My father and my aunt went to that Le Mans race and were right where the car crashed. The only thing that saved them was that my aunt had to go to the bathroom, my dad reluctantly surrendered his front row spot next to the fence. I wouldn't be here writing this almost 70 years later if it wasn't for a full bladder.

One thing that made this accident even worse was that the cars were made of Magnesium - very light but also super flammable. Thats the reason the fire caused by Levegh's car took so long to get put out

I hate hawthorn for blaming the other drivers for his mistake and drinking champagne after winning it.

You should do the 1957 Mille Miglia next. That race had a brutal crash that brutally killed both drivers and 10 spectators.

John Fitch, Pierre Levegh's co-driver for the 3rd Mercedes team, was a true American hero. Born in 1917, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and flew P-51 Mustang's until the end of the war. He was the first American fighter pilot to shoot down a German ME 262 Messerschmitt twin engine jet fighter near the end of the war. Consistent with John's self deprecating demeanor, he downplayed the incident, remarking that, in a sortie over German territory, he encountered one on takeoff roll and simply strafed it before it became airborne. John was later shot down and spent the final days of the war in a German concentration camp. In the hours immediately after the 1955 24 Heures du Mans disaster, still the worst tragedy in motor racing history, the race carried on, he contacted Alfred Neubauer, the head of the German Mercedes racing team late into the night, and eventually convinced them to withdraw from the race. Following his successful racing career, and clearly inspired by not only the tragedy of 1955, but with all the too frequent deaths endemic to auto racing at the time, he went on to design and develop the now ubiquitous Fitch Inertial barriers across the U.S. highways which have saved thousands of lives across the decades. John lived near his beloved Lime Rock Park race track for many years and was a frequent presence there. I had the great pleasure of dining with him and a few friends a few years before his death in his 94th year. In a classic example of government ineptitude, he was besieged in his last few years of having to spend $250,000 to remediate property on his residence for potential oil contamination even though none was ever found. Typical governmental ineptitude. They didn't even know who he was nor did they take the time to find out. He has a book, RACING WITH MERCEDES which vividly describes the 1955 Heures du Mans as well as the rest of his racing exploits. It is a great read.

Rip to all 83 spectators and driver Pierre

RIP to Pierre Levegh and all the lost 🙏🏻

Very well put together video. Lots of great information here, I've read bits and pieces from different sources over the years. Well done.

While the decision to continue the race was highly controversial, the reasoning to keep things going to prevent spectators from leaving en mass was actually very likely true.

Good video. We can see you put a lot of effort in to this. Thanks for posting.

Tragic, but fascinating and interesting, great video. 😎👍

The hype surrounding this race going in was Jaguar vs Mercedes, England vs Germany in the french countryside, but just like the last time it was England vs Germany in the French countryside, it ended up leaving many French bodies piled up

Finally a video about this tragedy

One of 3 super iconic races I’m watching this year, I already watched the Daytona 500, now I have the Indy 500 and the 24 Hour Le Mans, I’m pretty hyped for both especially since I watched the 24 Hour Daytona, and the Indy 500 is on the same weekend as the Coke 600

Love the pic of the Indy Champ dirt car pilot exchanging hand signals whilst in a 100mph broadslide!

NFJJ should do an ARCA wreckfest video on the last seven Daytona 500s. They all had big wrecks, and several big wrecks at that.

I believe it was the right decision to not cause any immediate panic and cancel the race until ambulances got to everyone and got them out, but after everyone who could have been treated and saved already was, they should have done the right thing and ended the race then and there. It is also sad that history has always shown that until a big tragedy happens safety never improves because race organizer will always think "that is safe enough".

I am a racing fan in general nascar Indy car formula one and endurance racing I have been watching for years as well and this moment in history was tragic but had good positive and the end for the better they made changes. The moment that changed everything

Finally. Someone blames no one for this. It was what we all know: an accident. Bad timing and where it happened were the main causes.

I believe it was totally Mike Hawthorne's fault, based on my own research.

It was almost the end of motorsports

Mike Hawthorne did NOT drive a Ferrari! He drove a Jaguar D-type to “victory” after triggering this horrendous accident

Edit and proofread better! At 0:29 Mike Hawthorn was NOT driving a Ferrari - he drove a Jaguar D-Type and won the race!! He only ever raced Formula 1 for Ferrari, not sportscars. The fault, even though everyone tried to blame Hawthorn, wasn't the drivers or the cars - it was, as you say, the complete lack of safety measures on the track to prevent a car from flying into the crowd! The track basically hadn't been altered or upgraded worth a damn since 1923 and 60 mph cars - that's a far cry from 32 years later and 170 mph cars!

The Don MacTavish fatal crash at a Daytona sportsman event (what eventually became Busch series)

5:54 such a legend

Well that was a less-than-optimal outcome

Thank god we have fences now

Did the author say on 0:29 that Hawthorn raced for Ferrari that day???

👍

@ 07:39 I'm not sure of the statement regarding Fitch flying a jet and being shot down. That would mean it had to be a Gloster Meteor? I didn't think any Meteors were shot down?

100% Hawthorne fault, was pulling into the non existent pit lane so overtaking macklin was completely pointless and a pos move as left him nowhere to go but infront of leveigh

NFJJ, I think you are evaluating this tragedy using 21 century values and perceptions. You even use that absurd word "passing" in lieu of died. 1955 was only 10 years after end WW2 during which many millions died. People in the 50s had a more fatalistic view about life than now and therefore safety was not generally considered a high priority. There was also a carry on regardless of disasters and setbacks attitude. This is the real reason the race was continued. It was nothing to do with money. That is a 2020 twee notion. You are correct that the fundamental reason for the crash was the inadequate design of the race circuit as applicable to the pits and pit entry. Mike Hawthorn did make an error in passing then cutting in on Lance Macklin who in turn made a mistake in pulling out to wide. He did not have to come so far over to his left to avoid Hawthorn. Poor old Pierre Levegh had no chance. A good outcome of this crash was Mercedes Benz subsequent devotion to raod car safety which pioneered to transition to the very safe cars we have today.

3:51 8:36 8:43 8:50 8:58

Im gonna take thing aparts here: 1) Learn HOW to promounce "LeMans". 2) Mike Hawthorn was NOT a Ferrari driver, but Jaugur (in fact he won it in a D-Type Jag). 3) the word JAGUAR does not have a "W in it" as my Mum would say. 4) My Dad was there! #2 man with MG/BMC cars (aka EX182 MGs). 5) Lance Macklin caused it, period! My Mum even knew Lance, and spoke to him about it some time afterwards. Mum was the secretary of race shop at ASTON MARTIN.

Stupid is as stupid stands next to a race track watching cars go bye once in a while

Great work covering the 1955 Le Mans Disaster

Those fans were stupid too. Why would you sit that close to giant bullets?

Holy Shit!!! I know that wreck, that wreck was one of the worst wrecks in human history. It looks like a Jewish Nazi Holocaust that Hitler did in the 1940s in Nazi Germany😢😢😢😢😢

the worst racing accident.....ever and the thing bout is y all it could had been advoided had pierre had better common horse sense that y all is what we call in the states redneck talk r.i.p. pierre and the 84 spectators a i mean that died that day