In the year that Formula 1 is preparing to return to Portugal, our country saw Mário de Araújo “Nicha” Cabral, the first Portuguese to race in the premier category of motor sport, disappear today.
Mário de Araújo “Nicha” Cabral was born in Porto on January 15, 1934 and made his Formula 1 debut in 1959 at the Portuguese GP held at the Monsanto Circuit.
Driving a Cooper-Maserati, the Portuguese managed to finish the race in 10th place, despite not being familiar with the car.
He would later participate in four more Formula 1 GP's counting for the world championship in the category and in extra-championship events.
In addition to Formula 1, “Nicha” Cabral raced in Formula 2 — a category in which he suffered a violent accident in 1965 at Rouen-les Essart — and competed in Tours and Prototypes until 1974.
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After leaving the tracks, “Nicha” Cabral took over as a consultant for Ford Lusitana, helping to streamline the Formula Ford school at the Estoril Autodrome, and who was responsible for helping train drivers such as Manuel Gião, Pedro Matos Chaves or Pedro Lamy (these two passed by Formula 1).