1955 24 Hours of Le Mans

Footage of the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 23rd 24 Hours of Le Mans and took place on June 11 and 12, 1955 at Circuit de la Sarthe where one of the worst accidents in motor racing history took place. It was the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship.
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[@alexdoidge1733]

Cant believe after such a terrible incident the next day spectators are standing in the exact same spot

[@carlosb1]

People back then were mentally stronger.

[@naglafar2651]

@@carlosb1 Stronger or reckless ?

[@freqeist]

@@carlosb1 yep ww2 was only ten years before this.

[@olliebeck2952]

Some love for Ken Miles in this video. Pops up a couple of times in the MG. Love it.

[@howl_with_the_wolves]

Seeing this in color is SO much better then the b&w British pathe video,that said many ppl who were at this race didn't realize or even know about it till after the race.

[@tomlusty8376]

Thanks for your Golden Age race videos !

[@ScottieMacF]

I'm really surprised at the graphic scenes of dead bodies in this video. Not upset by it; just surprised its included.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Have seen many accounts of this race but this is the first time I`ve seen the bodies, many were decapitated.

[@kirbyseverson]

You have to see it to really know how dangerous it is.

[@666nac]

Man the wind hitting those huge air brakes probably made the cars next to impossible to control in the corners

[@tsf5-productions]

Auto racing experts over the decades have said this race made big changes in some safety issues and I believe that.
Even though the 1950's had many great auto races, the tragedy of loss was great in drivers and spectators. 1955 at Indianapolis had the tragic loss of a talented driver- Bill Vuckovich...bad time for auto racing.
I still feel sad about the many spectators at LeMans in the 1955 event. It should not have happened.

[@DL-ls5sy]

what about Tourist Trophy races in the Isle of Man ?

[@fortsonre]

Great video.

[@alessandroaleman4512]

12:20 the famous crash

[@johndeere1951a]

Mercedes Benz didn't have disk brakes like Jaguar which explains the air brake flap.

[@DL-ls5sy]

First race at Le Mans for Lotus with Chapman (10 mn)

[@thedriskillarchive]

Do we know who was narrating this film?

[@angelsone-five7912]

This is the first time I have seen the actual human carnage resultting from that terrible crash, awful. They were right to keep the race going in order that emergency vehicles weren`t hampered by exiting crowds.

[@chapmyers9272]

That’s an interesting take, one I hadn’t considered. Myself, had I been anywhere near the accident I would have been way too freaked out to stay.

[@altfactor]

If such a horrific accident happened at LeMans today, the race would be terminated.

[@JackH675]

They kept it going due to the potential mass exodus that would’ve occurred, and would’ve prevented ambulances from getting in and out of the track

[@DL-ls5sy]

same thing in Monza 1961 ...14 dead

[@stampede122]

@@DL-ls5sy15 once you add Von Tripps

[@jokermaan1]

A disaster on this scale would be impossible today though, simply as a result of safety measures that have been introduced, many as a direct result of this particular accident.

[@dubdaze68]

I have never seen some of these shots.

[@ohandanotheronebitesthedus6247]

What was the tragedy did anyone get hurt

[@imablobfish2839]

-_-

[@billwright1880]

Vive la France!

[@markholroyde9412]

Mercedes still put pointless crap on their cars today🤣 They were only doing 60mph into a corner...otherwise the pressure would have ripped the rear end off🤣

[@midgeratchet]

Mr. Judgey McJudgerson doing the narration

[@speakfreeley4473]

The crash was caused by Hawthorn.

[@columbmurray]

Not so.

[@jokermaan1]

Hawthorne's Jag had disc brakes that meant that it pulled up very quickly before the pits, surprising the following driver, Lance Macklin in an Austin-Healey who pulled to the left to avoid a collision but in doing so ran into the path of Pierre Levegh in the much quicker Mercedes. It could be argued that Hawthorne instigated the crash, but not really through negligence.

[@turboslag]

It was caused by non existent safety precautions and poor circuit configuration at that location. The circuit was still running it's original layout from a time when speeds were much lower, this was absolutely inadequate and dangerous for the speeds these much faster cars were reaching, especially the Jags with disc brakes.

[@MrACOUSTICPETE]

Crazy spectator behaviour . Rally spectator tragedies very similar . " bull fighter syndrome " maybe . Testosterone brain 🤔