"But rightly the race goes on" people moaning about that have got to remember this is only 10 years after World War II. This is probably still people trying to recover, to forget WWII. If they stop the race and say "sorry, people have died in a fire, we need to stop the race", that's gonna make holocaust survivors feel really good innit. On the flipside, people did burn to death and it was a horrible tragedy. 2 sides to every story. I say: race!
@PetalHorrorcaused - oh for goodness sake, do you really think they thought "hmm,what will the jews think if we stop the race"???? They continued the race to ensure access roads were not blocked so that ambulances etc could still pass... stopping the race woudl have caused even greater chaos.
@1smyd11 They continued because if the race would be stopped the crowd would block the streets of the ambulances which were coming to the injured and dead people
They continued the race, because if they stopped the race, all spectators would have left. If all the spectators are leaving at once, paramedics wouldn't have been able to get to the scene. Therefore, the race had to continue
1:02 you see the ill fated Mercedes Benz jumping into barrier after crashing into Lance Macklin`s Jaguar which is hitting the wall. Lance jumped off the car without injury but retired soon and died 2002.
@ all the people who said that Mercedes Benz pulled out of the race.
No they didn't. The officials told Mercedes Benz to pull out of the race because they thought they were at fault. Mercedes Benz did not pull out on their own. Mercedes Benz asked Jaguar to pull out with them for the fatal crash but instead they declined because of the feelings towards each other after WWII. But it is really sad to see all the people enjoying what must be the most famous race in the world die. R.I.P.
@SpeedJunkie440 I don't think people ''enjoy'' seeing disaster's but its human nature to be curious...............Look at 911, wall to wall coverage for at least 6 months !!
I think the toll was 81 dead,including the driver.The reason the French authorities didn't stop the race was:The ambulances and other emergency vehicles needed free access in and out of the track to rescue,and rush the injured to the hospital.If the race was ended or stopped,the tens of thousands of spectators leaving would have blocked all the exits and the roads.Most people at the track weren't really aware of the extent of the tragedy,to panic them wasn't a great idea......
86 spectators and 1 driver died there. (I was on the spot of the accident just 10 minutes before with my parents)
The race goes on... was a good decision because if they stopped it then they would have been 150,000 people trying to go home on the roads while ambulances were shuttling back and forth to the local hospital.
Even on a normal day after the end of the race the traffic jams are always pretty bad.
nearly 80 dead , and if they stopped the race imagine the panic that would have happened people leaving in all directions and ambulance crews trying to get in to the injured
It was ten years after the war. Memories were strong. The mercedes was essentially the prewar team , the personel was the same and the French remembered. Jaguar andHawthorn were patriots who wanted to beat the' krauts' at all costs. Life was cheaper in those days and motor racing very dangerous. The crowd remained mezmerised by the speed of the new Jags and Mercs, even after the crash and the duel was building up again that rainy night. Even Moss said he wanted to race on. He was disapointed .
@funkmasterjee maybe on a planet where only 10 years later 1.5-2 million people died so 80 didn't seem such a big number? I am as astonished as you are.
Just watched the documentary about this terrible, terrible accident on BBC 4 Sometimes we need to take a step back and realise that Life is worth so much more than any Race is Sport. May the Victims rest in piece and those who survive come to terms with the disaster
@draven26 Yes, we do now, but it was 1955 then. There were feelings amongst the French and British especially that are largely dissipated today. The public of 2010 might vomit into their health-and-safety helmets in disgust, but the public of 1955 was made of stronger stuff - and the spectator count in 1956 was just as high.
the german cars pulled out of the race, but the race went on because if they called it off, everybody person would leave the racetrack so it would be hard for the parametics to arrive on time for all the injured people
Absolutely- it's unbelievable that the race was allowed to continue against a backdrop of around 100 dead. Shame on Jaguar for not pulling out of the race as Mercedes did, although it did take them a while to come to the decision. Is any sport really that important?
