Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Le Mans, France. 1955.
150 miles per hour.
84 people.
3 seconds of video footage.
At first sight, these four phrases
might appear totally unrelated. But, in fact, they are the most important stats
in probably the darkest hour of motor racing.
Le Mans 24 hours endurance
race is one of the toughest track racing motorsport events on the calendar,
with teams driving their cars flat out for a ruthless 24 hours. The event, which
takes place in Le Mans, France, was first held in 1923, and since then
had proven to be a terrific challenge for automakers and drivers alike. The
race attracted (and still attracts) all the leading car manufacturers in a test
of power, talent, technology and, importantly, mechanical and human endurance.
The 1955 race was no
exception. It attracted the likes of Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston
Martin and Maserati. Team Mercedes had a new weapon under its belt,
the 300 SLR. This ultra – lightweight racer was already
making headlines by winning Mille Miglia in the same year. However, the car had
no disc brakes, unlike the Jaguar D – type. But instead, the Merc
engineers had fitted the car with air brakes to help increase drag during
braking.
Fast – forward to lap number 35.
Pierre Levegh, a maverick
French driver, was driving the #20 Mercedes 300 SLR. He was lying behind
the leader Mike Hawthorn’s Jaguar D – type. They were approaching the pit straight. Hawthorn
was just overtaking Lance Macklin’s Austin Healey (which was a
lap behind Hawthorn) when he realized the pit signal from the crew, to have a
refuel. Suddenly, Hawthorn decided to pit and slowed down to a great extent.
His Jag had disc brakes, which slowed him down considerably faster than his
rivals, especially the Austin Healey of Macklin. Macklin’s car had drum brakes
only, and swerved across the track to avoid hitting Hawthorn since he could not
slow down as much as Hawthorn. However, he did not notice one important thing.
He, and Hawthorn, was being
chased at very high speeds by the Mercedes 300 SLRs of Levegh, and Juan Manuel Fangio, who was ranking 2nd at the time. The sudden
move by Macklin caused a puff of dust to emanate from the track. Levegh was
travelling at 150 miles per hour, and could not even imagine slowing
down enough to avoid the Austin Healey of Macklin, as Fangio too was ruthlessly
chasing him. And then, the fate played off.
Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes clipped
Macklin’s Austin, and immediately became airborne at 150 mph. The flying
Merc then hit the earthen embankment, which was separating the track and spectators.
The car somersaulted, and disintegrated, still at speed. The flying debris from
the car flew towards spectators. The bonnet and front axle rammed into helpless
spectators, while the bonnet pretty much had resembled a guillotine.
Devastated chassis and engine mounts meant that the engine block too, would fly
away. Pierre Levegh too, was thrown out of his car, and his skull was fatally
crushed.
That wasn’t all. The lightweight
Merc’s secret was Magnesium. Ruptured fuel tank was already on
fire, and it quickly engulfed the entire remaining parts of the car. The metal
content which once belonged to a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR erupted in a fireball
and burned white hot. The searing embers too fired themselves at the fateful
spectators. Macklin survived the crash even though his car was seriously
damaged, with no injuries.
The final death toll was put by
the officials as 84 people, including Pierre Levegh, and 120 more were
presumed to be injured.
The implications of the tragedy were
very high. Racing was banned in many countries, including France, Switzerland,
and in the US, many reshuffles took place. John Fitch, Levegh’s co – driver,
became an active prodigy in improving the safety standards of racing. The grandstand
and pit areas were demolished and rebuilt at Le Mans. Mercedes Benz announced
the withdrawal of factory backed racing teams, while Jaguar also pulled out of
the racing arena. Both companies would not return to sport for another 3
decades. Fangio never raced again at Le Mans. Hawthorn accused Macklin of responsibility
for the entire incident, which Macklin vehemently denied, and even pursued
legal actions. The legal battle was proceeding when Hawthorn too died in a
crash, 4 years later.
So what’s with the 3
seconds of video footage?
For so many decades, the critics
were divided in opinion as to who was to be blamed. However, the 2010 BBC
documentary, Deadliest Crash, showcased raw footage from
the crash. A portion of three seconds showed how Levegh had tried to avoid
Macklin, and was launched into air at 150mph. The footage, while being frightening,
proved that the late Mercedes driver was totally helpless as the events unfolded.
His name was finally cleared off, but still there is no absolute culprit to the
incident. Considering the way the events
occurred, the design of the racetrack, as well as the lack of a safety standard
in racing cars, can be considered as the key reasons for the fatal event.
The disaster happens to be the
worst motor racing – related disaster ever. However, it opened the eyes of
many, and made sure that such a tormenting catastrophe would never occur again.
Safety standards of tracks and racing cars, and even road cars alike have grown in leaps and bounds.
Although minor scale (relatively minor) incidents did occur afterwards, no
event in the scale of Le Mans, 1955, occurred ever again.
Probably never again. RIP Pierre Levegh and all those who lost their lives on 11th June, 1955.
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