l_rawjalaurence
The Le Mans 24-hour race has always held an endless fascination for drivers and spectators alike. Only this year one television channel has devoted an entire week of preview programs leading up to this year's event, as well as nonstop coverage of the entire race. In 1955 the race held a similar attraction, even though media coverage was much more primitive than it might be today. Richard Heap's film explains how the race was the culmination of a duel between two motor manufacturers, Mercedes and Jaguar. Britain vs. Germany; the Second World War on the road was how it was advertised. Mercedes had the star drivers - Juan Fangio and Stirling Moss; Jaguar had the better car, as well as daredevil Brit Mike Hawthorn. The race began; and for thirty-five laps Hawthorn and Fangio dueled with one another for the lead. However, they were together on a straight part of the course, in a tightly congested area, when the unthinkable happened; Hawthorn's car tried to overtake another car, and nudged into a Ferrari, sending it spinning over the safety barrier and into the crowd. Pieces of the engine came off, burst into flames and caused carnage. No one could really deal with the disaster; some spectators were decapitated; others severely burned. The story is a shocking one; a tale of hubris, the desire to drive faster and faster; and the laxity of an organizing committee more interested in publicity than spectator safety. The 1955 race represented a loss of innocence; from then on, safety concerns took precedence over speed. With recollections from at least two of the drivers involved, the documentary tells a salutary tale.
