Pages:
Click on one of the following images to open up the page:
Page 1 - Introduction - Explanatory Notes etc.
Page 2 - The Cast (In Alphabetical Order)
Page 3 - Preparations
Page 4 - Practice and Qualifications
Page 5 - The Race I: Before The Crash
Page 6 - The Crash
Page 7 - The Race II: After The Crash
Page 8 - Conclusion
Page 9 - Credits And Bibliography
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THE FASTLANE :: Features :: Le Mans 1955 Tribute :: Page 3
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3. Preparations
This section contains bits and pieces I've been able to find about the various teams' race preparations, including some technical information about the cars. Also a unique set of colour photos taken at key points of the track by an American serviceman around the time of the race.
The Jaguar Works team before the race suffered the tragic loss of the son of Jaguar boss William Lyons. John Lyons was killed in a road accident travelling to Le Mans.
Lancia withdrew from F1 racing just prior to Le Mans, putting Hawthorn out of a job. His obsessively competitive nature taken into account, it probably troubled him very little once the race had started and it's very doubtful that he was brooding over it during the race. Hawthorn disliked German cars, and wanted to beat them in the Jag, the same famous British "bulldog" fighting spirit which saw that nation victorious in so many wars of survival.
MG* team preparations:
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MGs underway to race:
Austin-Healy, pre-race (Lawrence Macklin):
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Nardi team preparation:
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The Nardi, possibly at scrutineering:
British teams' (Jaguar, Lagonda, Kieft, Arnott, MG) preparations:
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The opposition (non-British teams):
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OSCA team preparation (Guilio Cabianca/Roberto and Guiseppe Scorbati), the MT-4 TN Le Mans was not completed in time, the Italians instead drove an Osca MT-4 1500 to an 11th place overall finish:
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A note on the Mercedes team's preparations, and, notably, the performance of Levegh:
| Hugo Boecker wrote: |
On Whitmonday, 31 May 1955, according to German Magazin Auto Motor & Sport No. 12/55 from 11 June 1955, Daimler-Benz did tests at Hockenheim.
Mercedes-Benz on Whitmonday at Hockenheim did extensive tests till late at night, specially for the Le Mans campaign. The 300SLRs were driven by Frenchmen Levegh and Simon, and the American John Fitch. Fastest man was Levegh, while Simon was very good in the night test. BMW motorcycle-racer Walter Zeller was invited too, but declined for private reasons. It was supposed that Zeller would resign at the end of the year. Driver pairings for Le Mans were supposed to be Kling/Fitch and Levegh/Simon. There were no times mentioned in the report, but a man driving the SLR for the first time at an unknown circuit and doing fastest time against accomplished racers couldn't be too slow! |
I need only humbly add that Porsche also at that time did testing at Hockenheim before the race. Levegh (signed by Neubauer after him having been impressed with the 1952-run) drove faster than Fitch but less fast than Moss, Uhlenhaut and Hermann. Fangio and Kling did not test.
Technical specifications and various other racing photos of the mighty Mercedes 300SLR:
http://www.fast-autos.net/mercedes/mercedes300slr.html
Key points of the track, colour:
Approaching the Circuit de la Sarthe:
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Main entrance:
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A different view of the Dunlop Bridge, pre-race:
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Herbert S. Wilson's MG in the pits, pic taken when he did this lap of the circuit:
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The empty grid before the race:
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Pit straight:
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The esses, pre-race:
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Tertre Rouge, pre-race:
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Mulsanne Straight, pre-race:
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Mulsanne Corner:
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Indianapolis:
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Arnage:
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Approaching Maison Blanche:
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Approaching pit straight (1):
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Approaching pit straight (2):
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Key points of the track, onboard, black/white**:
Dunlop arch at Tertre Rouge, seen from driver's point of view:
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Tertre Rouge, driver's view:
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Arnage, driver's view:
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The track (Circuit de la Sarthe Mk. III 1932-1955) 8.3 miles or 13.4 kilometers:
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FOOTNOTES:
* = there is a wealth of info on the net about racing MGs, a very popular little sportscar, indeed. Here is some relevant further reading about the team's return to Le Mans in 1955:
| Quote: |
" [...] "EX 182" These competition cars were built primarily for the Le Mans 24 hour race, but a considerable race programme would probably have eventually followed if it had not been for the terrible events of 1955. Although the EX 182 programme was used as some last minute testing before the MGA launch, it really just served to confirm that the production design was sound - it was a little late to make any major changes.
THE LE MANS TEAM
Rather like UMG 400, the publicity surrounding the Le Mans drive was more valuable than the results achieved. If the Mercedes accident and attendant mortality had not occurred the MGA might even have attracted a reputation as an unsafe car, since Dick Jacobs nearly died after his accident.
Completed in time for some testing at Silverstone prior to Le Mans on 11-12 June 1955, work on building the EX 182 cars started soon after the Monte Carlo rally in January, for which a team of Magnettes had been prepared. The chassis frames were welded up from component parts by Harold Wiggins, Doug Watts, Tommie Wellman and Cliff Bray, because full scale production had not started. A jig was prepared which was next to the engine test bed, and chassis welding continued even with engines running right beside - there were not so many health and safety regulations in 1955!
It seems that six chassis carried EX 182 numbers conventional wisdom says four, and some recognise five, but read on to see the details! The first car was numbered EX 182/38. What were EX182/1 to EX182/37, you may wonder? Fortunately for the historian there are not another 37 prototype MGA's! Each part specially designed for the project was given an EX182 number brake drums, oil cooler and pipes and so on. It so happened that by the time enough special parts for a whole car had been made, 38 was the next available number.
A REPLICA OF THE LE MANS MGA LBL301. THE OWNER COULDN'T GET THE ORIGINAL NUMBER PLATE BUT THIS WAS SECOND BEST.
"EX 182/38" Designated "Car number 1" on the EX file and presumed originally to have been given registration number LBL 301. The original engine was EX 182/42.
At Le Mans, LBL 301 was at first given race number 40 which was changed to 42 by the organisers. It was to be driven by Jacobs and Flynn. Dick Jacobs was involved in a serious accident on lap 28 of the race, inflicting terrible damage on himself and the car.
In 1992 a group of MG mechanics who were involved in an EX 182 replica project agreed that the wreck had been returned to Abingdon and broken up. [...] " |
- http://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgccmga/history/history1.htm
The new MG was made 1955 British Sports Car of the Year. In this propaganda video from around 1955 courtesy of British Pathe, they avoid mentioning the Jacobs accident during the race, which might have influenced sales. MG benefitted in a cynical way by the Levegh accident, as no real attention was paid to the team's very serious crash at Maison Blanche, which might otherwise have dented the perfect image of the new smart little sportcar.
9.7MB, 9:58 min.s. Voice-over commentary.
There is also rally and LSR-related footage in this lo-res video, which can be purchased in a proper quality version from www.britishpathe.com
* *
The relatively happy ending for Dick Jacobs and the MGs is one of the few dashes of sunlight in the story of the 1955 Le Mans which has forever cast a dark shadow over motor racing.
** = an entire b/w onboard lap done around the time of the race can be found in one of the videos in the video section.
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