It was Lap 35, and Hawthorn (in a Jaguar) was in the lead, just ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio in a Mercedes. He'd been called into the pits by his team, and pulled over to the right of the track immediately after lapping the British driver Lance Macklin (in an Austin Healey). This involved severe braking, there being no deceleration lane in those days.
Macklin braked heavily in turn, and this caused his car to veer to the left – into the path of Levegh's Mercedes. Levegh's car mounted Macklin's and was launched into the air, bouncing off an earthen embankment and into a spectator enclosure where it burst into flames. Levegh himself was thrown clear, but his skull was crushed on landing and he was killed instantly. Some 83 spectators lost their lives, either in the fire or through being hit by flying debris.
Hawthorn was distraught, adamant that he had caused the tragedy. He overshot the pits and got out of his car, but was ordered by his team to get back in and complete another lap, avoiding the chaos of the accident scene. After that lap his co–driver, Ivor Bueb, took over for a stint behind the wheel.
The Mercedes team withdrew from the race, but the race continued – the officials stating that to stop it would cause a mass exodus of spectators which would hamper the emergency vehicles rushing to the course. Jaguar opted to continue, and Hawthorn and Bueb finished as winners following what has been described as an inspired drive.
The official inquiry into the accident absolved Hawthorn of blame for the crash, ruling that it was merely a terrible racing incident. The disaster was blamed on inadequate safety standards. The track was largely unaltered since the inception of the race in 1923, since when the speeds attained by the cars had increased almost threefold, to 270 km/h (170 mph). The pits and grandstands had been rebuilt, but there were no barriers between the pit lane and the racing line, and only a 4 ft (1.2 m) earthen bank between the track and the spectators.
The Jaguar team came in for some strong criticism, but they refused to accept responsibility for the disaster, questioning the fitness and competence of Macklin and Levegh as drivers. Macklin, on reading Hawthorn's 1958 autobiography, Challenge Me the Race, was embittered to discover that Hawthorn now disclaimed all responsibility for the crash without identifying who had caused it. Macklin began a libel action, inferring Hawthorn's implication to be that he (Macklin) had been responsible. The action was still unresolved when Hawthorn was killed in a non–racing crash on the Guildford bypass in 1959 – ironically while overtaking a Mercedes–Benz in his Jaguar.
The Grandstand and pit areas at Le Mans were soon demolished and rebuilt. Motor sports were banned in France, and several other nations, but resumed in most countries within a year. The Mercedes team withdrew from racing, only to return in 1987.
Jaguar won the Le Mans 24-hour race again in 1956 and 1957, but withdrew from motorsport soon afterwards. It has returned to competition on occasions since, notably in Formula One from 2000 to 2004, but with limited success.
© Haydn Thompson 2021