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Pierre Levegh ( December 22, 1905 - June 11, 1955) was a French sportsman, mainly remembered for a disaster that killed himself and around 80 spectators during the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1955.Born Pierre Bouillon in Paris, he took the racing name Levegh in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver. Levegh was also a world-class ice hockey and tennis player. In motorsport he competed in Formula 1 for the Lago-Talbot 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 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada., driving single-handedly, his car suffered an engineAn engine is something that produces some effect from a given input. The origin of engineering was the working of engines. There is an overlap in English between two meanings of the word "engineer": 'those who operate engines' and 'those who design and co 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 19531953 is a common year starting on Thursday (click on link for the calendar). Events January events January 7 President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. January 13 Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugosl he came in eighth and in 1954Events January events January 14 The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator forming the American Motors Corporation January 14 Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio. January 15 Mau Mau leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya January 20 The Nati 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 FitchJohn Fitch was born on January 21, 1743 in Connecticut, USA. He is credited as a contributor to the invention of the steamboat. The first successful trial run of his steamboat was made on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787 in the presence of delegates in racing a MercedesThis page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. For other uses of the name Mercedes see Mercedes. Mercedes-Benz is a brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler company (f 300 SLR. In the third hour of racing while on the Tribunes Straight he clipped an Austin-HealeyFor the rugby player, see Austin Healey. Austin-Healey was a brand of sports car that started in the 1950s. The marque was established through a joint venture arrangement set up in 1952 between Leonard Lord of the Austin division of the British Motor Corp 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, as were 86 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.
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 continued 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.
Levegh, Pierre
Levegh, Pierre
Levegh, Pierre
