Template:Short description Template:About {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | ignoreblank = y | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Infobox F1 driver with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | embed | child | subbox | name | Name | image | Image | image_size | upright | image_upright | alt | caption | birth_name | birth_date | birth_place | death_date | death_place | relations | relatives | nationality | Nationality | years | Years | teams | Teams | Team(s) | team | Team | engines | Engines | current_team | current team | Current team | 2025 Team | 2026 Team | car_number | car number | Car number | races | Races | championships | Championships | wins | Wins | podiums | Podiums | points | Points | poles | Poles | fastest_laps | fastest laps | Fastest laps | first_race | first race | First race | first_win | first win | First win | last_win | last win | Last win | last_race | last race | Last race | last_position | last position | Last position | last_season | last season | Last season | bf1_years | bf1 years | BF1 Years | bf1_races | bf1 races | BF1 Races | bf1_championships | bf1 championships | BF1 Championships | bf1_wins | bf1 wins | BF1 Wins | bf1_podiums | bf1 podiums | BF1 Podiums | bf1_points | bf1 points | BF1 Points | bf1_poles | bf1 poles | BF1 Poles | bf1_fastest_laps | bf1 fastest laps | BF1 Fastest laps | signature | signature_size | signature alt | signature_alt | website | module | module1 | module2 | module3 | module4 | module5 | record template1 | record template2 | record template3 | record template4 | record template5 | career template1 | career template2 | career template3 | career template4 | career template5 | updated | Updated }} Template:Infobox Le Mans driver Bernardus Marinus "Ben" Pon (9 December 1936 – 30 September 2019)<ref name=death>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was a Dutch vintner and Olympian and motor racing driver. He competed in one Formula One race, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, but had a far longer career in sports car racing, before turning his back on the track to concentrate on the wine trade. He also represented the Netherlands in clay pigeon shooting at the 1972 Summer Olympics, finishing 31st in the skeet event.<ref name="olympics">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SportsRef">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
LifeEdit
His father, Ben Pon, Sr., was an importer of Volkswagen Beetles into the United States, and is considered to be the "father" of the Volkswagen Type 2 due to his initial interest and input into the project.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ben Pon was a personal friend of Formula One driver Carel Godin de Beaufort. It was de Beaufort's own Ecurie Maarsbergen privateer team that provided a Porsche 787 for him to race at Zandvoort, in his home Grand Prix on 20 May 1962. He failed to finish the race due to an accident, which flipped his car over, throwing Pon out of the cockpit and into a shrubbery.<ref name=olympics/> In response, Pon vowed never again to race single-seaters, and in the years that followed he remained true to his word, while achieving many successes in sports car racing also driving a Porsche. Pon retired from professional sports car racing in 1965, but came 7th in the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving with Vic Elford in a works Porsche 906.
After his retirement in the sports arena, Pon turned his attention to the wine trade. He was known for his Bernardus Winery in Carmel Valley, California, and owned the oldest wine negotiating business in the Netherlands.
Racing recordEdit
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans resultsEdit
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering | Template:Flagicon Herbert Linge | Porsche 356B Abarth GTL | S 1.6 | 284 | 10th | 1st |
| 1962 | Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering | Template:Flagicon Carel Godin de Beaufort | Porsche 356B Abarth | GT 1.6 | 35 | DNF | DNF |
| 1963 | Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering | Template:Flagicon Heinz Schiller | Porsche 356B 2000GS GT | GT 2.0 | 115 | DNF | DNF |
| 1964 | Template:Flagicon Racing Team Holland | Template:Flagicon Henk van Zalinge | Porsche 904/4 GTS | GT 2.0 | 319 | 8th | 2nd |
| 1965 | Template:Flagicon Auguste Veuillet | Template:Flagicon Robert Buchet | Porsche 904/4 GTS | GT 2.0 | 224 | DNF | DNF |
| 1967 | Template:Flagicon Porsche System Engineering | Template:Flagicon Vic Elford | Porsche 906K Carrera 6 | S 2.0 | 327 | 7th | 1st |
Complete Formula One World Championship resultsEdit
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Template:Tooltip | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Ecurie Maarsbergen | Porsche 787 | Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 | NED Template:Small |
MON | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA | RSA | NC | 0 |