driver fatigue is always a threat. Yet the 1955 Le Mans disaster took place only two hours into the event, so driver fatigue can be ruled out as the main cause of the accident.
 
In order to pinpoint the cause of the tragedy it is important to look at the events leading up to it.

There was a fierce battle between the Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, Maserati and Mercedes drivers and lap records were tumbling. At the end of lap 35 Mike Hawthorn, partnered by fellow Briton Ivor Bueb, driving a Jaguar D-type, had just taken the lead. Hawthorn was signalled to make fuelling a pit stop. He braked, a decision which was to prove fateful.

Hawthorn’s car had disc brakes which were much sharper than the drum brakes in the following cars. With these cars unable to brake as quickly the scene was set for a dreadful disaster.  Attempting to slow down Pierre Levegh, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, nudged the back of Lance Macklin’s Austin-Healey 100 which had been forced to slow down. 

Levegh was travelling at approximately 150 mph when he came in contact with the Austin-Healey.  Levegh’s 300 SLR spun into the air onto a mound which was separating the spectators from the track. The car fragmented sending lethal lumps of metal into the crowd.

Amazingly the race was later restarted, though the Mercedes cars were withdrawn as a sign of respect for team-driver Levegh and the spectators who were also killed.

The race was won by Hawthorn and Bueb, though the finger of blame has subsequently been pointed at Mike Hawthorn following his decision to break suddenly immediately prior to the disaster. However, a subsequent enquiry apportioned no blame to any of the drivers in the fateful race.

Related Articles

• 1950s Racing Cars
• Vintage American Cars
• Vintage Sports Cars
• 1950s Automobile Designers
• Top Selling Cars Of the 1950s
• Famous Racing car Drivers
• John Cooper
• Juan Manuel Fangio
• Stirling Moss
• Pierre Levegh
• Briggs Cunningham
• Jack Brabham