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The Le Mans Motor Racing Disaster

Added 2023-02-07 11:15:00 +0000 UTC

This particular disaster had a long legacy. Here’s a little more detail on some of the things that happened in the aftermath…

The fate of the drivers involved

Arguments about whose actions had caused the crash went on for many years after 1955, and the discussion was (understandably) a sore subject for some of the drivers involved.

In 1958, Hawthorn published an autobiography titled Challenge Me the Race, in which he mentioned the crash but made it clear he did not believe he was responsible. Lance Macklin, on reading this, took it that Hawthorn was trying to shift the blame to him, as the only other surviving driver involved in the crash.

Macklin started legal action against Hawthorn, which ran on into 1959. It only came to an end when Hawthorn died in a car crash. He wasn’t participating in a race at the time… but by strange coincidence he was attempting to overtake a Mercedes-Benz while driving a Jaguar.

Motor racing in Switzerland

Most countries that instituted bans on motorsports in the aftermath of the crash reversed these bans once changes had been made to courses and vehicles. In the vast majority of cases, motor racing was back on the agenda within a year or two.

One exception to this was Switzerland, who instituted a ban that lasted nearly 70 years – with only a small number of exceptions.

It’s only very recently (2022) that the ban has been fully lifted, and motor races can be staged in Switzerland again (racing with electric vehicles was allowed from 2015 on). Authorities in Switzerland noted that it was down to advances in safety technology that it was deemed safe to finally begin racing again.