Why Did Mercedes Abandon Le Mans?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- In 1999 Mercedes’ new Le Mans prototype car, named the CLR, famously decided to take up aerobatics, ending up airborne on three separate occasions at the famous track in Sarthe, France. Today we’re exploring the story of the infamous Mercedes CLR, and we’ll discover how exactly it all went so badly wrong.
#mercedes #lemans #racing
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
The Fact that Mercedes made a Racecar but still insisted to put a Hood Ornament on it is Incredible
Class.
It wasn't a hood ornament, rather a targeting cross hairs system
It was also to aid in front downforce
It's not a hood ornament... its a cross hair
Racing is for advertising and development
Mark Webber must have the world record for most racing cars flipped during a professional career.
Yes, but at least he got lots of Frequent Flyer Points from QANTAS...
Yeh maybe, what's he up to, 3 or 4 ?
@@coma3550 As long as I know 3
@@coma3550 3. But 4 also adding with Sauber Mercedes C9 when playing Gran Turismo 4.
@@purwantiallan5089 lol does it do the same?
One thing you can't fault the CLRs for is driver protection. The fact that they Webber experienced what is essentially a plane crash, twice, and survived both times with basically no injuries is a credit to the cars' strength.
or luck
@@pandanikos Three times with no injuries is beyond luck.
Safety is a point expensively addressed.
Won't be the last time he flips airborne in a racecar either.
the test drivers have no security cage like Webber
I just can't imagine a CLK-GTR as a road car. Parked it looked like it was going 100mph.
The top speed actually 219mph. I used that car in NFSIII HOT PURSUIT.
@@purwantiallan5089 Yeah, the world renowned racing simulation need for speed lol
@@battleoid2411 Yes, NFS is an arcade game, but it's still a valid estimate of the car's performance
@@mtekleel nah it's not, cause the physics engine of the game and the need for game balance would dictate the performance of all vehicles.
@@mtekleel Lol. No.
Mercedes: We need good top speed guys, so make an aerodynamic car.
Engineers: Gotcha **Create an airplane wing with wheels**
Mercedes: (._.)
"The best, or nothing"
Mercedes' F1 team : Gotcha. *Creates some of the most impressive cars the Automotive world has ever seen, like the W11, and absolutely dominating an entire era winning 8 World Championship titles in a row*
Mercedes' LeMans team : Yeah but can it fly???
Mark do not do the slipstream, do not do the slipstream.
@@dreadalex Mark - box, box, box.
( oops, sorry wrong race.. 😅😁 )
@@automobilistic Mark Webber ever wanted to become a pilot in 2000.
Mercedes have a very poor track record of flying cars at Le Mans, obviously 1955 is the worst but in addition to this flight in '99, John Nielsen went up and over the Mulsanne Bosse at 220mph in the 1985 works backed Sauber.
1955 one is the worse accident ever in motorsport, isn't? and yet the race continued, what a crazy times
@@JP-xd6fm The organisers feared the roads would be blocked by the leaving spectators preventing emergency services from attending the injured. It was correct to continue in my mind for this reason alone.
@@marks7197 Sure, so true, at that time there was no helicopters to rescue people and a cuarter of million people is a lot of people that would had blocked the roads, so yes it was a smart move from the organisers.
Caused by Mike Hawthorn himself not Mercedes
@@noobsaibot7006 Not at all, The footage shows it was Macklin who lost control and veered into the Mercedes path. He probably was too focused on his rear view mirror.
Good thing it flipped three times since cameras missed the first two.
love that Mercedes is so ashamed of the CLR it seems that the car itself never made into any video games.
I think I remember seeing it in Gran turismo 3
@@mannificent9527 No, that was one of the previous-generation CLK's. There is a CLR mod for Assetto Corsa though, developed by United Racing Design.
yeah they have never even put in their museum in Stuttgart. I mean the clk is there but no clr in sight
The only video game in which i ran with a CLR is probably Assetto Corsa (modded).
Same goes for group c cars such as Mercedes Benz C11 1991, Porsche 956 1983, Jaguar XJR-14 1992, Mazda MRX-1 1992...etc
Isn't it a mod for MS Flight Simulator?
Wasn't there a rumor with the first airborne launch that Mercedes blamed Webber for it? Like the driver has a button to fly off into the crowd 🤣
I haven't heard that but it wouldnt surprise me hahaha
Yes. They didn't believe Webber until the flight was captured on camera. Mark Webber was livid and was ready to beat team's principals faces.
Not a rumour, it's been confirmed. He was berated for wrecking the car and nobody at Merc believed it was the car and not him.
Less than 1000 views? This is such a good video though! I hope this blows up soon
Thanks! I really appreciate it :) glad you enjoyed the video!
