1955 Le Mans disaster

The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in Le Mans, France on 11 June 1955, when a major crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd. Eighty-three spectators and French driver Pierre Bouillin, who raced under the name Pierre Levegh, died and nearly 180 more were injured in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history which led to Mercedes-Benz to retire from motor-racing until 1989.

To reach his pit-stop, Mike Hawthorn had to cut in front of Lance Macklin, causing Macklin to swerve into the path of Levegh in his much faster Mercedes. The collision propelled Levegh’s car upwards and into an earthen embankment and throwing the driver out, killing him. The momentum of the heavy components of the car carried them into the packed grandstand with terrible effect, and the wreck burst into flames. There was much debate over the apportioning of blame. The official inquiry held none of the drivers specifically responsible, and criticised the layout of the 30-year old track, which had not been designed for cars of this speed.

There was great anticipation for the race for an epic showdown between Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, all of whom had won the race recently and who all arrived with new improved cars. The Ferraris, current champions, were very fast but fragile. Jaguar concentrated their racing almost exclusively on Le Mans and had a very experienced driver line-up including enticing erstwhile F1 Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn across.

After conquering Formula 1, Mercedes-Benz had debuted its new 300 SLR in this year’s World Championship, including a stunning win at the Mille Miglia for Stirling Moss. The 300 SLR featured a body made of an ultralightweight magnesium alloy called Elektron. The car lacked the more effective state-of-the-art disc brakes featured on the rival Jaguar D-Type, instead incorporating a large air brake behind the driver that could be raised to increase drag and slow the car.

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