Racing's Most Bizarre Accident

the invention of the automobile predates the invention of the airplane by just 17 years which many may find surprising after all driving is far more simple than flying so it stands to reason that we should have figured out one long before the other but as it turns out these two things have always been a lot closer than you'd expect officially the first motor vehicle was patented by Carl Ben in 1886 it sold for the equivalent of $5,000 and at a top speed of 10 mph this humble Contraption would Usher in the automotive world we know today and as soon as we had cars it was only a matter of time before we started racing them one of the pioneers of Motorsport was a man by the name of willhelm bower who would test drive vehicles for a German automaker DMG on March 30th 1900 bow was slated to race the company's new Phoenix model at the turby hill climb in France however in the first corner he lost control and suffered a fatal accident by most accounts Wilhelm Bower had become the very first death in Motorsports it would be the last time the Phoenix ever raced however out of the ashes of the tragedy DMG executive Emil gelinck would improve upon his initial design over the next few months he oversaw the development of a revolutionary new model unlike the Horseless car GES that preceded it this vehicle would be the first to truly resemble the cars of today during the production process gelinck decided to title the model after his 11-year-old daughter as fate would have it this unsuspecting girl would forever be intertwined with the longest running car brand in the world her name was Mercedes in the following years the new model would Dazzle the automotive industry becoming popular with many of the most powerful people on the planet it's meteoric success would turn DMG into a commercial Juggernaut in 1926 they would merge with Carl Ben's company to solidify the present-day nomenclature of mercedesbenz by this point the temperament of Germany had changed considerably the car brand which had originally shared its name with a Jewish child would soon become the favorite of one Adolf Hitler by the second world war Mercedes had to momentarily divert their resources away from car production as their focus shifted from the road to the skies diimler Benz would be one of several companies commissioned by the Third Reich to construct engines for German fighter jets Mercedes horsepower would be instrumental in the blitz C which terrorized Europe for more than half a decade all of a sudden what was once a simple luxury car brand had fallen into an Insidious fate to satisfy the enormous demands of wartime production the company would resort to using forced labor much of which came directly from concentration camps when it was all said and done the rest of the world had discovered a powerful Omen when Mercedes start flying it's usually a sign that something has gone seriously wrong officially the Germans surrendered in the May of 1945 however in many aspects the war never really ended it had simply moved to a new Battleground by the 1950s the Germans and English had taken the fight to the racetrack and out of all the venues in Motorsports none was more prestigious than Le man since the birth of auto racing France's Premier endurance event has stood as the ultimate test of man and machine for 24 hours competitors must navigate the high-speed circuit a process made especially challenging by the 3M long molan straight the section is one of the fastest parts of any course in the world ordinarily a public Highway the road surface is Bumpy and abrasive placing tremendous strain on engines as Vehicles approach their top speed in order to win at L man race teams must strike a delicate balance between performance and Longevity this unique test of engineering skill would attract the industry's top manufacturers by the 1950s Mercedes had established itself as one of the teams to beat with their iconic Silver Arrow they spent the early part of the decade trading winds with jaguar and Ferrari who had entered into an automotive of arms race by 1955 the Rivalry would reach its Breaking [Music] Point years of Rapid Innovation had contributed to higher top speeds than ever before beyond what the existing infrastructure was designed to support an hour into the race Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorne set the lap record for the circuit just moments later he would instigate the biggest disaster in racing history on the 35th lap Hawthorne slowed abruptly to begin his pit cycle forcing Austin Healey driver Lance Macklin to swerve around him in the commotion Mercedes driver Pierre La collided with Macklin launching his vehicle Airborne at over 120 mph directly into the crowd and just like that a Mercedes was flying again in 1955 there was no fence protecting the grand stands at lman debris from LA's disintegrating car blasted the spectators at full force in the blink of an eye more than 80 people had perished the world of Motorsports had arrived at its Armageddon and Mercedes found itself at Ground Zero unbelievably the race was not stopped Cruz gradually cleaned up the track as drivers continued to blow past at full speed by now La demolished car had burst into flames the fire department was unable to extinguish the Magnesium chassis which just sat there burning for hours lap