The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of ๐ Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France.
Large pieces of debris flew into the ๐ crowd, killing 82 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh, and injuring nearly 120 more.
It was the most catastrophic crash in ๐ motorsport history, prompting Switzerland to institute a nation-wide ban on motorsports altogether that lasted until 2023.
The crash started when Jaguar ๐ driver Mike Hawthorn pulled to the right side of the track in front of Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin and started ๐ braking for his pit stop.
Macklin swerved out from behind the slowing Jaguar into the path of Levegh, who was passing ๐ on the left in his much faster Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.