Napisal/-a esem Sr avg 09, 2006 6:51 pm
Za mlajše: Gotovo je bila najhujša nesreča v avtomoto športu leta 1955 v Le Mansu, ko je na ciljni ravnini dvignilo srebrni bolid (Mercedes - takrat najmočnejši team v tekmovanju - predhodnica F1) zaradi predhodne nesreče pri polni hitrosti visoko v zrak v tribune, kjer je več deset metrov kosil glave in telesa nesrečnih gledalcev.
Čez 80 mrtvih + nebroj ranjenih.
Mercedes se je tudi iz pietete zaradi te nesreče umaknil iz vseh dirk za več kot 30 let (1987), ko je sramežljivo spet poskusil, najprej na Dakarju, kasneje še drugje (DTM, nato F1)
malo več v angl.: (vir - answers.com)
"Unlike many other races where the speed in curves is more important than top speed, top speed was a critical parameter for being competitive in Le Mans. This led to special body designs like the "Long Tail" bodies pioneered by Charles Deutsch and Robert Choulet. Braking at the end of the straight is also critical; the first use of disc brakes on a car was in a Jaguar racing in Le Mans. Mercedes-Benz still used drum-brake in 1955, but used a special hood as an "air brake".
Accident
In 1955, Pierre Levegh was invited to drive a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR after his excellent previous efforts. He was chasing Mike Hawthorn, when Hawthorn's Jaguar passed the slower Austin-Healey of Lance Macklin before suddenly braking and pulling over to the right to enter the pits. This forced the Austin-Healey to move over to the left, into the path of the faster Mercedes of Levegh and Juan Manuel Fangio which were approaching at high speed. Levegh could not do anything, his car ran into the sloped back of the Austin-Healey, was catapulted into the air, and crashed on top of an earth bank designed to protect the crowd. The engine and other parts disintegrated from the chassis and flew into the crowd. The driver and 80 spectators were killed, many others injured. Large portions of the car were made of magnesium, which when ignited burns very intensely, and can be accelerated with the use of water in an attempt to extinguish the flame. Fangio, driving behind Levegh, could narrowly escape. The race was continued, officially to prevent departing spectators from crowding the roads, which would have slowed down ambulances. During the night, by order from Stuttgart, the remaining Mercedes cars (driven by Fangio, Stirling Moss and others) were withdrawn from the race as a sign of respect to the victims. At the end of the 1955 season, Mercedes would retire from racing as planned before. Mike Hawthorn and the Jaguar team continued and won the race, despite refusing to take any responsibility for the crash, were later cleared of any wrongdoings.
In the shock following this disaster, many major and minor races were cancelled in 1955, like the Grand Prix races in Germany and Switzerland - the latter country banned circuit automobile racing, a ban which still remains in effect today.
At the end of the season, having won World Championships in Formula One and Sports Cars, Mercedes withdrew from motor racing generally, and did not return until 1987. That today's DaimlerChrysler Corporation, owner of the Mercedes marque, is still aware of and sensitive to this incident was evidenced by their re-withdrawal from sports car racing in 1999 after their CLR sports prototypes caught air and backflipped three times at Le Mans. Aerodynamic modifications made to the #4 car after a practice crash couldn't prevent it from becoming airborne again during the warm-up, this time at a different section of the track. The remaining two slightly different cars started the race, but the #5 car took off like an airplane and somersaulted into the forest, in front of a live TV audience. Incredibly, driver Peter Dumbreck escaped without injury, just like Mark Webber did twice before. Car #6 was retired immediately. Similar accidents involving a Porsche 911 GT1 and a BMW V12 LMR happened in the USA during the 1998 and 2000 racing seasons, respectively. "
Zadnjič spremenil
esem, dne Sr avg 09, 2006 7:25 pm, skupaj popravljeno 1 krat.