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Alfonso de Portago - an end with horror

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Created in 1980

Reading time 13min

Written by:

Hartmut Lehbrink

Photos:

Public Domain

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Daimler AG

2

Hy Peskin Archive / GettyImages

1

Techno Classica

1

Porsche AG

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Archiv

5

Public Domain

2

Daimler AG

2

Hy Peskin Archive / GettyImages

1

Techno Classica

1

Porsche AG

1

Archiv

5

Ferrari 335 S (1957) - de Portago und Nelsen bei der Mille Miglia 1957

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Ferrari 860 Monza (1957) - Alfonso de Portago zusammen mit Gary Cooper beim Grand Prix von Kuba 1957

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Ferrari 860 Monza (1957) - Alfonso de Portago im Sportwagen

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Ferrari 625 LM (1956) - leichter Sportwagen mit 2,5-Liter-Lampredi-Vierzylinder für den Einsatz in Le Mans 1956, so auch gefahren von de Portago

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Ferrari 315 S (1957) - Durchsichtszeichnung

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Ferrari 315S (1957) - der Nachfolger des 290 MM, siegreich bei der Mille Miglia 1957

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Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 - Arcangeli und Bonini blieben in der Mille Miglia 1931 erfolglos

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Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 (1930) - 8C anlässlich der Mille Miglia 1932 gefahren von Lurani/Canavesi am Raticosa Pass

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Porsche 550 Spyder (1955) - Mille Miglia 1955 - Drei Klassensiege gingen am 1. Mai 1955 auf das Konto von Porsche-Sportwagen.

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Mercedes Benz 300 SLR (1955) - das Team Stirling Moss und Denis Jenkinson gewinnen die Mille Miglia 1955 mit neuer Rekordzeit trotz Beschädigungen am Auto

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Mercedes Benz 300 SLR (1955) - Stirling Moss und Denis Jenkinson siegen an der Mille Miglia 1955

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Kurz vor dem Start zur Mille Miglia 1955 in Brescia - Renfahrer-Legende Juan Manuel Fangio im Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.

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Summary

His racing career lasted less than three years and yet he left a clear mark, the Marquis Alfonso de Portago. He was not lacking in courage or driving ability, and his reflexes were probably of the highest order. However, there was hardly any modesty, humility or caution in him and so he always took maximum risks, whether in war, on a racehorse or in a sports car. He died at the Mille Miglia in 1957, ending not only his life but also road racing in its classic form. This portrait of a racing driver looks back at a fast, nobleman who allowed nothing to deter him from his goals.

This article contains the following chapters

Urge to self-destruct
For honor and glory
From rider to racing driver
At the front with Ferrari
From amateur to works driver
Death is part of it
"Drive carefully"
The 1000-mile race from Brescia

Estimated reading time: 13min

Preview (beginning of the article)

On the afternoon of May 12, 1957, a Ferrari racing sports car approached the small town of Guidizzolo, not far from Brescia, at around 240 km/h. While some cheeky spectators pushed forward to get a clear view, a tire suddenly deflated. Perhaps a half-axle was also needed. The vehicle left behind a shaky eraser track on the dead-straight, narrow country road, whirled upwards, clipped a telegraph pole at eye level, hit the ditch to the right of the road and landed in the ditch on the other side in the middle of murky water. Those who were not killed had witnessed the end of the Mille Miglia, the 1000-mile race from Brescia, which had grown into a national institution over 30 years. And he had become an eyewitness to the final phase of a kamikaze flight in installments, the existence of a Spanish grandee named Alfonso Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Carvajal y Are, 13th Conde de la Mejorida, 17th Marquis de Portago, known to friends simply as "Fon".

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