Alfonso
De Portago

Alfonso de Portago was born in London in 1928 and was Spanish. A member of the Spanish nobility, he held the title of Marquess of Portago. Besides motor racing he was a jockey and twice rode in the Grand National at Aintree as an amateur. He began racing sports cars in 1953, after Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari's importer in the United States, asked him to share a car with him in the Carrera Panamericana. His wins included the 1956 Tour de France Automobile, the Grand Prix of Oporto and the Nassau Governor's Cup twice.

In the Formula One World Championship he drove for Ferrari, making his debut on 1 July 1956. At the 1956 British Grand Prix he finished second in a car shared with Peter Collins, which was his only podium. He took part in four races that season and finished 15th in the championship. One further start followed in 1957, giving him five races in total and 20th place in that year's standings.

Portago also competed in bobsleigh. He put together Spain's first bobsleigh team and finished fourth in the two-man event at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, just 0.16 seconds off a medal. In 1957 he won bronze in the two-man event at the World Championships in St. Moritz. On 12 May 1957, aged 28, he was killed in the Mille Miglia when a tyre burst on his Ferrari 335 S. His co-driver Edmund Nelson and nine spectators also died. The Portago curve at the Jarama circuit is named after him, as is a corner of the St. Moritz-Celerina bob run.

Source: Wikipedia, “Alfonso de Portago”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.