@spider23000 (1) it was 1955, not gay-assed 2010. (2) Stop the race and you block the roads in the spectator exodus so the injured cannot be treated. (3) Brits then were used to death in ways you WILL never imagine. (4) Do some reading on the importance of this race, and get some history. Something called the second world war had just finished - read all about it on Wikipedia or something.
The fact that, if they cancelled the event, emergency services wouldn't be able to come and thousands of fans would be pissed off because the event they paid to see was being cancelled. This is an event that only happens once a year, after all. There were an excess of 300,000 spectators.
How about you use a little bit more logic and reasoning instead of your emotions?
@Atheismrulez Lol.....thanks for replying to a comment I made a year ago, to which about 5 or 6 people had already replied and said exactly the same thing....
@spider23000 they kept the race going so that people leaving wouldn't clog the roads, keeping the ambulances from getting in .. i thought that was awful as well, until i heard that explaination
@spider23000 They had gone on, to able the ambulances to reach the circuit, if they had stopped the race, thousand of people would leave the race, stopping the rescue
@spider23000 - If they'd stopped the race, many spectators would have headed for home and by doing so, blocked the entrances and exits to the track preventing ambulances and other emergency services access.
But you have to understand Hawthorn was driving for glory and Britain. To him and Jaguar everything was at stake. In the third hour of this race I believe Mike wasdriving faster than anybody in history, he was lapping LeMans at 200kmh(123mph).
Does the death of around 100 people not slightly overshadow the relevence of the motor race? Fuck Hawthorn and Jaguar- if they really wanted glory for Britain, they would have done the right thing and pulled out of the race.
"But rightly the race goes on" people moaning about that have got to remember this is only 10 years after World War II. This is probably still people trying to recover, to forget WWII. If they stop the race and say "sorry, people have died in a fire, we need to stop the race", that's gonna make holocaust survivors feel really good innit. On the flipside, people did burn to death and it was a horrible tragedy. 2 sides to every story. I say: race!
PetalHorrorcaused 5 months ago
@PetalHorrorcaused - oh for goodness sake, do you really think they thought "hmm,what will the jews think if we stop the race"???? They continued the race to ensure access roads were not blocked so that ambulances etc could still pass... stopping the race woudl have caused even greater chaos.
marpetpet 4 months ago
While cars may not be as exciting or as magnificent anymore, they're certainly safer! Thank goodness for that.
HFLanciaStratos 5 months ago
"but rightly the race goes on"-wtf, they should have stopped
1smyd11 6 months ago
@1smyd11 They continued because if the race would be stopped the crowd would block the streets of the ambulances which were coming to the injured and dead people
uberkid100 3 months ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
And what happened to the Austin-Healey?
uberkid100 8 months ago
And what happened to the Austin-Healey?
uberkid100 8 months ago
@uberkid100 got sold in auction for £843k Dec 2011
MyLOCKSTOCK 3 months ago
They continued the race, because if they stopped the race, all spectators would have left. If all the spectators are leaving at once, paramedics wouldn't have been able to get to the scene. Therefore, the race had to continue
metamuse42 8 months ago 2
1:02 you see the ill fated Mercedes Benz jumping into barrier after crashing into Lance Macklin`s Jaguar which is hitting the wall. Lance jumped off the car without injury but retired soon and died 2002.
the13er 8 months ago
@the13er it crashed into an austin healey not a jag
1983ACARTER 8 months ago
read this about it 1955_Le_Mans_disaster at wikipedia
martoksneghvar 9 months ago
the race goes on.....................
musicmongo69 1 year ago
01:54 Was macht der da!?
Digicam09 1 year ago
Well, sadly the race was 'marred' by the deaths of, oh, 88 people or so !!!...but didn't the Jaguar pit stops go smoothly...
bellcord 1 year ago
@ all the people who said that Mercedes Benz pulled out of the race.