One things for sure is that this car is quite rigid, doesnt suffer too much body damage from 3 airborne crashes and the drivers each times it happen survived with minimal injuries, well except the 3rd one where it KOed the driver for a bit
Webber seemed to spend an inordinate amount of his career airborne and backwards. Top bloke. Should have at least one F1 championship, but for RB management bias
Multi 21
Mark Webber: Cars can’t fly.
Mercedes and Red Bull: hold our beers
Nah, for red bull: hold our energy drink
*Mercedes and Red Bull:* Cars can't fly
*Mark Webber:*
Dalmas also flipped in Porsche at Road Atlanta in 1998
And Auberlen flipped the bmw in 2000 i think. these cars just seemed to have the tendency to flip
@@blankfiile the germans do love their aeronautical engineering a bit too much sometimes
It was a warm summer's day and all my windows were open at my house as I watched the race. When the car flipped out of control all I could say was OMG! OMG! my neighbor came out of their back door and yelled over the fence to ask if I was OK! I didn't realize how loud I had yelled it! lol
Oh man hearing those Gran Turismo 2 menu themes brings back memories
The CLK GTR & CL R was a pretty cool design but sucks that AMG went thru horribly with these accidents 😳
I'm honestly not THAT much into cars but the CLK GTR (road legal version of the CLR) has been my dream car ever since I've played Midnight Club 3 on PS2 years ago. It looks a little "watered down" compared to the original CLR but hey at least it can still be bought, unlike the CLR which might as well not exist lol
I remember that race and it stuck in my brain till this day
Bro your videos are incredible, they deserve many more views than they’re currently getting.
Thanks! Really glad you're enjoying the videos!
Forgot to mention the remain chassis in the hands of a private collector in Germany, Mercedes wants nothing to do with the car anymore, it is one of their biggest shames, they don't even mention the successful CLK-GTR and CLK-LM anymore. They also don't mention how they helped kill GT1 in it's original form.
There is footage on vimeo youtube wont allow to post a link search user GURNEYFLAP is around from 2009
Why they didn't mention the successful GTR and LM?
@@mauladiraushanhidayat6648 i guess they want people to forget about CLR debacle.
@@luisabreu1198 I think they need to mention the successful GTR and LM. Because people always got wrong about CLR...
@@mauladiraushanhidayat6648 Pretty much. The Lm and Gtr are such iconic cars.
0:08 worlds shortest drum :D
I LUV THE GRAN TURISMO 2 SOUNDTRACK IN THE BACKGROUND!
I love how you used Gran Turismo lobby music.
This is a true definition of the flying car
Excellent use of the gran turismo music.
Dude the sound track is so nostalgic. Grand tourismo I think 🤔
yes! All the music is from the Gran Turismo games (mostly GT2 and 3)
I remember these tracks while gawking at all the cars and reading all their info the game provided. I was like 8-10 yo.
class touch with the grand turismo music
Webber:*FLIES*
RedBull: *LET’S SIGN HIM*
your group C/LMP/GT1 vids are really great thanks
My favorite part about this video is that he used Gran Turismo music. Amazing
Mercedes in 1999: “Do you wanna test your flying capabilities as a car driver?” Okay… 😂
Great vids sir. I’ve watched a couple there, I dig the Gran Turismo music lol. New sub 😎👍🏻
People are like "where are flying cars" when theyve been here for ages
because according to the video thumbnail, they took to the skies and can now be seen amongst the ranks of the snow birds.
love the Gran Turismo backing music ;)
1 of my favorite cars in Gt7. Thanks for the video mate!! Look forward to the next 1.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Shame added the LM V8 version to GT7 and not the V12. The actual dominant version of the car was in V12 form and it's what everyone thinks about when they think of CLK GTR.
@@Romulus1001 wdym they won all 10 races with the v8 lm in 1998
@@Romulus1001 the LM was more successful.
@@Romulus1001 The actual dominant car was the V8's LM. It wins 10/10 races in 1998. While the V12's GTR wins 6/11 races in the previous season...
Jesus I've never seen that footage of the car flipping. I can't unsee it now.
Love Gran Turismo 2 music in the background!
Brilliant! Loving your work :)
Mercedes Engineer 1:
"You know what this car needs?
Mercedes Engineer 2:
"No, what?"
Mercedes Engineer 1:
"A Turbo Boost button. You know that TV show, Knight Rider?"
Mercedes Engineer 2:
"Oh yeah, that show was awesome. Let's do this"
It's the flat bottom of the car where the air had nowhere to go except to lift it like an airplane.
That's always been my assessment and I'm stickin to it.
Many cars, including modern race cars, make use of flat floors to reduce drag. The CLR's primary issue was the magnitude of the front overhang. The bigger overhang meant that in cases where the front of the car lifted away from the ground slightly (such as going over a crest), the lift force acting in front of the front wheels was able lever the car into the air. Once the front wheels had left the ground, the flat floor acted as a wing as you say, but it should never have reached that point in the first place. That's my understanding at least.
