1955
«Although Moss was the expert in Le Mans starts, I decided to drive the first session because it was a 24-hour race, not a sprint. Our Team Manager, Alfred Neubauer, gave me no instructions for the race, but before the start he spat on the ground several times to wish me luck. It wasn't much-help to begin with because when I jumped in the car I go the gear lever stuck up my trouser-leg and got away-at the back of the field.» |
1955
«The Jaguar was not really faster than the Mercedes, in spite of having 3.5-litres to our 3. We had the air brake, which was fantastico! At 250 kph when I raised it, it was like being pushed backwards. Once, coming out of Tertre Rouge onto the Mulsanne straight, I forgot to lower it and couldn't understand why the damn car wouldn't go! It was truly wonderful, when you used it properly...» |
1955
«I understood why Mercedes disappointed because we would have had a very easy victory. The car was going better and better.» |
1955
«Levegh m'a sauvélavie. Levegh saved my life. We had only a few more laps to do - Levegh, Kling and I - before stopping at the Mercedes pits to refuel and change drivers. I was driving at more than 260 Kph (160 mph) when, almost as we arrived at the first pit I saw, barely fifty metres in front of me, Levegh suddenly raising one arm. He was signalling to me about a danger that was invisible to me. I braked, but at that speed there is no question of stopping in a few metres. Everything happened so fast that I was not able to grasp the complete picture of the drama. I saw going off to my left, while the Austin-Healey of Macklin/Leston was thrown to the right. How I was able to slip through and avoid Macklin I don't know. It was purely a matter of reflexes. All I can say is that I was able to avoid the Austin-Healey just as I entered a cloud of smoke coming from my left and which was, unfortunately, from Levegh's car, as I later learned.» |
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