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12 May 2005, 08:10 (Ref:1298947) | #1 | ||
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1955
Thanks to links posted on MotorLegend, I found Christophe Bastin website, all about the gruesome accident off 1955 (texts are in French and in English).
I discovered there pics that I've never seen before, including the one owned by Paul Frère himself, when you actually see the Levegh Mercedes taking off... is the photographer still alive ? We may ask... As I didn't find any dedicated thread about the event in TT archives, I thought it was worth opening one, at least in memoriam of the actors of the drama. Last edited by Fab; 12 May 2005 at 17:04. |
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12 May 2005, 08:39 (Ref:1298969) | #2 | |
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There is video footage here. Click on 'francais', then 'acces page 1'(in grey at the bottom of the page), 'contenu' to get to the index page and the video clip is on page 3, 'L'evenement'.
Horrific, and thank goodness for the safety we now enjoy as spectators, however much we hate those fences. |
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12 May 2005, 09:04 (Ref:1298989) | #3 | |
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To get a feel for what the circuit was like in those days, there is excellent footage of a lap with Mike Hawthorn in 1956, the following year, here, thanks to Infoscourse.org. Hawthorn points out in the commentary that many improvements were made to the circuit subsequent to the crash in 1955.
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12 May 2005, 10:13 (Ref:1299042) | #4 | ||
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Duncan Hamiltons book full throttle gives a nasty account of it
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12 May 2005, 12:48 (Ref:1299148) | #5 | ||
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50 years on, are there any plans for the accident to be marked in any way before this year's race?
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280 days...... |
12 May 2005, 12:52 (Ref:1299151) | #6 | ||
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Christophe's site is very good, by the way - one of the first I linked to when I set up 4 years ago.
Last edited by Fab; 12 May 2005 at 17:05. Reason: Edit C. Bastin first name :o) |
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280 days...... |
12 May 2005, 13:18 (Ref:1299166) | #7 | ||
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That Frere photo is frightening. Imagine what the photographer would have thought...
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12 May 2005, 14:15 (Ref:1299204) | #8 | |||
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12 May 2005, 15:03 (Ref:1299232) | #9 | |||
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I don't think I've seen that Frere picture before, although I've read both the Hilton and Kahn books. The accident looks much closer to the edge of the track than I had thought. |
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12 May 2005, 15:08 (Ref:1299238) | #10 | ||
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You'll can download the film (few seconds) of the accident on Passion Le Mans too (just after the minute "3", as the movie is a four minutes Mercedes SL tribute).
And for the memorial of the accident : there was something commemorating the event, but it seems gone now... maybe this year, in June ? Not sure that ACO is very proud of that kind of advertising... I don't know... |
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12 May 2005, 15:57 (Ref:1299269) | #11 | ||
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his name is Christophe
hum ... 2 mods with the same mistake ... |
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bernard |
12 May 2005, 17:06 (Ref:1299329) | #12 | |||
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25 May 2005, 18:27 (Ref:1310102) | #13 | ||
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Saturday the 11th of June 2005, at 6pm CET (50 years sharp after the catastrophy), ACO will unveil a commemorative plaque of the event on the starting straight.
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26 May 2005, 07:35 (Ref:1310443) | #14 | |||
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A local journalist just publish a very complete book with testimonies of witnesses and all the problem it has raised... |
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26 May 2005, 07:44 (Ref:1310452) | #15 | |||
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26 May 2005, 08:13 (Ref:1310472) | #16 | |||
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... maybe they will give the whole list of the victims, even if they still not sure of their exact number. Didi you know that the traditional picture of Levegh's body covered with a flag is not the Levegh's body but the one of a woman of the attendance... |
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26 May 2005, 11:32 (Ref:1310609) | #17 | |||
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I stand corrected Bernarde...... |
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280 days...... |
26 May 2005, 18:26 (Ref:1310923) | #18 | |||
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Anyway, does it really matter much if this ceremony will happen at 6 or 6.28 - the important thing is that it will happen at all, as a memento to those who perished and those who suffered from the effects of their injuries for the rest of their lives. They do deserve it. |
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27 May 2005, 03:07 (Ref:1311236) | #19 | |||
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27 May 2005, 06:15 (Ref:1311297) | #20 | |||
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28 May 2005, 11:10 (Ref:1312378) | #21 | ||
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I agree too - absolutely the right sentiments. I've seen that film so many times now and it still turns my stomach. I guess it even makes me think twice about all those times I've deprecated the arrival of the debris fencing. Short term and selfish memories, I suppose.
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28 May 2005, 12:20 (Ref:1312448) | #22 | ||
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They're pictures of a Porsche GT passing up the three meters fences, and not so hold, in a Le Mans annual (in the 90')... it shows how bad could things turn, and fast... I don't like the fences, but the fact we're pushed far from the action is more a problem for me. Best place is still Le Tertre Rouge, where you're really close to the action... and some secret place I share with Bernard
No question, I WON'T answer ! |
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28 May 2005, 13:35 (Ref:1312550) | #23 | ||
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Oh, come on!
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28 May 2005, 15:16 (Ref:1312651) | #24 | ||
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it's a definitive no no
And BTW, you can go there only during PQs... |
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28 May 2005, 18:10 (Ref:1312752) | #25 | ||
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Absolutely no use to me than, sadly........
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280 days...... |
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