No they didn't. The officials told Mercedes Benz to pull out of the race because they thought they were at fault. Mercedes Benz did not pull out on their own. Mercedes Benz asked Jaguar to pull out with them for the fatal crash but instead they declined because of the feelings towards each other after WWII. But it is really sad to see all the people enjoying what must be the most famous race in the world die. R.I.P.
SpeedJunkie440 1 year ago
@SpeedJunkie440 I don't think people ''enjoy'' seeing disaster's but its human nature to be curious...............Look at 911, wall to wall coverage for at least 6 months !!
manofweed1 1 year ago
I think the toll was 81 dead,including the driver.The reason the French authorities didn't stop the race was:The ambulances and other emergency vehicles needed free access in and out of the track to rescue,and rush the injured to the hospital.If the race was ended or stopped,the tens of thousands of spectators leaving would have blocked all the exits and the roads.Most people at the track weren't really aware of the extent of the tragedy,to panic them wasn't a great idea......
twopets 1 year ago
Mercedes took a lot of crap for something that wasn't their fault. Stupid traffic in front caused this.
nforspeed91 1 year ago
86 spectators and 1 driver died there. (I was on the spot of the accident just 10 minutes before with my parents)
The race goes on... was a good decision because if they stopped it then they would have been 150,000 people trying to go home on the roads while ambulances were shuttling back and forth to the local hospital.
Even on a normal day after the end of the race the traffic jams are always pretty bad.
Ondaderthad 1 year ago
@Ondaderthad I understand this but maybe after 8 hours or so, maybe when Mercedes gave up, it was the time to cancel the whole race.
bv90andy 1 year ago
What are the odds.. The fucker waves in front of the camera EXACTLY when the crash happens...
OziBozzy 1 year ago
rballack13
shitamerica1 1 year ago
nearly 80 dead , and if they stopped the race imagine the panic that would have happened people leaving in all directions and ambulance crews trying to get in to the injured
fowlera7 1 year ago
It was ten years after the war. Memories were strong. The mercedes was essentially the prewar team , the personel was the same and the French remembered. Jaguar andHawthorn were patriots who wanted to beat the' krauts' at all costs. Life was cheaper in those days and motor racing very dangerous. The crowd remained mezmerised by the speed of the new Jags and Mercs, even after the crash and the duel was building up again that rainy night. Even Moss said he wanted to race on. He was disapointed .
RobertM408 1 year ago
86 people dead (smashed to pulp) ........"and rightly the race goes on" ???
'Never mind the carnage, all that matters is who gets the trophy.' .....what planet are these people on ??
funkmasterjee 1 year ago
@funkmasterjee maybe on a planet where only 10 years later 1.5-2 million people died so 80 didn't seem such a big number? I am as astonished as you are.
bv90andy 1 year ago
Just watched the documentary about this terrible, terrible accident on BBC 4 Sometimes we need to take a step back and realise that Life is worth so much more than any Race is Sport. May the Victims rest in piece and those who survive come to terms with the disaster
draven26 1 year ago
@draven26 Yes, we do now, but it was 1955 then. There were feelings amongst the French and British especially that are largely dissipated today. The public of 2010 might vomit into their health-and-safety helmets in disgust, but the public of 1955 was made of stronger stuff - and the spectator count in 1956 was just as high.
thepublandlord1 1 year ago
1 driver and 84 spectators died.
1+84 = 85
8+5 = 13
Pierre Levegh
16+9+5+18+18+5 = 71
12+5+22+5+7+8 = 59
71+59 = 130
1+3+0 =13
shitamerica1 1 year ago
@shitamerica1
There is no official figure for the number of people who died. The figures range from 80's to over 100.
CTCNetwork 1 year ago
@shitamerica1 Then again numerology IS a pile of bollocks with no relevance to anything at all!
longshanks9000 1 year ago
0:26 2 KIL how appropriate...
