Persberichten - Alfonso de Portago

Alfonso de Portago

Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca and Leighton, XI marquis of Portago, XIII count of the Improved and Great of Spain, better known by its title of marquess of Portago, also like Alfonso de Portago or by its nickname Fon Of Portago (October 11, 1928, London - May 12, 1957, Guidizzolo, Mantova, Italy) was a Spanish driver of motorsport.



He participated in five major Formula 1 prizes, always in the Scuderia Ferrari, debuting on July 1, 1956 in France, and achieved a total of 4 points of the championship, being 2º in the Great Prize of the United Kingdom of 1956 (is next to Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa one of the three Spaniards who have won a podium) and 5th in the 1957 Argentine Grand Prix. He competed in the 1953 Pan-American Race with Luigi Chinetti.

The Jarama Circuit takes a curve with its name.

He was one of his American friends, Edmund Nelson, who introduced him to the world of motorsport since, in 1953, he tried to organize careers of midgets in France. After this experience, Portago met Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari importer in the United States, on the occasion of the New York salon, which proposed to compete with him in the Pan American Race to what he accepted.

With a Ferrari Sport 3 liters was registered in January 1954 in the 1000 km of Buenos Aires. His partner Harry Schell would drive most of the time and finished seconds. He sold the Ferrari and bought a 2-liter Maserati. He took his first victories at the Metz GP and then at Nassau Speed ​​Week on a new Ferrari.

Between these two victories, it had its first accident, in Nürburgring, due to a rollover with its Osca, and in 1955 broke a leg in Silverstone, behind the wheel of a Ferrari of Formula 1.

When requesting an official steering wheel at Ferrari, the Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari, sent a photo of his accident at the Nürburgring in response, but in 1956 invited Portago to join Fangio, Peter Collins, Eugenio Castellotti and Luigi Musso in the team official. This is how he debuted in the GPs finishing second in Great Britain with Collins. That year also had a second place in Caracas to the wheel of Fangio and a victory in the Auto Tour in front of Stirling Moss.

It is then when the champion confirms that he will be present in the Mille Miglia, a test that he did not appreciate anything and in which Ferrari had forced him to participate, in a telegram sent on May 8 says "At Ferrari I am forced to run the Mille Miglia, first they told me that I had to do it with a Gran Turismo but after my first lap of training they told me that I had to do it with the 3800 sport and today I have been announced that Taruffi and I have the new 4000 cc, shit but I plan to go on Tourism, not even Gran Turismo. " He, who had often shown contempt for danger, reflected: "I want to be world champion, but no matter what happens, I will stop running at age 35. There are many other things I would like to do and even if I were a hundred years old, I would only make a fifth part. "

On May 12, 1957 the XXIV edition of the Mille Miglia, Alfonso de Portago was driving his Ferrari 335 S, classified in third or fourth position. In Guidizzolo, 40 km from the finish, the Ferrari number 531 suffered an accident. It was thrown at more than 240 km / h, because the left front tire burst, later it hit a stone and began to overturn, falling over the audience that filled the gutters. The car completely disintegrated and the Marquis de Portago, only 28 years old, and his American copilot and friend, the journalist Edmund Nelson, died at once, as did ten spectators. In addition the number of injured was very high.

It is attributed the accident to a tire had been damaged when touching a sidewalk of the streets of Mantova.

The death of the marquis caused much repercussion in the motoring of the time, especially in Italy. Due to this the national government prohibited the celebration of the most important road race of then in the future.