Mike Hawthorn Le Mans Film

[politeperson]

This video is just the best. Very good quality film.

I could watch it again and again and again. It is perfect for so many reasons. 11 years after WW2 ended!

Especially interesting comparing then with now. 1 year after the 55' big accident. That was nasty for those who dont know.

What a man! My hero.

[Richardhealey]

Brings back fond memories of camping by the ‘white house’, though back in the 2003, 4 and 5...
When I get the car back on the road I’ve promised myself to take it on a pilgrimage back...

[Series1 Stu]

I love the "wearing a microphone on his chest".

A far cry from today's miniaturisation but the sound quality was brilliant for the era.

Nice video

[malcolm]

Crazy seeing him hammering around with cyclists and other normal drivers everywhere!

By the way, I'll be doing a separate post, but there is a big Mike Hawthorn day coming up near me that some of you may be interested in.

[Jeremy]

I just love his description of the pits area as "terribly crowded"... And those pedestrians and wobbly cyclists seem quite unfazed by a D type hurtling towards them at 100mph ...unbelievable. Brilliant film.

[Jeremy]

I take it that speedo is calibrated in kph? He seems to be hitting about 140 as far as I can see.

[mgcjag]

Noooooo......mph.....have a look here...https://www.mike-hawthorn.org.uk/d-type.php ..... Steve

[Jeremy]

Jeepers..... 140 mph with errant cyclists, lorries and pedestrians a couple of feet away.

[PeterCrespin]

I take it that speedo is calibrated in kph? He seems to be hitting about 140 as far as I can see.

Yes and no.

No to kph yes to mph
No to 90 mph/140 kph, yes to circa 140 mph, on open roads!

On a D the speedo goes to 180, and so 140 mph is fractionally below 9 o’clock on the dial. Even though that is a 1954-ish production short-nose hack, not a race team car, it pulls the Le Mans gearing along with ease. Bear in mind too, that for much of the quick driving he has his left hand on the wheel, which, together with the reflections on the screen prevent us seeing the needle. My guess is he probably touches around 150+.

Finally, whereas Hawthorn always used his own 4-spoke wheel, that factory-correct car has the single spoke top centre and the two other spokes sloping at 4 and 8 o’clock. This seems upside down to some, but is correct for the best view of the D instruments.

[Jeremy]

Peter, any idea what he is doing at 4:05? he reaches over towards the centre with his right hand and seems to be winding something....

[PeterCrespin]

Peter, any idea what he is doing at 4:05? he reaches over towards the centre with his right hand and seems to be winding something....

Can’t really tell but there was nothing to wind up. At the start the sound engineer placed the recorder box in that area and in 56 it would have been a heavy valve set with two batteries - one around 90V and one probably 6V. He did not seem to strap it down.

In D you can reach under the centre spar and grab things on the passenger seat. To comply with race regs all Le Mans entrants had to carry tools. On factory Ds these were carried in a compartment about 6” deep under the passenger cushion, which for the Le Mans cars was nothing more than a high, short and thinly-upholstered plywood toolbox lid. If that was a back-up or spares car it would have complied with regs, although no fin or number is on it..

Mike had just gone down to first or second, I believe, near Arnage? I think the braking force probably threw the sound gear forward and halfway off the seat onto the floor. Ever the professional, he probably grappled to stop the non-secured expensive box of tricks clattering upside down on the floor for the rest of the lap and the next.

At first I thought he might be holding the box with his left and changed down with his right, but I don’t think so. The gearstick on a D is much further back than an E and you can run out of room selecting 2nd and 4th if your elbow hits the rear bulkhead between the seat backs. Maybe the boox slid right, halfway over the bare metal trans tunnel and interfered with Mikes gear changes?

Pete

[Jeremy]

That all sounds highly plausible Pete.

[Simon P]

Maybe he was thinking to himself "60 years from now this will drive them nuts".....