I've watched this footage before. I've seen it many times. but never felt "THAT" sorry before. really very good compilation of the crash footage, animation and interviews.
as always goodwill you do a great job on the memorials, what do you think happened to the cameraman that got the video of the accident when it started i saw a couple things that he was one of the people killed as i wonder how that footage was released, also it would be nice to see a dan wheldon video soon as he was not only a great racer but a well liked and known champion
My Father was standing right in the middle of the crowd and walked away without a scratch but with motor oil and other peoples' blood on his clothes...
as an historical footnote, this also prompted Mercedes-Benz to withdraw themselves from racing until 1988 and therefore local european countries banned motorsports until the '70s -specially Belgium, Sweden and Austria- as a result
Brock Yates wrote a brilliant book, "Against Death and Time," that covered this disaster, and the one at Indy less than 2 weeks before that claimed the life of Bill Vukovich. No book has brought racing to life better than that one from my perspective, which is that of a blind man. From what Yates wrote, it is a miracle that Indy didn't lose spectators the same way, because they used to be closer to the action than they are now. 75,000 or more fans a year, 69 souls lost in 100 years.
A bad accident turned into a terrible tragedy because the road was too narrow and the spectators too close to it. Perhaps Pierre L would have died anyway, but the rest of it just needn't have happened. Ironically, Pierre L himself said before the race that he was worried about how close to the road the spectators were/
Wow, way to use the "H" word a mere 10 years after the event that took place not too far from this race. Guess there was no such thing as "too soon" back then.
This is horrible...Thank you for uploading this I read about it and wanted to see how it happend and you gave an exelent depiction of the story of that day. Reminds me of Final Destination...I thought movies werent real. Rest in Peace to all of the spectators and Pierre Levegh. Reminds me of the horrible past that Le Mans does carry with itself.
It has been analysed ad infinitum. There was no blame to be attached to any driver. It was in the fullest sense a racing accident. Take lessons from it how you will, and then move on - for the sake of the bereaved and those who continue too watch the sport today.
(part 2) Whatever criticism of the drivers there may be, it pales in comparison to the negligence of the race sponsors. Tony Rolt and several other drivers stated in 1953 that the pit straight was dangerously narrow. The race sponsors did nothing to correct the situation until the year following the Levegh crash.
The theory that Hawthorne caused the accident by braking suddenly was based on accounts that were disproven by film evidence. By the time that was known, the faulty accounts were widely spread through the media. The still that shows Levegh launching off Macklin is part of the film that shows Hawthorne on the right side of the track well in advance of the pits. Levegh failed to anticipate Macklin's move around Hawthorne and went from the left side towards the center of the track.
Thanks this makes what happened much clearer now. What a tragic thing to happen, I ahev accounts for a photographer that was there and says he's seen war but this was worse with decapitated kids and all.
Hawthorne caused the crash...But so did Macklin...Had Hawkthorne not slowed the crash wouldn't happen...but if he did and Macklin not turned Levegh wouldn't crash...If anything...Macklin should have just rear ended him...But then again...It does have setbacks
The unbelievable was, that they blamed the dead Levegh for it, when the only person to blame was british Mike Hawthorn who even smiled and cheered when he won the race.
It's hard to assign blame for this accident. Although Levegh expressed reservations about driving that particular Mercedes due to it's power and air braking, it was in no way his fault. Hawthorne could have done a better job getting into his pit, but Macklin should simply not have turned into the oncoming much faster cars. In hindsight he should have just ran into the back of Hawthorn at slower speed in the pits than risk blocking the cars on their racing line coming at a much greater speed.
@Maggo309 rubbish, look at the photo at 2:17 Hawthorn is way to the right side of the track, Macklin and Levegh are having the crash over on the left. If anyone is to blame its Macklin who if anything moved too far across the track in avoiding Hawthorn entering the pits, but even thats pushing it, Its just a tragic accident.
thanks! The reason i ask is i havent seen any show or documentary on the disaster that really shows what happened after leveighs car flew into the air. It plows into the embankment and stops almost where it hit, exploding and sending its engine and front axel at almos trace speed through the crowd and killing leveigh. Also where did the spectator laying from the ground come from? Today we see cars that after becoming airborne, they tumble wildly. How come this wasnt the case with the Mercedes?
the problem with the cars i beleive is that they make them out of alluminum which catches into fires easily. they should have installed better rules and cars.
