Pierre Levegh
Encyclopedia
Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin (22 December 1905, Paris
– 11 June 1955, Le Mans
) was a French
sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh is mainly remembered for a disaster
that killed him and 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans
automobile race.
Levegh was also a world-class ice hockey
and tennis
player. In motorsport
he competed in Formula One
for the Talbot-Lago
team in 1950 and 1951, starting six races, retiring in three, and scoring no points.
At Le Mans he raced for Talbot
in four races, finishing fourth in 1951. In 1952, driving single-handedly, his car suffered an engine
failure in the last hour of the race with a four lap lead. This failure was probably caused by a missed gear change due to driver fatigue. In 1953 he came in eighth, and in 1954 he was involved in an accident in the seventh hour of racing.
In 1955 he was tempted away from Talbot
and joined the American John Fitch
in racing a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
. In the third hour of racing, while on the Tribunes Straight, he clipped the Austin-Healey
of Lance Macklin
that was forced to make an evasive move after Mike Hawthorn
dived into the pits. After hitting an earth bank, the car flew through the air, disintegrating, scattering components into the crowd. Levegh was killed when he was thrown from the car and his skull crushed by the impact. Flying parts and a fire killed 83 spectators, while over 100 were injured. The race was continued in order to prevent the spectators from leaving, which would have blocked all access roads and the ambulances.
Though Levegh was unable to save himself, he may have saved the life of five-time Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio
behind him. Fangio always maintained that a hand-signal from Levegh, a moment before he struck Macklin's car, was the deliberate warning that had saved his life, although others commented that the 49 year old Levegh's reaction times were simply not fast enough to avoid the swerving Macklin.
While Mercedes withdrew from the race as a sign of respect to the victims (and later from motor racing in general for the next 30 years), Mike Hawthorn
and Ivor Bueb
continued in their Jaguar to win the race. The accident was a major contributor to changing attitudes about the acceptance of danger in motor racing and an increase in the desire to make courses safer for spectators and drivers alike. The small British firm of Bristol Cars
, whose entrants achieved a 1-2-3 finish in the 2-litre class at Le Mans that year, decided to abandon racing altogether as a result of the tragedy, scrapping all but one of their racing cars. Fitch became a safety advocate and began research into automotive safety, some of which have advanced into motorsport.
Levegh is buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery
in Paris
.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
– 11 June 1955, Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh is mainly remembered for a disaster
1955 Le Mans disaster
The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large parts of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. The driver was killed, as were 83 spectators. A further 120 people were injured...
that killed him and 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans
1955 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 11 and 12, 1955. It was also the fourth round of the World Sportscar Championship....
automobile race.
Levegh was also a world-class ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. In motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...
he competed in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
for the Talbot-Lago
Talbot-Lago
Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago...
team in 1950 and 1951, starting six races, retiring in three, and scoring no points.
At Le Mans he raced for Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
in four races, finishing fourth in 1951. In 1952, driving single-handedly, his car suffered an engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
failure in the last hour of the race with a four lap lead. This failure was probably caused by a missed gear change due to driver fatigue. In 1953 he came in eighth, and in 1954 he was involved in an accident in the seventh hour of racing.
In 1955 he was tempted away from Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
and joined the American John Fitch
John Fitch (driver)
John Cooper Fitch is a racecar driver born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the first American to race automobiles successfully in Europe in the postwar era...
in racing a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was a sportscar racing car for the 1955 World Sportscar Championship season, which it won.-Technical highlights:...
. In the third hour of racing, while on the Tribunes Straight, he clipped the Austin-Healey
Austin-Healey
Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker. The marque was established through a joint-venture arrangement, set up in 1952 between Leonard Lord of the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation and the Donald Healey Motor Company, a renowned automotive engineering and design...
of Lance Macklin
Lance Macklin
Lance Noel Macklin was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952....
that was forced to make an evasive move after Mike Hawthorn
Mike Hawthorn
John Michael Hawthorn was a racing driver, born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England, and educated at Ardingly College, West Sussex.-Racing career:...
dived into the pits. After hitting an earth bank, the car flew through the air, disintegrating, scattering components into the crowd. Levegh was killed when he was thrown from the car and his skull crushed by the impact. Flying parts and a fire killed 83 spectators, while over 100 were injured. The race was continued in order to prevent the spectators from leaving, which would have blocked all access roads and the ambulances.
