Pierre Levegh1950s Racing DriversNot only was Pierre Levegh one of the most talented of all the 1950s racing drivers, he was very much the archetypal all round sportsman, excelling at tennis, ice hockey and ice skating. However, he is remembered as being one the victims of the horrific crash in which he was one of over 80 – including spectators – who met their deaths in the 1955 Le Mans disaster. Levegh was driving a factory Mercedes-Benz- 300 SLR when he was caught up in the dreadful accident. In the mayhem Levegh slammed into Lance Macklin’s car. His Mercedes hurtled into the crowd of spectators, killing Levegh and causing carnage. It is scant recompense that the Frenchman’s driving was not the cause of the accident, but sadly he was one of its victims.
Pierre Levegh’s surname was in fact Bouillon. He took the name Levegh in honours of his uncle Alfred Velghe, a pioneer of French motor racing. Levegh is an anagram of Alfred Velghe’s surname. Levegh, born in 1905, started racing during his 20s and made his Le Mans debut in 1938, driving a Talbot Lago T150C with Jean Trevoux. The war years temporarily ended Levegh’s driving career. But when it revived, in 1947, he finished a creditable
second in the Grand Prix Automobile de Belgique in Brussels. And in a foretaste of what was going to happen eight
years later, Levegh was involved in a crash which was to kill three spectators at the Grand Prix de l’Automobile de
France. The event, staged in Lyon-Parilly on 21st September, 1947, saw Levegh driving a Maserati 4CL. The crash on
the 25th lap saw three spectators killed. 1950 saw the introduction of Formula One into the car racing calendar. Levegh entered the 1950 and 1951 campaigns driving a Talbot-Lago T26C, but success eluded him. Talbot-Lagos were an old design and never competitive against their more powerful rivals. On both occasions Levegh ended the season on zero points. His best performance was a seventh place finish in the 1951 Belgian Grand Prix. Despite the absence of Formula One glory with the Talbot-Lago, the Talbot Lago T26GS Spider proved to be a different proposition for Levegh in the 1952 Le Mans. The Parisian was denied of a well–earned victory when his car suffered a broken crankshaft in the last hour of the race. At the time he had a huge four lap lead, and during the race he never handed the steering wheel to co-driver Renee Marchand. In the 1953 Le Mans Levegh finished in eighth position and in 1954, the year before this tragic death in the event, he secured a fifth place finish. Related Articles |
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