I'm always torn thinking about this accident. I'm almost brought to tears at the cruelty and inhumanity of it, as I am whenever innocent lives are lost, but at the same time, we know these facts - racing is dangerous to EVERYONE involved, NOT just the drivers, and at the risk of sounding heartless, there is a slight similarity to this and being eaten by a shark, or hit by a train. I know this disaster is not nearly as avoidable for spectators, but it's just some food for thought.
I came here looking for a disaster. I found one. I never knew this happened. I can't imagine the horror. So Sad. You only see disaster like this at air shows. I've had enough. RIP all that lost their lives that day.
Placing spectators so near to the track with no real barrier....wow. Amazing that intellegent human beings couldn't forsee this happening. One car losing control would potentialy kill dozens of people. Shame it takes these tragedies to make racing safer. Amazingly they still have spectators standing feet from the road in WRC. Dumb to the nth degree.
@Jelsick That's still what happens as of today. A horrible accident has to happen before actions are being taken. And it will never change sadly enough.
That´s unbelievable. The whole accident and the whole scene looks so surreal. Imagine, you were there and you see these cars crashing, flipping, burning. The wrecks were killing dozens of spectators. After that, priests were walking among the dead lying in their blood and the bodies were removed or what´s left of them, children crying for their dead parents and the race goes on.
You did an awesome job on creating this, a lot of research and effort put into this. Really Great work !
About the sign with the arm that Pierre Levegh did before the crash, Fangio, who was following Levegh said that this warning saved his life. He also said that it was the sign of a race lord !
Indeed. He was such a race lord that rather than simply steer to the left and avoid the crash altogther, he raised his hand and said "excuse me, I'm about to have a crash" instead.
Probably so. From what i've read, the hood, front axle, and engine of Levegh's Mercedes sailed into the crowd. I think we're probably seeing the hood and some bodywork there.
yes levegh did raise his hand. his teamate was behind him and he told him to slow because he saw the trouble infront of him. if he had not raised his hand the accident would have been much greater and wouldve killed many more people. Fangio slammed on the brakes as he saw the signal and made it through the reck! (luckely)
Again - no he did not raise his hand. Why do people keep claiming this when there are photos of the whole collison between Levegh and Macklin showing clearly that he didn't raise his hand, and there was more than enough room on the track for him to get past Macklin? Why on earth would he raise his hand as opposed to just yanking the steering wheel to the left and thereby avoid the accident altogether?
There is a picture some where on "Roy's Memorial Fatal crash site" of Levegh's hand raised, but i think it was more out of the impact of launching than as a precautionary measure.
at 3.28-3.30, it looks like there are some guts squirming next to the head of the dead guy on most right (the guy on the ground. If you look carefully, it looks like it is intestines moving about with nothing else around moving. yuck. RIP to all victims
Racing is so much more safer these days. If you saw Stéphane Ortelli's crash last year at Monza, he only suffered a few broken bones in his hands or feet.
Couple of things - Levegh didn't put his hand up - you can see on the stills that he didn't. And the body next to the car on the track is a spectator, not Levegh.
You are right about Levegh not being the one on the floor - (He flew 100 feet and landed head first) - but Levegh did stick out his hand. He did it as a warning to the driver following him, as Levegh could see trouble brewing infront of him. The driver behind was Fangio, seen in the computer animation darting underneath Levegh as his car is launched. Thanks to Levegh's signal, we did not loose the greatest driver to have ever lived.
you're both right, if Levegh was in the car when it became airborne then the body shown on the track couldn't possibly be his. I think that you see him thrown out of the car at 1:08.
A tragic accident for sure, the most tragic ever in motorsport. RIP to Levegh and the 86
No he didn't. There's a whole series of photographs showing the complete run up to the moment when the Merc takes off, and you can see that Levegh never raised his hand. The only person to claim that was Fanigo who probably said it just so Levegh would not take all the blame. In the photos you can also see that Levegh had room to pass Macklin but never altered his course, more than likely because he was too busy concentrating on Fangio who was about to lap him.
You are right, Fangio indicated at an Argentinian TV interview many years later that he was alive because of Pierre Levegh, who raised his hand just before colliding.