after lap Mercedes remaining entry had to drive past the hellish remains of its Mirror Image it's hard to say when exactly Europe moved on from the second world war but it was clear at this point that Germany's greatest manufacturer still had some sort of cosmic debt to pay as night fell Mercedes had taken the lead and the gruesome details of the tragedy began to emerge after hours of witnessing the same unnerving display the team had seen enough when the Clock Struck midnight the race director decided not to tempt fade any further Mercedes withdrew from the race just 12 hours from Victory the decision effectively handed the win to Jaguar as Mike Hawthorne the driver who started this whole chain of events hoisted the trophy the next afternoon the aftermath that followed would not be so joyous the tragedy prompted an immediate ban on Motorsports across most of Europe some of which remained in place until just 2 years ago to this day auto racing has never seen another disaster like it following months of government investigation no one in particular could be found at fault hoping to appease whatever vengeful Spirit they had angered Mercedes would not return to L man for the foreseeable future and as for Mike Hawthorne the curse of that dark day would eventually catch up to him just 4 years later he was fatally injured in a road accident losing control of his Jaguar while attempting to pass a Mercedes as the years went on racing eventually returned lman received some much needed safety improvements and the cars that raced there went from looking like this to this as our understanding of aerodynamics improved the speeds crept higher and higher all the while Mercedes watched from the sidelines they saw numerous racing dynasties come and go from Ferrari to Ford to the most dominant of all Porsche maybe it was all that Glory from a national rival that enticed them to get back into the fight maybe it was a new generation of leadership who had forgotten the Superstition of the past either way Mercedes decided the time had come to return to L man they just couldn't stay away this time however they didn't go in alone before committing to a full Factory team they would have to completely rebuild their in-house racing program in the meantime they partnered with Swiss Constructor saber who would compete under the Mercedes Banner their new model the C8 was set to make its Gallant debut at the 1985 running of flemon unfortunately the new program got off to a rather inauspicious start 30 years later and nothing had changed the moment Mercedes returned to L man they were once again sent Airborne although this time the circumstances of the incident were quite different the front end gets light and over 140 and wants to lift off and fly to Hawaii by the 1980s race cars were beginning to reach Unthinkable speeds largely due to Innovations in controlling downforce as a car cuts through the air the body can be sculpted in a way so that the resulting pressure sticks the car to the racing surface increasing grip however at certain unstable orientations downforce can be overpowered by lift sending the car upward under the most extreme speeds such as the ones at the end of the moland straight drive were becoming increasingly susceptible to taking off for Mercedes this new incident of Terror certainly didn't bode well for their racing return but they were able to come out of it mostly unscathed driver John neelen walked away from the wreck in one piece and since it occurred during a practice session it was hardly documented despite the rude awakening Mercedes would carry on starting in 1987 the team would debut the new and improved salver C9 despite showing in promising lap times the model struggled to stay on track four years into their L man return Mercedes had failed to finish a single race but their fortunes would turn around after the return of a familiar foe in 1988 Jaguar was Victorious at Lan for the first time in 30 years perhaps this was the inspiration Mercedes needed to finally get their mojo back because in 1989 the Silver Arrow reemerged as the class of the field on that day Mercedes was unbeatable in fact the cars were so quick that they ushered in the end of an era during qualifying the saber C9 went just shy of 250 mph on the mosan straight fearing another catastrophe the race directors determined that they had to get the speeds under control and so starting in 1990 a pair of chicanes were installed to interrupt the fastest part of the track following the layout change Mercedes lost all of its Competitive Edge just as they had finally hit their stride they were sent back to the drawing board after several more years of lackluster performance they withdrew from lemon once again to focus on other racing Endeavors this time however they wouldn't be gone for long after finding success in the FIA GT Championship Mercedes decided to give it one more shot with the Millennium soon approaching the manufacturer was closing in on their 100th year of racing and what better way to celebrate than by capping off the century with a victory at L man by now Mercedes were finally ready to field a genuine Factory team so that the glory would be all theirs their first race back in 1998 they looked as if they hadn't skipped a beat by qualifying on pole the Triumph was shortlived however as both entries would retire