As we approach Le Mans 2005, we perhaps should remember Le Mans 1955, and the worst crash in motor racing history. The actual date was 11th June, 1955, but it is natural to count the anniversary by the event rather than the day.
The 1955 World Sports Car Championship opened with the Buenos Aires 1000 Kms, which had an almost exclusively south American entry, but it resulted in a win for Ferrari. Next up was Sebring which was won by Mike Hawthorn and Phil Walters in a private Jaguar D type. A Ferrari was second and so Ferrari led the WSSC.
Mercedes Benz returned to sports car racing with the 300 SLR at the Mille Miglia when Stirling Moss, assisted by Denis Jenkinson won a famous victory. There were no Jaguars in the event, they tended to rattle apart, but a Ferrari was third. After three rounds, the Championship table read: 1. Ferrari, 18 pts; 2, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, 8 pts.
The Jaguar D type had been built with Le Mans as its main objective, though you could order one from you local dealer. to put the price into context, a D type cost five Morris Minors. Today, you will not get much for the cost of five Ford Fiestas. A D type had come close to winning Le Mans on its debut in 1954, what it gave away in engine capacity, it clawed back with aerodynamic efficiency and Dunlop disk brakes.
To counter Jaguar's superior braking, Mercedes Benz equipped its cars with air brakes, a panel which covered the tail of the car and which the driver could flip up under heavy braking. Though its inequity has often been admired, it was a crude expedient and an admission by M B that their drum brakes were lacking..
There was a very strong field at Le Mans in 1955 with works teams from Aston Martin, Cunningham, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lagonda, Maserati and Mercedes Benz all hoping for an outright win. Cars from no fewer than 24 different constructors made the start, There can have been few races with so many stories, it was the WSSC debut of Cooper and Lotus and the final bow for Cunningham. There were teams from Bristol,Triumph, and MG, a lone Austin Healey and the extraordinary 'twin boom' Nardi which was so unstable that it was literally blown into the weeds by the wash of a faster car.
Porsche was growing ever more strong and its 1500cc cars would finish 4th, 5th and 6th, while French constructors fought for the Index of Performance, the parallel handicap event, with their light and slippery little cars mostly powered by Panhard engines. Works Stanguellinis made their first appearance outside of Italy and, for the first time, a Connaught sports car raced outside of the UK. Le Mans 1955 was the last time that a Salmson would appear in a race,
The early stages of the race were led by Eugenio Castellotti's Ferrari 121LM, with Juan Manuel Fangio (Mercedes Benz) and Mike Hawthorn (Jaguar) battling for second as though all three were in a ten lap sprint. Just after the first hour, Castellotti retired and the Fangio/Hawthorn dice became one for the lead.
Time and again they passed and re passed each other, breaking the lap record it was a repeat of their epic battle in the 1953 French GP. As he came near to completing his stint, Hawthorn had an advantage of about 200 yards, but he had a problem. He was due to hand over to Ivor Bueb, making his debut in the big time, while Fangio was due to hand over to Stirling Moss, the world's best sports car driver.
At about 6.30pm, Hawthorn headed for his pits. The road was narrow and there was no pit lane in the modern sense, just an apron marked by white lines. Hawthorn was determined to hand over while in the lead, he overtook Lance Macklin in the Austin Healey and braked hard. The 'Healey was going full chat and Macklin was in danger of ramming the Jaguar in the back. He had no option but to ease to the left it had to be a gradual move, a sudden jink would have sent him into a spin.
Pierre 'Levegh' was close behind in a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR travelling perhaps 50 mph faster than Macklin and Levegh had nowhere to go as the 'Healey moved in front of him. Levegh braked hard and raised his hand to warn Fangio who was about 50 yards behind. Fangio was to say that Levegh's gesture saved his life and, perhaps, the lives of dozens of spectators. That was typically gracious of Fangio, but he could see precisely what was happening and it is a fair bet that Fangio was on the anchors before Levegh raised his hand.
Levegh's car hit the low, sloping, back of the 'Healey. Had it been many another car, there would have been a simple smash, but the tail of a 'Healey was a launch pad. The 300 SLR rose in the air and flew towards a protecting earth bank. Had Levegh been launched fifty yards further back, it could have been merely a very nasty fatal crash, not a catastrophe. His car, however, hit the bank as the road swung right into the Dunlop Curve. The 300SLR hit the bank almost head on and broke into pieces. One section tore back along spectators the car had just passed. As it cut through them it exploded in a ball of flame. There had been much magnesium in the car's construction and magnesium burns fiercely.
The crowd was packed, they had prime places opposite the pits. It was early in the race, not yet the time to head off for a meal. At four in the morning many would be sleeping in tents. Some spectators were decapitated, some were fried alive, some were killed by what amounted to shrapnel.
As Levegh's car went into the crowd, Macklin's was knocked to the right into the pits, injuring several people, and then bounced back across the track sideways on, blocking it. It was a miracle no further accidents occurred.
