
The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans began on June 11, with Pierre Levegh behind the wheel of the #20 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR run by Daimler-Benz. American John Fitch was Levegh's assigned partner in the car, and he would take over driving duties later. Competition between Mercedes, Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Maserati was close, with all the marques fighting for the top positions early on. After just over two hours of racing and approximately 6:26 pm local time, Levegh was following Mike Hawthorn's leading Jaguar D-type along the pit straight at the end of Lap 35. Hawthorn had just passed Lance Macklin's slower Austin-Healey 100 when Hawthorn began slowing to make a pit stop. Hawthorn, whose Jaguar had disc brakes, slowed much more quickly than other competitors using drum brakes, such as Levegh's Mercedes. The sudden braking by Hawthorn caused the recently passed Austin-Healey to swerve to the centre of the track, attempting to repass the slowing Jaguar. Unfortunately, Lance Macklin had not noticed both Pierre Levegh and Juan Manuel Fangio, in another 300 SLR, approaching quickly from behind. Fangio was in second place at the time and attempting to lap Levegh. Levegh, being ahead of Fangio on the track, did not have time to react. Levegh's car made contact with the left rear of Macklin's car as he came quickly upon the slowed car. The aerodynamic design of the Austin-Healey featured a long, ramp-like rear bodywork. When Levegh hit the Austin-Healey from behind, his car <b>...</b>
worst
racing
crash
ever
1955
24
hours
of
Le
Mans
Mercedes-Benz
300
SLR
wreck
kills
85
crowd
race
fans
fatal
accident
spectators
die
killed
car
wreckage
hifiami