Marqués De Portago

Alfonso Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, 11th Marquess of Portago, GE (11 October 1928 – 12 May 1957), best known as Alfonso de Portago, was a Spanish aristocrat, racing and bobsleigh driver, jockey and pilot.

Born in London to a prominent family in the peerage of Spain, he was named after his godfather, King Alfonso XIII.

His grandfather, the 9th Marquess of Portago had been Mayor of Madrid while his father, who was President of Puerta de Hierro and a prolific golfer, died of a heart attack while showering after a polo match.

His mother, Olga Leighton, was an Irish nurse.

At age 17, Portago began displaying his flamboyant lifestyle by winning a $500 bet after flying a borrowed plane under London Tower Bridge.

In 1953, he was introduced into the Scuderia Ferrari team, competing at the Carrera Panamericana, 1000 km Buenos Aires and several Grand Prix, including a win and second place at the 1956 Tour de France Automobile and 1956 British Grand Prix respectively.

Portago began racing sports cars in 1953 after his meeting with the Ferrari importer in the USA, Luigi Chinetti, who asked him to be his co-driver in the Carrera Panamericana.

In 1953 he raced with Chinetti in the Carrera Panamericana.

He later raced alone in a personal Ferrari Sport model at the 1954 1000 km Buenos Aires.

Portago won six major races, including the Tour de France automobile race, the Grand Prix of Oporto, and the Nassau Governor's Cup (twice).

During the 1955 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Portago was thrown from his Ferrari while racing at 140 km/h after losing control on a patch of oil.

He was hospitalized with a broken leg.

He twice rode the Grand National as "gentleman rider" and formed the first Spanish bobsleigh team with his cousins, finishing 4th in the 1956 Winter Olympics, shaving the bronze medal by 0.14 seconds.

In Nassau, during the winter of 1956, Portago trailed the car ahead of him by centimeters while travelling at 240 km/h.

Portago used his skill to avert careening into a crowd after the driver ahead of him touched his brakes and both cars went into a 180 m skid.

Among sports car enthusiasts, Portago was known as a two-car man, because of the many burned-out brakes, clutches, transmissions, and wrecked cars for which he was responsible.

He often needed several cars to finish a race.

He participated in 5 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 July 1956.

His best result was a second place at the 1956 British Grand Prix (a shared drive with Peter Collins), and scored a total of four championship points.

He also was a bobsleigh runner, recruiting several cousins in order to form Spain's first bobsleigh team for the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

His promising career was cut short in May 1957 after his renowned Ferrari 335 S crashed near the village of Guidizzolo when a tyre burst while driving along a dead straight road at 150 mph in the 1957 running of the Mille Miglia, killing Portago, his navigator, and nine spectators.

The young age of the marquess who was 28 at the time of his death combined with his status as a sex symbol caused a shock amongst many, having several tributes and landmarks named after him, most notably the "Portago curve" at Jarama racetrack.

The Marquess of Portago was seen by many as a true playboy of his time; "a tall, handsome and wealthy Spanish aristocrat who captured everybody's imagination".

Gregor Grant famously said of him: "a man like Portago appears only once in a generation, and it would probably be more accurate to say only once in a lifetime. The fellow does everything fabulously well. Never mind the driving, the steeplechasing, the bobsledding, the athletic side of things, never mind being fluent in 4 languages. (...) He could be the best bridge player in the world if he cared to try, he could certainly be a great soldier, and I suspect he could be a fine writer".

Portago was born in London, he was educated at Biarritz, in France.

He became articulate in four languages, and spoke English with a distinctive British accent.

Portago was heir to one of the most respected titles in Spain and a millionaire.

Among his ancestors were explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.

His father was Antonio Cabeza de Vaca, 10th Marquess of Portago, who died during half time at a polo match at a young age.

His paternal grandfather was Vicente Cabeza de Vaca, 9th Marquess of Portago, mayor of Madrid.

His mother was named Olga Leighton and was an Irish nurse.

She also had a daughter named Sol, for Soledad, who married and became known as the Marchioness of Moratalla in racing circles.

She died in 2017.

Olga's first husband, Frank Mackey was more than 40 years older than she was.

He shot himself while terminally ill and left Olga an enormous fortune made as founder of Household Finance Corp.

Portago was a first cousin of Vicente Sartorius, 4th Marquess of Mariño as well as José Luis de Vilallonga, 9th Marquess of Castellbell.

Portago was dark-haired and had freckles and blue eyes.

He was 1.83 m (6 ft) tall and weighed 77 kg (170 Ibs).

He famously won a bet at the age of 17 when he flew his plane beneath London Tower Bridge.

He participated twice in the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree as a gentleman jockey, although he found keeping his weight down to be a struggle.