An excellent compilation of the accident. I am watching the ALMS 12 hours of sebring and getting ready for F1 season and just remembered this accident as I owned the "havoc" video that was mentioned. I always though it was the car itself flying through the stands, but it appears as if it was solely just pieces of the car.
great video, thanks for putting it together. I had read that many people died in the fire, since the chassis was magnesium but that doesn't seem to be true, right? It seems that the casualties were caused by the car mowing the crowed down.
It is right that the car had a magnesium-chassis that is heavy burning and can't be extinguished with water so the drivers have not much chance to survive a fire accident.
It can be that some burning debris killed some, but the fire was out of reach of the audience.
You did an excellent job on this video. I always wanted to know what were the parts flying into the stand. Thats what supposedly injured and had killed the most.
Good video explaining how this tragedy happened. Switzerland did indeed ban motor racing after this, except for timed events like hillclimbs. The ban was finally lifted in 2007. I remember reading somewhere that one of the drivers said that the cars had gotten too fast for the track at Le Mans--this was before the accident.
Tony Rolt and other drivers raised concern about the situation with the pit straight a couple of years earlier. Nothing was done about track safety until 1956.
Thanks for the info--that was a terrible pit straight layout. It's sad that it always seems to take a disaster like this one to prod a governing body into making safety improvements.
I heard this decapitated spectators when the bonnet of the car flew through the stands.
NR2003Wrecker 1 month ago
I've watched this footage before. I've seen it many times. but never felt "THAT" sorry before. really very good compilation of the crash footage, animation and interviews.
amokachi31 2 months ago in playlist More videos from goodwilltubing
music starts at 2:15 named "Requiem For A Dream - Remix2 ",
not "Lux Aeterna"
shizuku00tw 3 months ago
as always goodwill you do a great job on the memorials, what do you think happened to the cameraman that got the video of the accident when it started i saw a couple things that he was one of the people killed as i wonder how that footage was released, also it would be nice to see a dan wheldon video soon as he was not only a great racer but a well liked and known champion
goomba1982 4 months ago
schema de l acccident au 24h du mans 1955
jacbrest 5 months ago in playlist Autres vidéos de goodwilltubing
What Mercedes-Benz is that?
my2aries 5 months ago
@my2aries Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
goodwilltubing 5 months ago
if im not mistaken ferrari won it this year (1959)
stampede122 6 months ago
@goodwilltubing I'm french and the animation is from a french documentary, it is from chanel France 3
sorry my english isn't very good :$
Yunie57220 6 months ago
My Father was standing right in the middle of the crowd and walked away without a scratch but with motor oil and other peoples' blood on his clothes...
tmcg888 7 months ago
You know what was about the 2nd worst disaster?
DMJR13 7 months ago
If is a race, why are all the spectators in costumes?
uberkid100 7 months ago
I hope, that this will remain the worst motorsport disaster of all time
kristis917 8 months ago
Fast Forwrad
VincentGreece 9 months ago
everytime a car gets close to smashing through a catch fence, this accident flashes in my mind.
Nxtl68 10 months ago
The flag had to wave in front of the camera as soon as the car craches.........
Shtoops27 1 year ago
worst den 9/11
JJemo97 1 year ago
as an historical footnote, this also prompted Mercedes-Benz to withdraw themselves from racing until 1988 and therefore local european countries banned motorsports until the '70s -specially Belgium, Sweden and Austria- as a result
ma55aracin9 1 year ago
@ma55aracin9
Mercedes had got out of the motor sport known before the accident. The accident was not the reason
Menschenzkind 8 months ago
Brock Yates wrote a brilliant book, "Against Death and Time," that covered this disaster, and the one at Indy less than 2 weeks before that claimed the life of Bill Vukovich. No book has brought racing to life better than that one from my perspective, which is that of a blind man. From what Yates wrote, it is a miracle that Indy didn't lose spectators the same way, because they used to be closer to the action than they are now. 75,000 or more fans a year, 69 souls lost in 100 years.
musicmandon1 1 year ago
A bad accident turned into a terrible tragedy because the road was too narrow and the spectators too close to it. Perhaps Pierre L would have died anyway, but the rest of it just needn't have happened. Ironically, Pierre L himself said before the race that he was worried about how close to the road the spectators were/
GojuBob 1 year ago
Wow, way to use the "H" word a mere 10 years after the event that took place not too far from this race. Guess there was no such thing as "too soon" back then.
snappy452 1 year ago
MMMM bad assembly the tragedy video with the music "requiem of a dream", it´s not correct.........not listen well.