from the race due to mechanical issues but no matter the cars had already proven they were fast enough with a few tweaks they should be able to stay on track and cruise to victory in 1999 Mercedes returned to Le man with their Pinnacle of engineering the CLR a machine that represented a 100 Years of innovation the car had an unmistakable look its most iconic feature being the familiar Mercedes stylization on the front end throughout the company's history at L man no other entry had undergone more extensive preparation after 20,000 Mi of testing no major problems could be found by all accounts everything was coming together for the last hurra of the Silver Arrow entering the race weekend Mercedes unveiled their Holy Trinity three clrs and three opportunities at making history over the next few days the team would certainly rise to the occasion just not in the way they had envisioned [Music] the first sign of trouble appeared during qualifying when the number four entry wound up total on the Indianapolis straight driver Mark Weber was hospitalized where he was treated for minor injuries as reports of the accident emerged it was revealed that Mercedes had once again gone Airborne since the wreck occurred at an unpopulated part of the track no footage was captured for the time being the reason for the the mishap could not be determined was it just a freak accident or possibly something more despite the ominous turn of events Mercedes would not be discouraged later in the day they announced that they would not only remain in the race but that the number four CLR would be rebuilt in time for the main event on Saturday less than 48 hours after checking out of the hospital Mark Weber was back behind the wheel the team had worked around the clock to get the car ready just in time for the final practice session on Saturday morning when the trio reunited on track they must have been feeling pretty inspired until it happened again oh oh and we've got a car on its roof already how on Earth does this happen this is amazing this happened in the qualifying sessions this car flipped over in qualifying and it looks as though exactly the same thing has happened again how on Earth if it wasn't already Mercedes little problem had now become known to the rest of the world as television cameras C caught a live view of Weber's car lying on its roof at the end of the molan straight the number four CLR had taken off for a second time it was now clear that the first accident was no fluke there was a fundamental flaw with the aerodynamics of the CLR as it turns out the defect could be traced back to the car's Oso stylish front end the nose of the vehicle was designed abnormally long this excessive overhang allowed more leverage for the air to generate lift under exteme turbulence such as entering the slipstream of another car the balance of the CLR could be disrupted enough to send the whole thing flying now just a few hours until the green flag Mercedes was in a state of pandemonium with Weber's car destroyed once again only two entries could continue to the race but would it even make sense to let them the machines were clearly hazardous but could they really let an entire year of effort go to waste perhaps the contagion was limited to the four car and the other two had nothing to worry about despite being manufactured to the same specifications ultimately the decision came down to the drivers while Kristoff Bushi expressed concerns about the number five car he was overruled by the others after all it's a dream to race at Lan but the thing about dreams is that no one is ever prepared when they turn into a nightmare after some emergency modifications to increased downforce the remaining clrs rolled off the grid as the afternoon went on it was cautiously smooth sailing for the Mercedes Bush's concerns appeared to be assuaged as he made it to the first driver's swap without incident replacing him in the five car was Peter dumre who would carry on into the evening as dusk began to fall dumre had worked his way up to a battle for second with one of the Toyotas when the pair entered the Indianapolis straight they turned to face the setting sun with the drivers momentarily blinded the Mercedes Drew ever so close to the back of the Toyota the rest as they say is [Music] history some people only watch racing for the accidents and while they're Often chastised by the rest of the Motorsports Community for missing the point I sort of understand the appeal while it's easy to write off this side of racing as mindless Carnage there is something spectacular about it that speaks to us on a deeper level in sports there are plenty of stories about Glory but the wisest lessons are often taught by catastrophic failure in order to truly appreciate something for its greatness you have to witness it at its most dysfunctional in these rare moments the accidents tell us more than the racing ever could oh it has gone again there it is it's into the trees that is the end of Mercedes bitly the wrong decision to actually race he [Music] [Music] oh [Music]

Channel: EmpLemon

Views: 927,750

Keywords: EmpLemon, Motorsports, Le Mans, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mercedes, Formula 1, F1, NASCAR, History, Documentary

Id: l96dQ0__dhI

Length: 19min 26sec (1166 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 12 2024