24/8/1958

Record updated

The brutal desire to win at all costs has destroyed the great traditions of sportsmanship. And with their loss, sportsmen have also lost the ability to inspire, impress and amaze us. One such example of how things were occurred on this day in 1958 at the Portuguese Grand Prix held at the Circuito da Boavista in Oporto.

Moss and Hawthorn were the main protagonists for the World Champion that year and it was Moss who took the win in Portugal in a rain affected race. Hawthorn, with virtually no brakes spun on the last lap but still finished second but was then disqualified as it was claimed that when he restarted he had driven a few yards in the wrong direction. As soon as Moss heard he went to the stewards and told them that as Hawthorn had been on the escape road at the time and no drivers were affected then no offence had been committed. Moss' evidence swung the decision, no action was taken and Hawthorn was awarded the seven points. Moss never won the World Championship but that year he only lost to Hawthorne by one point!