The 1955 Le Mans had the makings of being a classic, with Mercedes-Benz making its comeback and Jaguar looking to challenge the previous year’s winner, Ferrari. The grid featured the best sportscars and most famous drivers of the day (Moss, Fangio, Hill, Hawthorn, etc.) and 250,000 spectators turned out to watch the race which was being broadcast live on TV for the first time.
At 6:27pm Saturday evening, after 147 minutes of flat-out racing, the N°6 Jaguar of Mike Hawthorn and the N°19 Mercedes-Benz of Juan-Manuel Fangio were scrapping for the lead when they caught the N°20 Mercedes-Benz of Pierre Levegh (hero of the 1952 race) on the approach to the start/finish straight.
Hawthorn found a way past both the N°20 car and also Macklin’s much slower Austin-Healey. Immediately afterwards, though, Hawthorn braked to dive down the pit-lane access road. The manoeuvre surprised Macklin who steered to the left. Travelling at speed, Levegh failed to avoid the small car which served as a launch pad.
The Mercedes-Benz crashed into the bank that separated the track from the grandstands. Its fuel tank exploded on impact and Levegh was killed instantly. The front of the car, its engine and bits of bodywork flew into the crowd, killing more than 80 people. It was the most horrific accident motor racing has ever seen.
At a recent tribute evening at Le Mans, Pierre Monin, a survivor of the tragedy, described his experience to the local daily newspaper, Ouest France: “The front of the car flew just over my head. My wife was saved by the body of a spectator who was watching on a step ladder…”
Jean-Paul Guittet was only 10 at the time. Today he is a doctor and part of the Le Mans 24 Hours medical team. He, too, has vivid recollections of the horror, as does current Red Cross worker Jeannine Morice.
The drama brought the dangers of motor racing suddenly into focus. In the aftermath, some famous events were banned, like Mexico’s Carrera Panamericana. Motorsport was outlawed altogether in Switzerland, a measure that remained in place until 2007.
The response of the Le Mans organisers was to invest heavily in making its circuit safer. Ever since, the issue has been at the forefront of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s concerns. Recent ongoing work included making more than two kilometres of track safer between the Mulsanne turn and the Porsche Curves in time for this year’s race.
At the pre-race Test Day, a plaque in memory of the victims was rededicated to mark the 60thanniversary of the accident. The solemn ceremony was attended by members of the victims’ families, senior ACO staff and marshals.