KAERUSEMPAI 1 year ago
I know hindsight is 20/20, but WHY were the spectators that close to the track in the first place?
Nxtl68 1 year ago
Comment removed
Nxtl68 1 year ago
do you know what the music at the end credits where?
mtatey 1 year ago
I've seen some horrible motorsport accidents, but this is the worst ever.To those who died,God bless and R.I.P.,
wrm1943 1 year ago
This is horrible...Thank you for uploading this I read about it and wanted to see how it happend and you gave an exelent depiction of the story of that day. Reminds me of Final Destination...I thought movies werent real. Rest in Peace to all of the spectators and Pierre Levegh. Reminds me of the horrible past that Le Mans does carry with itself.
MikeLikeSpore 1 year ago
What make this more disturbing is the debris flying into the crowds
racestation1 1 year ago
this happened in final destiation 4
banhedda 1 year ago
Worst accident ever!
TheJunkass 1 year ago
its crazy how the spectators are so close to the track. very stupid to let them be so close to the track!
thequake180 1 year ago
RIP to all those who died and thoughts to the many who were scarred by the incident
lurch010908 1 year ago
damn so many bodies were decapitated...
spizec 1 year ago
It has been analysed ad infinitum. There was no blame to be attached to any driver. It was in the fullest sense a racing accident. Take lessons from it how you will, and then move on - for the sake of the bereaved and those who continue too watch the sport today.
spitfireJEJ 1 year ago
(part 2) Whatever criticism of the drivers there may be, it pales in comparison to the negligence of the race sponsors. Tony Rolt and several other drivers stated in 1953 that the pit straight was dangerously narrow. The race sponsors did nothing to correct the situation until the year following the Levegh crash.
gcrav 2 years ago
The theory that Hawthorne caused the accident by braking suddenly was based on accounts that were disproven by film evidence. By the time that was known, the faulty accounts were widely spread through the media. The still that shows Levegh launching off Macklin is part of the film that shows Hawthorne on the right side of the track well in advance of the pits. Levegh failed to anticipate Macklin's move around Hawthorne and went from the left side towards the center of the track.
gcrav 2 years ago
Thanks this makes what happened much clearer now. What a tragic thing to happen, I ahev accounts for a photographer that was there and says he's seen war but this was worse with decapitated kids and all.
leeking007 2 years ago
Hawthorne caused the crash...But so did Macklin...Had Hawkthorne not slowed the crash wouldn't happen...but if he did and Macklin not turned Levegh wouldn't crash...If anything...Macklin should have just rear ended him...But then again...It does have setbacks
Kittycat67123456 2 years ago
Hard to believe they used to race open cockpit cars like that and think they were safe. No roll bars or anything. Guess its just the way it was.
plymouthroadrunner1 2 years ago
The unbelievable was, that they blamed the dead Levegh for it, when the only person to blame was british Mike Hawthorn who even smiled and cheered when he won the race.
Maggo309 2 years ago
It's hard to assign blame for this accident. Although Levegh expressed reservations about driving that particular Mercedes due to it's power and air braking, it was in no way his fault. Hawthorne could have done a better job getting into his pit, but Macklin should simply not have turned into the oncoming much faster cars. In hindsight he should have just ran into the back of Hawthorn at slower speed in the pits than risk blocking the cars on their racing line coming at a much greater speed.
Troylito 2 years ago
@Maggo309 rubbish, look at the photo at 2:17 Hawthorn is way to the right side of the track, Macklin and Levegh are having the crash over on the left. If anyone is to blame its Macklin who if anything moved too far across the track in avoiding Hawthorn entering the pits, but even thats pushing it, Its just a tragic accident.
