No reason to doubt her words, quite the contrary. Graham Hill was known to be a funny and spirited man, and “fun” was one of the leitmotivs of those years. Part of the charisma of Formula One heroes (at least, of some of them) was based on their sense of humor or their adventurous or funny life.
Well, today it seems that much of that laughing spirit has gone for good. At least, a kind of sophisticated humor seems to have departed our men behind the wheel.
Of course, we have been told of the somewhat outrageous (some would call them funny) deeds of the likes of Stuck or Piquet. And, more recently, Berger was known to be keen on practical jokes.
But the kind of sophisticated joke that characterized the “good old days” seems to be missing. Maybe it’s time to remember some of those jokes of old.
And, to start the ball rolling, I thought you might be interested in a very funny and intelligent episode in which Mário Cabral participated.
The photos that illustrate my story are drawn from Adelino Dinis book, Nicha (nickname of Mário Cabral); the historical facts also draw a lot from that book, although not entirely. Living in Lisbon at that time (I was 22 years old then) I still remember the episode quite well.
This story takes us back to 1971. You must bear in mind that Portugal was, then, a right wing dictatorship, with a low level of “progress” (measured according to the usual criteria). Liberty of expression was tightly controlled, no political parties (except for the one in power), the press and other media were subject to censorship, and the information and literacy levels of the man on the street were low.
There was, of course, a small part of the Portuguese population that lived very well, with what we might call high standards of living and education. Cabral was one of the privileged ones. He was a member of the Lisbon jet set, a man with powerful relations, both in Portugal and abroad.
Well, with some of his friends of the mentioned Lisbon jet set, Cabral took part in a comedy, that made a fool of the press and the political powers. It happened in February 1971. The industrial world was living, then, the first signs of a major oil crisis (that came to stay, as we all know) with the Arab oil producers threatening to cut the exportations of crude, and raising the prices.
Three days after that threat of embargo, O Século , one of the major Portuguese newspapers of that time, heard that a very important Arab party, headed by Prince Ibn Saddak, of Saudi Arabia, was in Lisbon to start negotiations with the Portuguese government. As a matter of fact the newspaper received a confidential information from a TAP (Portuguese Airlines) employee, telling them that a group of Arabs had arrived in Lisbon, and that they were staying at the Ritz, and had made a reservation to dine at the Tavares, the most expensive restaurant in Lisbon, where they were supposed to meet someone from the Portuguese government. O Século phoned the Ritz and the Tavares, and confirmed both reservations. It seemed incredible. At a time when ambassadors and ministers were trying to reach a consensus in Teheran, Portugal had been chosen as an alternative door to keep the oil flowing. The chance was there for grabs, so off went O Século ’s men, notebook and camera in hand to this precious scoop.
That same night, a motor-bike policeman escorted a Rolls Royce and a Mercedes-Benz to the Tavares. Inside were Prince Ibn Saddak and his followers.
O Século had a reporter and a photographer already on the spot. At the restaurant there was no one else from the Portuguese press, although there was someone from the widely famous Paris Match.
When asked by the O Século journalist what they were doing in Portugal, and if they were planning to invest in Angola’s oil, one of the “Arabs” replied off the record: “we are here to buy Angola”. As it’s known, Angola was then the biggest Portuguese colony. And similar flabbergasting answers (and attitudes) went all night long.
The morning after O Século provided the Portuguese readers with a front page reportage of the event.
And a big confusion followed. There were immediate repercussions and, in Pretoria, the stock exchange stopped oil transactions. The Portuguese government knew nothing about it. And the police had no registration of the arrival of the “Arabs” in Portugal.
As you may have guessed by now, the “Arabs” were Mário Cabral, fellow amateur racing driver Manuel Mocelek, and some friends. One of those friends (the one that impersonated Prince Ibn Saddak) was working in the Portuguese Airlines and was the one that break the news of the arrival of the “Arabs” to O Século . Another friend impersonated a man from the Portuguese Foreign Office, specially detached to accompany the party. Another one played the part of Paris Match journalist.
The logistic of the coup was also carefully planned. The friendly relationship of Mário Cabral with the commander of the Portuguese road police made it easier to obtain the motor-bike policeman to escort the Arabs’ cars. The Rolls, of course, belonged to the father of one of the group.
Some photos of the dinner at the Tavares:
The Arabs arrival (Cabral is the one in the front seat)
Entering the restaurant (Cabral is the fifth from the left)
Waiting for dinner (Cabral is not seen on this one)
At table (Cabral is the third from the right)
Cigar time (Cabral picking one from the box)
A few days later O Século recognized it had been fooled, and presented its excuses to the readers
Consequences of all this farce? Only the dismissal of O Século ’s chief editor, and a big big laugh for all of us.
A last note to remind you that this funny gig was not unique. As some of you may be aware, it had been done before, at least in England, by Virginia Woolf and friends. As a matter of fact, they managed to persuade an officer of the Royal Navy that the Emperor of Abyssinia wanted to visit his ship. And so they went in disguise, to pay a visit to HMS Dreadnought, where they were received with pomp and circumstance.
Here's a photo. Virginia Woolf is the first from the left
As Bette Hill would say, “it was fun”. And it’s a pity that that “sense of fun” has departed from the world and, naturally, from our Motor Racing World. Maybe we could revive some of that departed fun here. What do you say? After all yhis is the Nostalgia forum.
Regards
