Yes bring james may as a guest star, he loves the Nürburgring. Lol James may: if I was the commander of the RAF back than, I would have ordered a bombing raid every day for the Nürburgring. 😆 Classic.
@@davebalaam Only question how'd you tell it's story. Would you do it a Motorcycle Road racing as a whole and give the bulk of it to its mecca or focus on the race exclusively with nods to the Island and famed racers in the race.
@@SavingTheUndesireables used to live in the Gold coast (when both Indy & F1 race the road course) near Bathurst and now in Indianapolis... It's amazing being near racing!!!
I love when people say racing was so dangerous...... and the racers from the time say "it was the first time in over a decade we hadn't been shot at ....we didn't think it was dangerous" ;)
Yea, and you got guys like Pedro Rodriguez. Casually not supporting Jacky Icky on his safety protest..... I think he said the lack of safety was part of the fun..... You live by the sword, you die by the sword......
I think it's because (from my personal opinion) they're at the time where WWII was still the thing that sticks to their memories so deaths was a common thing.
I love this channel. I have to point out as one of the men on the team who built the new ford gt. We went back in 2016 and won. As well as 17 and 18 in our respective classes. In 2019 ford announced the end of that racing program. It was so much fun and a pleasure to work on that part racing history.
Even though I have no connection to racing, it's cool to see how the history of something like a race track is affected by major events like the German occupation of France. Didnt expect that clicking this video
Living just South of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway I've seen many pics of the 6 times the INDY 500 was never ran at all due to America entering the World Wars. Both times the owner said that the resources and mechanics skills would be much better used in the war effort and completely shut down the Speedway until the wars were won. I wonder if the same unity of one common goal to help the Allies in Europe win the war would happen in America today???
@@Bahamuttiamat well if walter Rohrl passed Schumacher when testing the Porsche carrera and pissed him off..... I would add him and maybe most of group B drivers........you need jedi foresight to be a rally driver.... actually it's the only motor sport where you need a copilot to live.......
To Simon and the whole team at Geographics, thank you for covering what has to be one of the greatest events in motorsports and thank you for doing it justice with fantastic research and writing. Really hope to see some more legendary motorsports events and venues pop up here in the future.
Saw Simon had a video out on the topic of racing and knew immediately what my first video of the day would be. Would love to see more videos like this, maybe a MegaProjects on Daytona International Speedway? Quite the story on how that came about, and on a shoestring budget with a tight deadline to meet!
My great uncle was in the crowd at the 1955 crash, he was about 14 yo. He always told that he saw people getting decapitated, I never trusted him, it sound way too bad to be a race accident. Seing those images make me realize how bad it really was and how much safety has improved. Les "24 Heures" kept being and still are a huge thing in my family today. My father always told me that in his 10 yo(1966) you could drive on the whole circuit cause it was only road. Every time I go to le mans, I go drive on the Hunaudières (mulsanne straight for you English speaking). Even if today's Le mans's kinda boring because there's only prototype you can't recognize, always Toyota winning, no big French team, it's still the hardest and most intense race for pilots and cars. I'm so hyped for the hyper cars. Great vid! But becarefull on your French (the le mans means the the mans for instance and it triggered me soooo much)
Excellent summary of my favorite TV race. I remember watching the race in the '60s and being amazed at the front disk brakes glowing orange as the cars slowed from 250 mph to 30 for the hairpin turn at the long strait. Great racing, great show.
Clutch paddles are actually a very common thing in motorsport, some older cars didn’t have a big enough pedal box for more that 2 pedals and also it’s more efficient for the driver as he has 2 feet. You can have multiple paddles on the back of the wheel so the the driver can use different fingers for each like in modern F1 they have a clutch paddle, gear shift paddles etc.
Le Mans: has the deadliest crash in motorsports history, but continues to be held. Group B rally racing: has several much smaller accidents: gets petitioned by its drivers and banned.