LB1973 1 year ago
Where was the animation from, do you know?
frostyis007 2 years ago
It is from an french (I think) documentary
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
thanks! The reason i ask is i havent seen any show or documentary on the disaster that really shows what happened after leveighs car flew into the air. It plows into the embankment and stops almost where it hit, exploding and sending its engine and front axel at almos trace speed through the crowd and killing leveigh. Also where did the spectator laying from the ground come from? Today we see cars that after becoming airborne, they tumble wildly. How come this wasnt the case with the Mercedes?
frostyis007 2 years ago
From 4:35 to 4:40 you can see Levegh's car tumbling and airborne before its final impact.
gcrav 2 years ago
the problem with the cars i beleive is that they make them out of alluminum which catches into fires easily. they should have installed better rules and cars.
f3wbs 2 years ago
Levegh's Mercedes had a magnesium alloy body wich ignited. Magnesium burns very hot and very bright.
SoilentGr33n 2 years ago
@goodwilltubing I have done some research, and the guy laying at the asphalt at 2:20 is a spectator, Not Pierre.
2URBO2 1 year ago
song in 3:00???
GNRpimped 2 years ago
The song starts at 2:15 and the name of it is
"Lux Aeterna" from Clint Mansell
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
@goodwilltubing ... yes ...and I am tired of hearing this same music on every movie uploaded on youtube ...
johannes914 1 year ago
@goodwilltubing I thought that was something called Requiem for a dream or somthing like that.
NR2003Wrecker 1 month ago
@NR2003Wrecker "Requiem for a dream" is the movie which this is the soundtrack from.
goodwilltubing 1 month ago
song: requiem for a dream
TimWan93 2 years ago
O.O the comment below is the 55th
Kittycat67123456 2 years ago
I'm always torn thinking about this accident. I'm almost brought to tears at the cruelty and inhumanity of it, as I am whenever innocent lives are lost, but at the same time, we know these facts - racing is dangerous to EVERYONE involved, NOT just the drivers, and at the risk of sounding heartless, there is a slight similarity to this and being eaten by a shark, or hit by a train. I know this disaster is not nearly as avoidable for spectators, but it's just some food for thought.
fearbeforefearbefore 2 years ago
I came here looking for a disaster. I found one. I never knew this happened. I can't imagine the horror. So Sad. You only see disaster like this at air shows. I've had enough. RIP all that lost their lives that day.
thesixtiesguy 2 years ago
This happened at 14:00 GMT, about 11:00AM, EST. June 11, 1955. The day and time I was born. As they were checking out, I was checking in!
IFlick 2 years ago
Placing spectators so near to the track with no real barrier....wow. Amazing that intellegent human beings couldn't forsee this happening. One car losing control would potentialy kill dozens of people. Shame it takes these tragedies to make racing safer. Amazingly they still have spectators standing feet from the road in WRC. Dumb to the nth degree.
Jelsick 2 years ago
It was deemed best that the race continue. It was feared departing spectators would hinder rescue efforts. Frightening!
IFlick 2 years ago
@Jelsick That's still what happens as of today. A horrible accident has to happen before actions are being taken. And it will never change sadly enough.
NLRoadKill 2 months ago
That´s unbelievable. The whole accident and the whole scene looks so surreal. Imagine, you were there and you see these cars crashing, flipping, burning. The wrecks were killing dozens of spectators. After that, priests were walking among the dead lying in their blood and the bodies were removed or what´s left of them, children crying for their dead parents and the race goes on.
You did an awesome job on creating this, a lot of research and effort put into this. Really Great work !
Nocito87 2 years ago
What Part Of The Car Hit The Crowd....i couldent make it out???
Viperflame08 2 years ago
It's hard to figure it out, but i guess it were parts from the front of the car, motor, wheels and so on...
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
we looked it up
the bonnet went through to top stand......and the engine and front bumper went through the bottom stand......
Viperflame08 2 years ago
The engine i think
Mmmm9463 2 years ago
@Viperflame08 it was the engine and the bonnet (hood)
Videoshocker 1 year ago
@Viperflame08 the engine came out cutting people in 2 and the bonnet flew through the crowd decapitating men women and children
lolzinOo 1 year ago
@Viperflame08 the front axle engine and the hood which decapittated many
tip145 1 year ago
@Viperflame08 This is a year late but nevermind.
The steel bonnet and the engine block went into the crowd at the 1955 le mans.
The bonnet flew through the crowd at head hight decapitating as it went while the engine block smashed everything in it's path.
Sorry to be so graphic but that's what happened.
