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| Born | (1905-12-22)22 December 1905 Paris, France |
|---|---|
| Died | 11 June 1955(1955-06-11) (aged 49) Le Mans, France |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Active years | 1950 –1951 |
| Teams | privateerTalbot-Lago |
| Entries | 6 (6 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1950 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1951 Italian Grand Prix |
Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin (22 December 1905 – 11 June 1955) was a French sportsman andracing driver. He took the racing namePierre Levegh ([ləvɛk]) in memory of his uncleAlfred Velghe, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh died in the1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed more than 82 spectators during the1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race.
Levegh, who was born inParis, France, was also anice hockey andtennis player.[1][2] Inmotorsport he competed inFormula One for theTalbot-Lago team in 1950 and 1951, starting six races, retiring in three, and scoring no points.
At Le Mans he raced forTalbot in four races, finishing fourth in 1951. In 1952, driving single-handedly, his car suffered anengine failure in the last hour of the race with a four lap lead. The failure was due to a bolt in the centralcrankshaft bearing having come loose many hours earlier in the race, although many fans placed the blame on driver fatigue. Levegh had refused to let his co-driver take over because he felt only he could nurse the car home.[3] In 1953 he came in eighth, and in 1954 he was involved in an accident in the seventh hour of racing.
In 1955, he was tempted away fromTalbot and joined the AmericanJohn Fitch in racing aMercedes-Benz 300 SLR. During the24 Hours of Le Mans, in the third hour of racing, while on the Tribunes Straight, theJaguar D-Type ofMike Hawthorn cut into the pits, slowing in front of theAustin-Healey 100S ofLance Macklin. Macklin was forced to make an evasive move away from Hawthorn, pulling across the track into the way of Levegh's faster Mercedes running just in front of Mercedes teammate ArgentineJuan Manuel Fangio. Running up the side of Macklin's car, Levegh's car launched into the air, striking high on a retaining wall, disintegrating and scattering components into the crowd.[4] Levegh was flung from his car and died upon landing, his skull crushed by the impact. The body of the Mercedes, with a highmagnesium content, quickly ignited in the accident; the combination of the fire and flying car parts killed 81 spectators with over 100 injured. The race was continued in order to avoid a mass exodus of spectators, which would have blocked all access roads needed for use by the responding ambulances.
Levegh may have saved the life of five-time Formula One World Champion Fangio, who maintained that a hand-signal from Levegh to slow down moments before he struck Macklin's car was a deliberate warning, sparing Fangio the crash he would have had.[5]
Mercedes withdrew from the race as a sign of respect to the victims, whileMike Hawthorn andIvor Bueb continued in their Jaguars 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. Most notably, Mercedes stopped all motor racing activities for the next 30 years. Likewise the small British firm ofBristol 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. Fitch became a safety advocate and began research into automotive safety, some of which have advanced into motorsport.
Levegh is buried in thePère Lachaise Cemetery inParis.[6]
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Pierre Levegh | Talbot-LagoT26C | TalbotStraight-6 | GBR | MON DNA | 500 | SUI | BEL 7 | FRA Ret | ITA Ret | NC | 0 | |
| 1951 | Pierre Levegh | Talbot-LagoT26C | TalbotStraight-6 | SUI | 500 | BEL 8 | FRA | GBR | GER 9 | ITA Ret | ESP | NC | 0 |