Not really. Mercedes withdrew from the race after the accident, there was no celebration. And a special mass was held the morning after. Because of the Le Mans incident motorstport was banned across Europe until all racetracks were safer (about year). Phil Walters, Sherwood Johnston and John Fitch quit racing, and Juan Manuel Fangio never raced at Le Mans again. The audience stands at the pits were demolished, the straight was widened and straightened even more to create more room to slow down for the pits. Group B was banned because of several different accidents, lack of crowd control, Balestre hunger for power and control, and PR decisions Also to compare the two things is a false equivalence falacy, Group B was a set of regulations under WRC. It's like saying that Group C or LMP1 were banned yet WRC kept going furthermore the historical peak of fatalities in Rally was in 89, so fear of death was not what killed group B. It is more accurate to say either that Both Tour de Corse or Portugal and Le Mans had big accidents yet the racing kept going or that an accident at Le mans in 1955 stopped European racing for a year; And accidents, among other circumstances, made Rally change the regulations from Group B to Group A.
Clutch paddles are actually a very common thing in motorsport, some older cars didn’t have a big enough pedal box for more that 2 pedals and also it’s more efficient for the driver as they have 2 feet. You can have multiple paddles on the back of the wheel so the the driver can use different fingers for each like in modern F1 they have a clutch paddle, gear shift paddles etc.
@@callumeaston5163 the porsches he mentioned all had foot clutches. He most likely meant shifter. Hand clutches didn't come around until the 90s in f1.
I always show Simons' videos to my students as part of learning but today is day to watch something about my passion! Never thought he would make a video regarding Le Mans. Amazing!
Finally a video of something I really love! Fun fact, they still do a "Le Mans start" for the 24h race and in WEC, main difference is the drivers are already strapped in and ready and it's only for the formation lap.
Remember for most of these daredevils having recently experienced and survived WW2, racing was a relatively safe activity. "At least you're not being _shot_ at."
Considering Mercedes 300SLR killed more people in single attempt than Japanese Type 3 Shrapnel shell in entire WW2, despite having same core material Yeah, nothing could explained more about safety
John Fitch was an amazing dude. He was such a fantastic personality. The clip shown here was shot by a former 250 GTO owner as part of a series on another famous race called la Carrera panamericana that similarly had to be shut down due to deaths. John Fitch was asked why he was never a passenger or navigator in a rally and his response is etched in my mind forever that the driver is always an optimist and the passenger is always a pessimist. Rest in peace John
Great video! I am not a typical commentator, but this was such a good story I encourage you to do more in famous/infamous race tracks (e.g., Spa, Monaco, Indianapolis, etc). Thank you again for all the great content on your Channels 😁
You should cover the development or World Rally Cars and the logistics behind making a season happen. It's more of a Megaprojects or Side projects thing though.
Fun fact: "the Le Mans start" is why Porsches have the ignition on the left side of the steering wheel, so that drivers could start the car and shift into first at the same time
Awesome race, even as someone who isn't into bikes it's incredible. I'd definitely add the Dakar and possibly Pikes Peak (perhaps there are some other hillclimb events I'm not aware of too) to the danger list as well.
@@benkelly7499 I've seen that pretty insane. Have you seen the on board clip of him nearly loosing it at the fast right hander after the grandstands? Incredible driving
I've always wanted to see a Le Mans race in person. Ive been obsessed with GT racing since I was a kid. The GT1 class turned into LMP1 & LMP2. Porsche has consistently done the best of any manufacturer. They have raced countless versions of the 911. At 17:05 you state the GT40 was a "American car". The GT40 isn't completely American. It was obviously built by an American company but it was developed and built in England. Audi was the first to win with a hybrid. Porsche won last year with the 919 in the LMP1 category. I'm very greatful and excited to see you cover a topic that I'm very passionate about. Please keep up the good work. Thanks.
Monte Carlo would be good. I'm a bigger fan of Rally Finland, but Monte has challenges than all the other stops in the season. I like how any tire choice is the wrong tire choice.
I've actually been knocked into those barrels on I-5 in Oregon durring a blizzard. The cops, medics,and tow driver said if I'd have NOT hit those barrels I would have kept going and run flat into ditch that was right behind a huge concrete wall. Weird this is where I learn about the history of the system that saved my life.
Ford may have left racing at LeMans in 1969, but they were back for a class win in 2016 with the Ford GT, celebrating 50 years since the famous 1-2-3 victory in 1966. Ford continued to race the car at LeMans until the program was ended after the 2019 season.