RIP all those who died.
jimmywrangles 1 year ago
And that's why I make my vids for.
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
Where did the computer animation scenes come from? I've never seen them before.
jkoz148 2 years ago
Theys are from an documentary about this accident.
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
does anybody know which movie this theme music is from?
kingofpita 2 years ago
It's from the movie "Requiem for a dream"
It's called "Lux Aeterna"
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
If such a thing would have happened today the race would've been stopped immediately and maybe even ended.
yellowbelly70 2 years ago
83 ppl death? the reace would be ended.
duncaann 2 years ago
About the sign with the arm that Pierre Levegh did before the crash, Fangio, who was following Levegh said that this warning saved his life. He also said that it was the sign of a race lord !
grendel66 2 years ago
Indeed. He was such a race lord that rather than simply steer to the left and avoid the crash altogther, he raised his hand and said "excuse me, I'm about to have a crash" instead.
LNProcur 2 years ago
he saved the life of the guy behind him by waving his hand so that the guy could stop.... i actually saw that in the race
f3wbs 2 years ago
man, pause it at 1:28. Pierre Levegh is burning or something
frena323 2 years ago
Huge video, teriffic video...
I am terribly sorry about this incident, I have tears in myeyes now ...
kakha1974 2 years ago
wonderful video - i think the image of levegh's body laying on the ground forever cements this crash in everyones memory
red03mitsu 2 years ago
what went flying into the stands after he hit the wall? kind of looks like the bodyshell
oldsoulyoungbody 2 years ago
I think you're right.
The resolution isn't high enough to see what it really is, but.... what else should it have been?
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
wheel, rear end axle, part of motor, part of wall or whatever was protecting crowd!
68965 2 years ago
no didnt the wheel hit 1 row of the crowd and then part of the car hit it? thats what it looked like to me. and also the bodies piled up somehow
f3wbs 2 years ago
Probably so. From what i've read, the hood, front axle, and engine of Levegh's Mercedes sailed into the crowd. I think we're probably seeing the hood and some bodywork there.
galoon 2 years ago
there int even a pit wall...
SBfanXIV 2 years ago
yes levegh did raise his hand. his teamate was behind him and he told him to slow because he saw the trouble infront of him. if he had not raised his hand the accident would have been much greater and wouldve killed many more people. Fangio slammed on the brakes as he saw the signal and made it through the reck! (luckely)
guyonutube123 2 years ago 2
Again - no he did not raise his hand. Why do people keep claiming this when there are photos of the whole collison between Levegh and Macklin showing clearly that he didn't raise his hand, and there was more than enough room on the track for him to get past Macklin? Why on earth would he raise his hand as opposed to just yanking the steering wheel to the left and thereby avoid the accident altogether?
LNProcur 2 years ago
if he had not raised his hand he woulda missed the crash or not been hit enough TO SEND HIM FLYING
guyonutube123 2 years ago
Eh?
LNProcur 2 years ago
There is a picture some where on "Roy's Memorial Fatal crash site" of Levegh's hand raised, but i think it was more out of the impact of launching than as a precautionary measure.
thalsem1 2 years ago
I'll bet you there isn't.
LNProcur 2 years ago
at 3.28-3.30, it looks like there are some guts squirming next to the head of the dead guy on most right (the guy on the ground. If you look carefully, it looks like it is intestines moving about with nothing else around moving. yuck. RIP to all victims
wakenabeb1 2 years ago
Racing is so much more safer these days. If you saw Stéphane Ortelli's crash last year at Monza, he only suffered a few broken bones in his hands or feet.
AlmsAudi1 2 years ago 2
great footage, I always wanted to watch how it really started and the animation shows it all.
MEGAPOPO 2 years ago
What is the music here? I hear it used all over the place but have never been able to determine who it is.
SlyHobbit 2 years ago
It is "Lux Aeterna" or "Requiem for a dream" by Clint Mansell.
I used it for the perfectly fitting mood for this video.
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
There must have been a blood bath and many decapitations on there :S RIP
obbytoo 2 years ago
Couple of things - Levegh didn't put his hand up - you can see on the stills that he didn't. And the body next to the car on the track is a spectator, not Levegh.
