What were the events that led to a fatal disaster on June 21, 1955 on the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit? This is the question that Emmanuel Reyé, the director of the documentary, asked himself Le Mans 55 available on the Planet + channel (MyCanal). It is neither out of a taste for motorsport nor for news stories that the director immersed himself in this investigation. But to reveal a family secret after learning, at the age of 17, that two of his uncles, François and Claude, had died in what remains the most important accident in the history of motorsport.
Throughout the documentary, Emmanuel Reyé tries to understand the circumstances of the tragedy. Firstly with his family and those close to his parents, then with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the association organizing the race since 1923, or even with the departmental archives and the manufacturer Mercedes .
But the doors close and the director struggles to recover information and documents to help him trace the tragedy. “I don’t understand why the ACO didn’t want to respond to me after so long. I don’t want to incriminate anyone, my documentary just tries to retrace events in a factual way,” asks Emmanuel Reyé.
“The race continued”
What exactly do we know about this accident? It is 6:28 p.m. on June 21, 1955, the prestigious race began a little over two hours ago, when the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of Frenchman Pierre Levegh was thrown from the track after being hit by the Austin-Healey of driver Lance Macklin. It flies off at more than 200 km/h and ends its race by falling apart in the fully loaded stands.
The explosion of the car led to the death of 82 spectators, some decapitated by the engine leveling the stands. 120 other people were injured and burned in the tragedy. “Despite the immensity of the disaster, the race continued. It seems completely unrealistic, but the cars continued their race while the emergency services tried to save as many victims as possible,” explains director Emmanuel Reyé. And English driver Mike Hawthorn, winner of the race, will celebrate his victory with champagne on the track despite the tragic events that occurred 20 hours earlier.
Who is responsible for the tragedy? And above all why was the race not interrupted after this disaster? Emmanuel Reyé interviews sports journalists, the last driver still alive who took part in this macabre race, but also lawyers and experts. The documents and testimonies to which they have access seem to show a desire on the part of the State as well as the organizers not to want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
The second largest employer in the city of Le Mans, an unmissable tourist attraction but also a premium showcase for car manufacturers, the 24 Hours of Le Mans had to continue, “whatever the cost”. Fifty-nine years after the disaster, Emmanuel Reyé wishes to pay tribute to the families bereaved by the tragedy but also to ensure that his children “no longer carry the weight of this story which has weighed on the family for a long time”. A moving and intimate documentary, carried out as a personal quest on an event which made the headlines but has since been largely forgotten because “the show must go on”.
