View source for Ben Pon

{{Short description|Dutch racing driver and vintner (1936–2019)}}
{{about|the racing driver|the automobile dealer|Ben Pon, Sr.}}
{{Infobox F1 driver
| image = Ben Pon (1964).jpg
| name = Ben Pon
| nationality = {{flagicon|NED}} Dutch
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1936|12|09|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Leiden]], Netherlands
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|09|30|df=y|1936|12|09}}
| death_place = [[Nijkerk]], Netherlands
| Years = {{F1|1962}}
| Team(s) =  [[Ecurie Maarsbergen]] (''privateer [[Porsche in Formula One|Porsche]]'')
| Races = 1
| Championships = 0
| Wins = 0
| Podiums = 0
| Points = 0
| Poles = 0
| Fastest laps = 0
| First race = [[1962 Dutch Grand Prix]]
}}
{{Infobox Le Mans driver
| Name = 
| Nationality =
| Years = [[1961 24 Hours of Le Mans|1961]] - [[1965 24 Hours of Le Mans|1965]], [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|1967]]
| Team(s) = [[Porsche|Porsche System Engineering]], Racing Team Holland, Auguste Vaillet
| Best Finish = 7th ([[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|1967]])
| Class Wins = 2 ([[1961 24 Hours of Le Mans|1961]], [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|1967]])
}}
'''Bernardus Marinus "Ben" Pon''' (9 December 1936 – 30 September 2019)<ref name=death>{{cite web|title='Mister Porsche' Ben Pon overleden|date=30 September 2019 |accessdate=2019-09-30|url= https://nos.nl/artikel/2304029-mister-porsche-ben-pon-overleden.html}}</ref> was a Dutch [[vintner]] and [[Olympic Games|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|clay pigeon]] shooting at the [[1972 Summer Olympics]], finishing 31st in the [[Shooting at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Mixed skeet|skeet event]].<ref name="olympics">{{cite web |author= |title=Formula One at the Olympics |url=http://www.vivaf1.com/blog/?p=11707 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808002447/http://www.vivaf1.com/blog/?p=11707 |archivedate=2012-08-08 |accessdate=2012-07-26 |website=Viva F1}}</ref><ref name="SportsRef">{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/po/ben-pon-1.html |title=Ben Pon |accessdate=27 February 2016 |work=Sports Reference |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305125747/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/po/ben-pon-1.html |archivedate=5 March 2016 }}</ref>

==Life==
His father, [[Ben Pon, Sr.]],  was an importer of [[Volkswagen Beetle]]s 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>{{cite web |url=http://www.vwtrendsweb.com/features/0106vwt_people |title=Who's Who of Volkswagen |publisher=Vwtrendsweb.com |date=2002-09-28 |accessdate=2013-06-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424200558/http://www.vwtrendsweb.com/features/0106vwt_people/ |archivedate=2013-04-24 }}</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 [[1962 Dutch Grand Prix|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 in motorsport|Porsche]]. Pon retired from professional sports car racing in 1965, but came 7th in the [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|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.
{{Clear}}

==Racing record==

===Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Overall Position}}
! {{Tooltip|Class<br>Pos.|Class Position}}
|-
! [[1961 24 Hours of Le Mans|1961]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Porsche System Engineering]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Herbert Linge]]
|align="left"| [[Porsche 356|Porsche 356B]] [[Abarth]] GTL
| S 1.6
| 284
| 10th
| style="background:#ffffbf;"| '''1st'''
|-
! [[1962 24 Hours of Le Mans|1962]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Porsche System Engineering]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|NLD}} [[Carel Godin de Beaufort]]
|align="left"| [[Porsche 356|Porsche 356B]] [[Abarth]]
| GT 1.6
| 35
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! [[1963 24 Hours of Le Mans|1963]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Porsche System Engineering]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|CHE}} [[Heinz Schiller]]
|align="left"| [[Porsche 356|Porsche 356B]] 2000GS GT
| GT 2.0
| 115
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! [[1964 24 Hours of Le Mans|1964]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|NLD}} Racing Team Holland
|align="left"| {{flagicon|NLD}} Henk van Zalinge
|align="left"| [[Porsche 904]]/4 GTS
| GT 2.0
| 319
| 8th
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| '''2nd'''
|-
! [[1965 24 Hours of Le Mans|1965]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Auguste Veuillet]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}} Robert Buchet
|align="left"| [[Porsche 904]]/4 GTS
| GT 2.0
| 224
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|1967]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|DEU}} [[Porsche System Engineering]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Vic Elford]]
|align="left"| [[Porsche 906]]K Carrera 6
| S 2.0
| 327
| 7th
| style="background:#ffffbf;"| '''1st'''
|}

===Complete Formula One World Championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]])
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! {{Tooltip|WDC|World Drivers' Championship}}
! [[List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems|Pts]]
|-
| [[1962 Formula One season|1962]]
! [[Ecurie Maarsbergen]]
! [[Porsche in motorsport|Porsche]] [[Porsche 787|787]]
! [[Porsche]] 547/3 1.5 [[Flat-4|F4]]
|style="background:#efcfff;"| [[1962 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1962 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1962 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1962 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1962 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1962 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1962 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[1962 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[1962 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]
! NC
! 0
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.bernardus.com/ Bernadus Winery website]
* [http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/pon/index.html Profile on F1 Rejects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001044404/http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/pon/index.html |date=2019-10-01 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050629084237/http://www.bernardus.com/bw/biographies/bw5a.html Biography of Bernadus Pon]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050509031833/http://www.vwtrendsweb.com/features/0106vwt_people/ Who's Who of Volkswagen]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pon, Ben}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Olympic shooters for the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Shooters at the 1972 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Dutch racing drivers]]
[[Category:Dutch Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Ecurie Maarsbergen Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Dutch male sport shooters]]
[[Category:Wine merchants]]
[[Category:Viticulturists]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Amersfoort]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Utrecht (province)]]
[[Category:People from Carmel Valley Village, California]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Monterey County, California]]
[[Category:12 Hours of Reims drivers]]
[[Category:Porsche Motorsports drivers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Leiden]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from South Holland]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch sportsmen]]