LNProcur 2 years ago
You are right about Levegh not being the one on the floor - (He flew 100 feet and landed head first) - but Levegh did stick out his hand. He did it as a warning to the driver following him, as Levegh could see trouble brewing infront of him. The driver behind was Fangio, seen in the computer animation darting underneath Levegh as his car is launched. Thanks to Levegh's signal, we did not loose the greatest driver to have ever lived.
Still a tragic accident, R.I.P to the 86.
gilbokhan 2 years ago 3
you're both right, if Levegh was in the car when it became airborne then the body shown on the track couldn't possibly be his. I think that you see him thrown out of the car at 1:08.
A tragic accident for sure, the most tragic ever in motorsport. RIP to Levegh and the 86
HoskieDC 2 years ago
No he didn't. There's a whole series of photographs showing the complete run up to the moment when the Merc takes off, and you can see that Levegh never raised his hand. The only person to claim that was Fanigo who probably said it just so Levegh would not take all the blame. In the photos you can also see that Levegh had room to pass Macklin but never altered his course, more than likely because he was too busy concentrating on Fangio who was about to lap him.
LNProcur 2 years ago
and where would I find these photographs?
Nachtglanz20 2 years ago
@gilbokhan
You are right, Fangio indicated at an Argentinian TV interview many years later that he was alive because of Pierre Levegh, who raised his hand just before colliding.
wysiwyg248 1 year ago
An excellent compilation of the accident. I am watching the ALMS 12 hours of sebring and getting ready for F1 season and just remembered this accident as I owned the "havoc" video that was mentioned. I always though it was the car itself flying through the stands, but it appears as if it was solely just pieces of the car.
frambesbuckeye 2 years ago
Yeah, Havoc is really cult!
In the fullcolour footage you see the car turning on top of the banner.
The new F1 season will never get so much exciting as the old 70-80-90 seasons.....
goodwilltubing 2 years ago
you found great fotage, great explanation and the crash wich I think started to change motor racing itself
Corvonix 3 years ago
great video, thanks for putting it together. I had read that many people died in the fire, since the chassis was magnesium but that doesn't seem to be true, right? It seems that the casualties were caused by the car mowing the crowed down.
caseoane 3 years ago
The answer is inbetween:
It is right that the car had a magnesium-chassis that is heavy burning and can't be extinguished with water so the drivers have not much chance to survive a fire accident.
It can be that some burning debris killed some, but the fire was out of reach of the audience.
goodwilltubing 3 years ago
You did an excellent job on this video. I always wanted to know what were the parts flying into the stand. Thats what supposedly injured and had killed the most.
lsvtec91 3 years ago
THX
Yeah, you're right.
It's unbelievable that there was only a little fence between the audience and the fast cars.
I think that if it didn't happen there, it would had happened somewhere else, but under the same circumstances.
goodwilltubing 3 years ago
Good video explaining how this tragedy happened. Switzerland did indeed ban motor racing after this, except for timed events like hillclimbs. The ban was finally lifted in 2007. I remember reading somewhere that one of the drivers said that the cars had gotten too fast for the track at Le Mans--this was before the accident.
galoon 3 years ago
THX
I think the driver said right, but, what happens too often, he was not heared, and then......
goodwilltubing 3 years ago
Tony Rolt and other drivers raised concern about the situation with the pit straight a couple of years earlier. Nothing was done about track safety until 1956.
gcrav 2 years ago 2
Thanks for the info--that was a terrible pit straight layout. It's sad that it always seems to take a disaster like this one to prod a governing body into making safety improvements.
galoon 2 years ago
very good job man this day was very sad and it isn't too long ago
i dont know what happened until today, Thank you
lkollar 3 years ago
THX
That's the reason I made that video.
Good that it helps.
I'm thinking of making a better describing vid.
goodwilltubing 3 years ago
A nicely edited video.
This is the greatest single loss of life in Motorsport history, and sadly, mostly forgotten these days.
I think it was Switzerland who banned motorsports within its boundaries after this event, a ban which I believe still stands.
PULSERACINGdotCOM 3 years ago
Thanks!
Yeah, it really is forgotten those days.
Can u believe that this accident happened 54 years ago?
So far I know there was no show 2005 for the 50th anniversary of this bad accident.
I don't thnk that switzerland banned it, but the track was too dangerous to drive.
goodwilltubing 3 years ago