Unauthorized Autobiography (II): Ferenc Szisz, Racing Legend

In the second installment of today's two-part series on interesting Hungarian lives that may be total BS, we bring you, also via Index.hu, an intriguing but baffling story about a Hungarian who is credited with having won the world's first Grand Prix auto race, and whose statue can be seen at the main entrance of the Hungaroring, Hungary's Grand Prix race track. While aficionados of the series that is now known as Formula 1 agree that the first man to take the checkered flag was Ferenc Szisz (left), when and where the racing pioneer died is the subject of much debate. And unless the car that carried Szisz past the finish line back in 1906 was a two-seater, it looks like much of the Szisz legend may be nothing more than one big oil slick.

The race in question was held over two days in the Le Mans region of France. At the time, Szisz, who was born in Szeghalom, was working as a mechanic at Renault, which, by coincidence, is leading this year's F1 World Championship. Most motorsport authorities believe that Szisz died at age 71 in 1944, in Auffargis, France. But others insist that he returned to Hungary after World War II and lived in Tiszaszentimre, Szolnok county, until his death in 1970.

Szisz, or just a big sissy? Tiszaszentimre shepherd Ferenc Szisz (pictured right in 1956) went to his death claiming to have won the world's first-ever Grand Prix auto race (left)

One who believes that Szisz ended his days in Hungary is current Tiszaszentimre Mayor Sándor Beleznay, who told Index that he remembers Szisz from his childhood. Beleznay recalled that Szisz was a shepherd, and used to tell the kids his throat was made of platinum, and was otherwise a "bohemian, worldly, funny dude." This Szisz gave television interviews about his exploits, and, when he died in 1970, representatives of Renault showed up at his home and gave presents to his widow. However, Beleznay conceded that there were "suspicious" things about the man who claimed to be the first GP race winner. He was apparently uninterested in technology, and took pains to avoid another villager who had spent time working in a "technology"-related field in America.

Despite the recollections of Beleznay, most Szisz authorities are convinced that the only thing the worldly shepherd from Tiszaszentimre had in common with Grand Prix racing was the same name as the man who actually won the first race, and some have asked the local government to not boast about the "famous" son of their village, whose biggest talent seems to have been blowing smoke.