@@automobilistic And yes that too which I had forgotten until the video.
NASCAR had a similar issue with the next gen car blowing over. they put a huge wing on the trunk lid. turns out that when the car got backwards the wing did it's job and took off. funny how aero works
The CLK-GTR was always my favorite car to race in Gran Turismo. It’s a shame they never put the CLR in.
Gran Turismo didn't have any flight physics support
Manufacturers have to greenlight the inclusion of cars into race games. I think Mercedes wanted the whole world to just forget about the CLR after these 3 incidents, forget it ever existed, never show it again, never talk about it again. Obviously, that was never going to happen. Case in point, this video. Also, Barbara Streisand effect and all.
@@SoftBreadSoft just you wait, microsoft will probably put it on the cover of their next flight simulator title
The danish le mans winner John Nielsen told that he went under a car up in the air , must be a Mercedes
SUCh a shame. That Mercedes was such a phenomenal car and great looking to boot. 😫😫
The Gran Turismo 2 background music though
Its incompetency which caused the cars to take off. It should have been tested better, provided with sufficient downforce.
WAW. A SUPER. AWESOME. STORY. TNKS. AND. BLESSED BE SIR
The driver his phone was probably on airplane mode
nice way to block the last few seconds with a suggested video to watch. It went right over the car, so what was the point in adding that last bit instead of a voice over to finish it off?
I'm a simple man. I hear gran Turismo 2 bgm, I click like.
Mercedes benz clr also have another problem. The distances between on edge of front bumper and front wheels are too long that could cause the car fly (the rear part too)
Idk what's goin on Mercedes benz team mind when designing that car that they forgot to revise that distance.
Too much bumper overhang
I love the background music from GT 💚
Nice background music! Used in Gran Turismo gaming series!
Weber just wanted to fly like his hero, Graham Hill, difference is Weber decided to combine motor racing with civil aviation.
the downforce of these cars is just insane! wow
The mercedes CLR was a great plane!
briefly
@@automobilistic Yes, short travels, but efficient take-off and landing!
Mercedes behind Panoz? I remember the Panoz in GT4 could only beat the Gillet Vertigo.
Guess they said to the drivers meeting - START OKAY - Landing not okay
so if someone ever say to you "i will do that when the cars fly" just show them this video
They have monopolized the game that seems like nothing can beat them.
I guess too much down force on the Rare until the front is lift up enough to push more air to the front until the car send flying 😅
I got an ad on this video from Mercedes about the EQS
I actually watched this live on television when it happened.
I had no idea this happened three total times and twice to Webber, I am not sure I would have strapped into that thing after it happening twice in a few days
Now i see why F1 fans say w11 and w12 is a rocket
I'm laughing...the way looks so unfortunate to see istg the way it went on wheelies and lifted up the car....never seen that in my life
Does Mercedes hold the record for flying cars at Le Mans?
If Mercedes made planes, they'd be really good at it.
Mercedes used a McLaren F1 GTR as an aerodynamic benchmark.
The cars are aesthetically dissimilar so maybe that was the problem?
8:06 immediately is not the right word to use in that case… I mean three lift offs after?! I’m shocked FIA didn’t disqualified them after the second one… they were a deadly danger for the other cars, drivers and viewers. Only a miracle that nobody was actually hurt and all of the cars landed on their wheels.
What's the physics explanation for this? These cars are basically upside down reverse wings, aren't they?
I got a Toyota ad before the video. They know
Webber and the airborne backflips
That's what happens when you dive into loopholes
1999, the year where mercedes sent cars flying at france and the toyota leman curse has struck again
I suppose the french weren’t that pleased when they heard that a fast german machine that could fly landed in their country again
I remember watching this crash live on tv
Yeah they really did a 180 on Le Mans
Mercedes is working on flying!!! You didn't know that I did with the first clip..
Appreciate the gran Turismo 2 background music, 🔥
so did THEY figure out how and why that car liked to go airbord?
Everyone hates Mr. Bernie for "destroing dtm, c" but it's a naive way to think . Thanks to him we later had even better cars and racing
Jesus! That is crazy.
What was the reason for the left?
I always thought it was the CLK GTR 😬
They pursued their aircraft career
It doesn't matter what color underwear you picked this morning, cuz it gon' be brown today 😅
The beauty of this car 🥰
Great video! thx 1138
Is that Gran Turismo menu music I hear?
Mark weber = flying
Because their car took off like a Giovanní Giorgío meme.
gran tourismo a spec music love it
Flying cars... They do exist!!!
Mercedes Benz engineered like no other car 👌
That's MARK WEBBER!!!
It was caught on TV cameras
Because I watched it
type strassenversion into google translate. click detect language. click the speaker icon. listen
Whats your point?
7:27 who the hell is supposed to be Thierry Bouston
Why ?
Because we fucking can, and if we can we do.
Mark webber, probably.