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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.Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh, and injuring around 120 more.
The catastrophic crash, which came to be known as the 1955 Le Mans disaster, remains the deadliest accident in the history of motorsport. The actual death toll is uncertain, put at from 80 to 84, including Levegh, with many more than that number severely injured.
Deadliest Crash includes film and stills from the race as well as eyewitness accounts; [2] one spectator's roll of film was reconstructed for the programme. [3] Seeking to establish what caused the disaster, it employs computer modelling to argue that the design of the track, with a curve creating a "pinch point", was the primary cause and not any of the three drivers involved, Levegh, Lance ...
22 drivers have died while competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held at Circuit de la Sarthe, half of which occurred at the Mulsanne Straight.. 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.
Sports car variants were dominant too, but the SLR is infamous for its key part in the 1955 Le Mans disaster. The company withdrew from auto racing at the end of the 1955 season and did not return ...
The 1955 Le Mans accident. In January 1955, Hawthorn joined the Jaguar racing team, replacing Stirling Moss, who had left for Mercedes. [17] Hawthorn won the 1955 les 24 Heures du Mans following what has been described as an inspired drive in which he set a lap record of 4 minutes and 6.6 seconds during a three-hour duel with Fangio in the ...
In 1955, he was tempted away from Talbot and joined the American John Fitch in racing a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. During the 24 Hours of Le Mans , in the third hour of racing, while on the Tribunes Straight, the Jaguar D-Type of Mike Hawthorn cut into the pits, slowing in front of the Austin-Healey 100S of Lance Macklin .
In the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans he was involved in the most catastrophic accident in racing history, which killed Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators and became known as the "1955 Le Mans disaster". Macklin swerved to avoid hitting the Jaguar of Mike Hawthorn , who was braking hard in a late attempt to pit, and moved into the path of Levegh's car ...