Le Mans Documentary 9pm BBC4 Tonight

[ritmo]

The Deadliest Crash: the Le Mans 1955 Disaster


Sunday 16 May
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC4

A thrillingly evocative film about the worst disaster in motor-racing history. Extensive, hitherto unseen archive footage transports us into the middle of a story that, were it not for the foreboding brought by knowing how it ends, would be a perfect drama. Via the recollections of participants whose obsession with Le Mans still burns in their eyes, we learn of the furious rivalries that were all in play at once: Jaguar v Mercedes, Britain v Germany, Hawthorn v Fangio. Man and machine were driven beyond breaking point, hurtling towards a tragedy that still takes the breath away.

[Bebee]

I was about to start a post on this!

Recording button pressed! Can't wait.

Thanks

[Martin_Hx]

Just noticed this myself !

[Marf]

Watching now, had no idea so many died.

[DJC]

Most of it has been a woeful documentary. The crash footage and the interviews with the French make up for it.

From memory 85 to 88 died.

[FourWheelDrift]

It's wrong to point out who was at fault this long after but based on the stills I think Macklin could easily have prevented it.

[ccr32]

Never realised that there was no accepted memorial to it (if that is indeed correct), seems strange how the french have all but attempted to erase it from history.

[cazzer]

bks...just noticed this thread

[DJC]

Macklin had almost bugger all he could do. If you think otherwise then you havent driven a mid 50s Healey at speed!

[road hog]

an accident of this kind was inevitable and lack of spectator safety ,having the pits as part of the track etc....

too many risks too add up

imagine doing a "risk assessment " for that race ..

[ferrari spider]

Its on again at 12.40 am. Thanks for the heads up, i have set my box.

[Bugeyeandy]

I thought it was a good documentary, just to imagine that engine and the the cars axle ripping through a crowd of spectators at 150+mph makes me shiver.

I had seen the footage of the crash a few times before but never knew that there were 4 cars involved and that 2 came together in the way they did.

Worth a watch for anyone interested despite some of the comments on here.

[Bugeyeandy]

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/jalopnik/200...

[dudleybloke]

it was quite interesting.
as said before it was an accident waiting to happen.

[ferrari spider]

Bugeyeandy said:

Worth a watch for anyone interested despite some of the comments on here.

I can not see anyone being disrespectful/negative on this thread. What do you mean?

[smack]

I didn't know Mike Hawthorn died on the A3...

[Bugeyeandy]

ferrari spider said:

Bugeyeandy said:

Worth a watch for anyone interested despite some of the comments on here.

I can not see anyone being disrespectful/negative on this thread. What do you mean?

On here as in Pistonheads, quite a lot of negative comments about the program.

[Bugeyeandy]

These are the negative comments i'm referring too, plus someone on this thread said it was woeful

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[ferrari spider]

Bugeyeandy said:

These are the negative comments i'm referring too, plus someone on this thread said it was woeful

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Ah right, gotch ya

[TimJMS]

Great programme giving plenty of detail I was unaware of, but with, as is the norm a few inaccuracies.

The split screen pan shot towards the end was shocking in the way that as the camera moved through the crowd, those who died became photoshopped out... all the marshalls standing near the initial point of impact who were decapitated... coats draped over body parts; all quite eerie.

Shameful really in which the lion's share of the blame at the time was heaped on the one man who couldnt defend himself : Pierre Levegh. None directly involved in the event itself were quite as innocent as he. To my 2010 eyes it is equally shameful that Mercedes withdrew and Jaguar continued to the hollow victory.