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Alfonso de Portago at his debutant Formula 1 event,
the 1956 French Grand Prix. (Image source: www.photobucket.com)
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Hmm? How come that name sounded vaguely familiar to
Mwah?
Upon returning from Kona, Hawaii, and "Sleepless
in Seattle" due to the three hours time change, once again I found Thyself
perusing the past two weeks sections of the Car and Driver
magazine's "Online" content I'd missed whilst on thou B-I-G' Island.
As the story that caught my Attenzione
regarded the name of Alfonso
de Portago and a totally unknown to Mwah Rally driver
chasing in his lost Bobsleigh tracks upon Switzerland's famed Olympiad circuit;
Huh?
Although driving a racecar on snow or ice
isn't exactly new, as my mind wanders to "the Professor," aka Alain
Prost winning an Ice Racing championship after his Formula 1 career, while that
Niederlander Brat Max Dutchboy' Verstappen caused some uproar over racing a Red
Bull Racing F1 chassis up a mountain recently.
VIDEO: Max Verstappen's Snow Job
While Red Bull didn't leave the Kneedraggerz' outta
the mix, enticing Marc Pinball Wizard Marquez to have a go in the snow...
As Senor de Portago, who was actually the 12th
Marquis de Portago of Spain, was a very interesting Chap, who led an
extraordinarily daring lifestyle, once having flown an Aeroplane underneath
London Bridge as a teenager simply in order to win a $500 bet!
Alfonso also was proficient in Polo and Horse
racing, having contested the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree twice, albeit
wasn't fond of a Jockey's diet!
De Portago wasn't accustomed to doing things
conventionally, and surprised the Bobsledding professionals after hastily
throwing together a Bobsleigh team consisting of several cousins to represent
Spain just weeks prior to the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina
d'Ampezzo, Italy - where he finished fourth overall in
the two man Bobsleigh, just a scant 0.16-seconds adrift of the Bronze medal!
As de Portago would claim the bronze medal
for the two man Bobsleigh at the 1957 FIBT World Championships held in Saint
Moritz (the genesis for this story...) before focusing
solely upon his remaining motor racing exploits.
De Portago was bitten by the motor racing bug
early in 1953, when attending the New York Auto Show, hastily agreeing to be Luigi Chinetti's
co-driver for that year's Carrera Pan Americana race, as Chinetti was Scuderia
Ferrari's North American importer, who'd ultimately create N.A.R.T. (North American Racing Team) that won the
1965 24 Heurs du Mans.
De Portago was reputedly known as a "Two
Car Man" due to his either crashing them or destroying them mechanically,
most notably beginning his racing career without knowing how to shift a manual
transmission!
As Alfonso took part in several disciplines
of motor racing, including participating in the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with
winning several races, most notably the Tour de France with his good friend
Edmund Nelson, an elevator attendant from New York as his navigator. Whilst he
also won the Nassau Trophy race twice.
Yet his most noticeable High profile drives occurred
in Formula 1, in the sport's Heydays of the 1950's, when he drove for Il Commendatore',
nee Enzo Ferrari as one of the countless Scuderia Ferrari Grands Prix ranks
between 1956-57.
Presumably Enzo
was happy to take his Clentnete's lira in exchange for de Portago's patronage
as his fifth wheel; Err fifth Gran Primo Piloto during the '56 season...
De Portago's high-water mark came at the '56
British Grand Prix where he finished runner-up to Ferrari's team leader Juan
Manuel Fangio, giving la Scuderia a 1-2 finish, albeit he shared the drive with
Peter Collins, who took over from de Portago, as this was during the era when
drivers could swap cars.
De Portago contested five Grands Prix for
Ferrari, beginning with the 1956 French Grand Prix, while his final outing came
at the 1957 Argentine Grand Prix, where once again he scored points, albeit
this time his fifth place finish was shared with José Froilán González, for which the Argentinean
commandeered Alfonso's ride.
Alas, de Portago's blazing path towards stardom,
having proclaimed once he'd become Formula 1 world champion abruptly came to an
end sixty years ago on May 12th.
Alfonso, and his good friend Edmund were
contesting that year's storied Mille Miglia aboard one of Ferrari's four "Big
Car" entries, and in his apparent haste, the Marquis was loathe to stop to
change a rear tyre that mechanics had noted was rubbing against the bodywork.
Although de Portago was willing to stop
briefly for a public kiss from fashion model Linda Christian, which has been
called "the Kiss of Death!"
Sadly, nearing the end of the race while in
third place, the Spaniard's tyre burst, sending the wayward Ferrari 335 S out
of control, careening into a canal, striking a telephone pole and concrete mile
marker before rolling violently and ultimately killing multiple spectators,
five being children along with the racecar's two occupants!
Three Scuderia Ferrari entries finished 1-2-3
that weekend, with Piero
Taruffi in the No. 535 winning ahead of Wolfgang Von Trips #532,
both piloting Ferrari 315 S models solo. While Olivier Gendebien co-drove the No.
417 in the GT Class, aboard a Ferrari 250 GT LWB (Lon Wheel Base) to a Scuderia
Ferrari Podium sweep.
Interestingly, car numbers corresponded to
their respective start times of the event, with the fastest cars departing
first.
As Taruffi actually
started three minutes behind Von Trips, at 5:35AM in the morning.
Yet De Portago's savage accident would be the
nail in the Mille Miglia's coffin, with Italy finally cancelling the deadly
road race after the conclusion of the 24th running that year.
Although three more Mille Miglia races were held
between 1958-61, they weren't the all-out, No Holds Barred Open road events of
past, becoming a controlled Rally with speed limits instead. While today, Italy
hosts a yearly Mille Miglia revival, which I believe is limited to just period
correct machinery...