The Le Mans start was stopped in 1970. During the 2 previous years, accidents occured during the first lap and drivers were found not to have managed to belt up properly. In 1968, Willy Mairesse crashed his GT40 at full speed on the Hunaudieres and was thrown out of his car. Severely injured, he never raced again. In 1939, John Woolfe crashed his 917 Porsche at Maison Blanche and the car burst into flames. Woolfe died, but the marshalls found that he was strapped in his car. Jacky Ickx was the main opponent of the Le Mans start. In 1969, instead of running, he walked to his car, took time to buckle himself in his safety harness and started last. 24 hours later, he won the race. Ickx had made a point that pushed the race organisers to reconsider and break away from tradition. Regardless if it's very exiting to watch for some, and part of a GP for others, I consider that standing starts have no place in modern motor racing anymore. During the first few seconds melée of a GP, F1 cars accelerate at maximum power within the length of the grid, the back row already reaching 150/170 mph by the time it passes the front row location. If a driver is unable to leave his starting spot, he becomes a sitting duck in a shooting gallery. There is very little time for the marshalls to warn other competitors of an obstacle in their path, and for the last few rows of drivers to react to a car blocking their progression. Collisions will occur, maybe involving involving several cars one day, when they have their full fuel load. Apart from the physical damage the drivers may incur (maybe Paletti's death was a warning), the practice is just another catastrophe ready to happen. I firmly believe that the sporting authorities around F1 are burying their heads in the sand on this issue, and probably maintaining the standing start procedure to satisfy the ever powerfull TV producers eager to keep the spectacular effect around GPs.
In my previous post, it should read : In 1939, John Woolfe crashed his 917 Porsche at Maison Blanche and the car burst into flames. Woolfe died, but the marshalls found that he WASN'T strapped in his car.
Ha, ha, another unfortunate typo!! But I am sure that in this context you will have known it was 1969 I was talking about, the first year the 917 raced at Le Mans.