Though Levegh was unable to save himself, he may have saved the life of five-time Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...
behind him. Fangio always maintained that a hand-signal from Levegh, a moment before he struck Macklin's car, was the deliberate warning that had saved his life, although others commented that the 49 year old Levegh's reaction times were simply not fast enough to avoid the swerving Macklin.
While Mercedes withdrew from the race as a sign of respect to the victims (and later from motor racing in general for the next 30 years), Mike Hawthorn
Mike Hawthorn
John Michael Hawthorn was a racing driver, born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England, and educated at Ardingly College, West Sussex.-Racing career:...
and Ivor Bueb
Ivor Bueb
Ivor Léon John Bueb was a sports car racing and Formula One driver from England....
continued in their Jaguar to win the race. The accident was a major contributor to changing attitudes about the acceptance of danger in motor racing and an increase in the desire to make courses safer for spectators and drivers alike. The small British firm of Bristol Cars
Bristol Cars
Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...
, whose entrants achieved a 1-2-3 finish in the 2-litre class at Le Mans that year, decided to abandon racing altogether as a result of the tragedy, scrapping all but one of their racing cars. Fitch became a safety advocate and began research into automotive safety, some of which have advanced into motorsport.
Levegh is buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 1950 Formula One season The 1950 Formula One season included the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on May 13, 1950, and ended on September 3 after 7 races... |
Pierre Levegh | Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago... T26C |
Talbot Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot... Straight-6 Straight-6 The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six-cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase... |
GBR 1950 British Grand Prix The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the fifth British Grand Prix, and the third to be held at Silverstone after motor racing resumed after World War II. It was the first round of the 1950 World... |
MON 1950 Monaco Grand Prix The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 21, 1950 at Monaco. This race was the second round of 1950 World Drivers' Championship. The race, contested over 100 laps at an overall distance of 318.1 km was won by Juan Manuel Fangio for the Alfa Romeo team after starting from... DNA |
500 1950 Indianapolis 500 The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race which was held on Tuesday, May 30, 1950 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... |
SUI 1950 Swiss Grand Prix The 1950 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 4, 1950 at Bremgarten. It was the fourth round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship.-Report:... |
BEL 1950 Belgian Grand Prix The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 18, 1950 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was the fifth round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship.-Report:... 7 |
FRA 1950 French Grand Prix The 1950 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 2, 1950 at Reims-Gueux. It was the sixth round of 1950 World Drivers' Championship.__FORCETOC__-Report:Fangio put in a stunning display with a 116 mph practice lap... Ret |
ITA 1950 Italian Grand Prix The 1950 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 3, 1950 at Monza. It was the seventh and final event of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... Ret |
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| 1951 1951 Formula One season The 1951 Formula One season was the second season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1951 World Championship of Drivers, which commenced on May 27, 1951 and ended on October 28 after eight races... |
Pierre Levegh | Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago... T26C |
Talbot Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot... Straight-6 Straight-6 The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six-cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase... |
SUI 1951 Swiss Grand Prix The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Bremgarten on May 27, 1951. It was the first round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship. The race saw the Formula One debut of British driver Stirling Moss.-Qualifying:-Race:... |
500 1951 Indianapolis 500 The 1951 Indianapolis 500 an automobile race which was held on Wednesday, May 30, 1951 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the opening race of the 1951 AAA National Championship Trail and the second race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers.... |
BEL 1951 Belgian Grand Prix The 1951 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 17, 1951 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the third round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... 8 |
FRA 1951 French Grand Prix The 1951 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on 1 July 1951. It was the fourth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli driving an Alfa Romeo... |
GBR 1951 British Grand Prix The 1951 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 July 1951 at the Silverstone Circuit in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the fifth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship... |
GER 1951 German Grand Prix The 1951 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 29, 1951 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was the sixth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.-Qualifying:-Race:- Drivers' Championship standings after the race :... 9 |
ITA 1951 Italian Grand Prix The 1951 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 16, 1951 at Monza. It was the seventh round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :* Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 1:53.2... Ret |
ESP 1951 Spanish Grand Prix The 1951 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 28, 1951 at Pedralbes Circuit. It was the eighth and final round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.... |
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