Excellent video! ⭐️⭐️👍🏼 For those who read French: Le Mans is often featured in a comic book series “Michel Vaillant” about a driver and his family who owns a small automobile company. It’s quite good. The author took the time to actually design original “Vaillante” cars for the heroes, plus very accurate descriptions of other builders and the race tracks and events. Episode 5, “La 13 est au départ” (car 13 is at the start) is an excellent representation of the Le Mans race, from initial car design to trials to the full race day.
In 2023 a "Mirage - Vaillante" car is gonna race the 24h du Mans, for two birthdays: 100 years of 24h du Mans and 100 years after the author Jean Graton's birth. In the past we had a "Courage - Vaillante" in 1997, a "Lola - Vaillante" in 2002 and a "Vaillante - Rebellion" in 2017. Excellent comic, I read all of them as a kid and now years later I love them as much as before. Don't know if there's an english version of Michel Vaillant.
Simon, overall a pretty good job. One minor error I noted was, the Ford Motor Company did not build the original GT 40. The company shopped around Briton for a worthy car designer. Eric Broadley of Lola Cars had an existing sports car-the Lola mk 6 that later evolved into the Ford GT40. By the time Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt won Le Mans in 1967 in the Ford mk IV, it was a completely Ford designed and built car.
And it was a complete rookie to the race from Denmark, who didn't even know he was going to race for Joest Porsche until the day before the event, who eventually ended up as the most successful driver ever: Tom Kristensen! He ended up winning the race 9 times, driving for Porsche, Audi and even Bentley... He also managed to win the 12 Hours of Sebring 5 times overall, with an additional win in his class
I was at the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2019. It’s amazing in scale and the pre race activities are fantastic, especially the drivers’ parade. It’s a bucket list item for any motorsports fan. I highly recommend it, especially with the upcoming hypercar category.
Simon you should do a video on Enzo and his his personality led to the development and dominance of the GT40 and led to a very wealthy tractor manufacturer named Lamborghini to start his own automotive company. Enzo Ferrari's stubbornness led to the creation of one of the most gorgeous cars ever the GT40 as well as the creation of the first super car, the Miura. With it's low slung side profile, rear mounted V12 engine, and several design elements that was designed to be more beautiful than practical.
On of my favorite courses in Gran Turismo. Had no idea it was a real place. It was so big and full of turns. No way people would build a Ferris wheel so close to a track.
explaining how that car crash killed all those people get progressively more hilarious because of how its delivered. its like a stand up routine told dead pan.
Very enlightening & enjoyable presentation! One tiny detail, though: Porsche Museum Guides will tell you that Porsche put the starter key to the left of the steering wheel to save 20-30 cm of expensive & hard-to-obtain copper wire per car. Then having been invited to Le Mans some years later, Porsche discovered that this basic frugality was a boon in Le Mans racing!
2:20 - Chapter 1 - The early days 4:40 - Chapter 2 - The war & rebuilding 6:55 - Mid roll ads 8:00 - Chapter 3 - Disaster 13:35 - Chapter 4 - The deuce & the commander 17:15 - Chapter 5 - The modern age
Ford returned to Le Mans in 2016 and won its category and also Porache put the ignition on the left so the drivers could work the gear shifter with their right hand, not the clutch (they use their feet for that), but loved the story
Simon, speaking of pilots’ safety or the lack of it - I think Isle of Man TT would be a good story. It’s as close to gladiator fights of the ancient Rome as you can get nowadays. Thanks for an awesome vid btw! Thumbs up
I see a lot of comments regarding Fords return in 2016 to the GT class, but what is often forgotten is that they did return to the top class in a semi factory effort with the Ford C100 group C car. A failure the blue oval would like us all to forget so here I am to do my part and make sure we don't.
It should be noted that Ford did actually return to Le Mans, winning the GTE Pro class on debut in 2016, and continuing to run the race until withdrawing from the series at the end of 2019.
A little surprised there was no mention that one of the drivers given the win over Ken Miles was Bruce McLaren, who had his own little motorsport company...
I'm playing the F1 theme while watching this. This is about racing. Thought it could be fitting. And also the legendary walkout Enzo Ferrari did on Henry Ford II and the "he could never hold a candle to his grandfather" insult that sparked the biggest rivalry in Le Mans history? Damn...
You should have added that ken miles helped develop the GT40 and ford did go back to le man in 2016 and won first year back and have been doing pretty well in endurance racing, you should have mentioned the group c and gt1 erea of le mans