StigGT2 1 year ago
"but rightly the race goes on"
What's right about that?!
spider23000 2 years ago 34
they were stupid in those days.
erwinruys 2 years ago
the german cars pulled out of the race, but the race went on because if they called it off, everybody person would leave the racetrack so it would be hard for the parametics to arrive on time for all the injured people
breaktrap0307 2 years ago
@spider23000 If the race had been stopped the thousands of spectators leaving would have blocked the roads needed for the ambulances.
superalexo 1 year ago
Absolutely- it's unbelievable that the race was allowed to continue against a backdrop of around 100 dead. Shame on Jaguar for not pulling out of the race as Mercedes did, although it did take them a while to come to the decision. Is any sport really that important?
stevierotterdam 1 year ago
@spider23000 (1) it was 1955, not gay-assed 2010. (2) Stop the race and you block the roads in the spectator exodus so the injured cannot be treated. (3) Brits then were used to death in ways you WILL never imagine. (4) Do some reading on the importance of this race, and get some history. Something called the second world war had just finished - read all about it on Wikipedia or something.
thepublandlord1 1 year ago
@spider23000 if they had called the race the emergency vehicles could have never gotten through....
tonip420 1 year ago
@spider23000 Imagine over 2000 people leaving the track when there's the need of emergency got there ASAP...
thylegion 1 year ago
@spider23000
The fact that, if they cancelled the event, emergency services wouldn't be able to come and thousands of fans would be pissed off because the event they paid to see was being cancelled. This is an event that only happens once a year, after all. There were an excess of 300,000 spectators.
How about you use a little bit more logic and reasoning instead of your emotions?
Atheismrulez 1 year ago
@Atheismrulez Lol.....thanks for replying to a comment I made a year ago, to which about 5 or 6 people had already replied and said exactly the same thing....
spider23000 1 year ago
@spider23000 its called reading the rest of the discription stupid
WhatIsThisJokeTime 1 year ago
@spider23000 they kept the race going so that people leaving wouldn't clog the roads, keeping the ambulances from getting in .. i thought that was awful as well, until i heard that explaination
PHAEDRIDER 10 months ago
@spider23000 They had gone on, to able the ambulances to reach the circuit, if they had stopped the race, thousand of people would leave the race, stopping the rescue
davideforzalazio92 9 months ago
@spider23000 - If they'd stopped the race, many spectators would have headed for home and by doing so, blocked the entrances and exits to the track preventing ambulances and other emergency services access.
BIackMoonCGI 7 months ago
@spider23000 The race went on to keep people at the tracks so the roads outside would be clear for amnbulances
TheMPSScissors 1 month ago
But you have to understand Hawthorn was driving for glory and Britain. To him and Jaguar everything was at stake. In the third hour of this race I believe Mike wasdriving faster than anybody in history, he was lapping LeMans at 200kmh(123mph).
RobertM408 2 years ago 2
Does the death of around 100 people not slightly overshadow the relevence of the motor race? Fuck Hawthorn and Jaguar- if they really wanted glory for Britain, they would have done the right thing and pulled out of the race.
stevierotterdam 1 year ago
wait JMF have drove Le Mans? you learn something knew everyday...
SaradominStrikes 2 years ago 2
Unbelievable that the race continued !
VelvetViolator 2 years ago
82 spectators died and one driver did, Pierre Levegh.
YourPlanB 2 years ago
hard to believe the safety standards were so lax.
AbandonGod 2 years ago 15
@AbandonGod they didnt know any better
acuraboy101 1 year ago
85 spectators died
MADLIBS5394 2 years ago
yes...over 60 people I think...
editmasters 2 years ago
@editmasters 85 people...
TheSciack94 1 year ago
85 to be precise
iHackFlashGame 1 year ago
@editmasters I heard 85 people were killed in this tragedy..
TimKaaarl 11 months ago
@editmasters 84 including the driver who got thrown (forgot his name) 83 spectators
lightmaster275 4 months ago
did they died?
UberTroll13 2 years ago
very tragic.
jraybay 2 years ago 3