Bernardus Marinus "Ben" Pon (9 December 1936 – 30 September 2019) was a Dutch vintner and

Olympian Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

and motor racing driver. He competed in one Formula One race, the

1962 Dutch Grand Prix The 1962 Dutch Grand Prix was the eleventh time the Dutch Grand Prix (or Grote Prijs van Nederland) motor race was held. The race also held the honorary designation of the 22nd European Grand Prix. It was run to Formula One regulations on 20 May ...

, 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 The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, finishing 31st in the skeet event.

Life

His father,

Ben Pon, Sr. Bernardus Marinus "Ben" Pon, Sr. (April 27, 1904 – May 15, 1968) was a Dutch businessman. In 1947, ''Pon's Automobielhandel'' ("Pon's Car Dealership"), became the first dealer outside of Germany to sell vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen. Ben ...

, 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. Ben Pon was a personal friend of Formula One driver

Carel Godin de Beaufort Jonkheer Karel Pieter Antoni Jan Hubertus (Carel) Godin de Beaufort (10 April 1934 – 2 August 1964) was a Dutch nobleman and motorsport driver from the Netherlands. He competed in Formula One between and . Career Godin de Beaufort participated ...

. 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. 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 Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

. Pon retired from professional sports car racing in 1965. After his retirement in the sports arena, Pon turned his attention to the wine trade. He was known for his

Bernardus Winery Bernardus is a Latinized form of the Germanic name Bernard. It has been a given name in the Netherlands since the 17th century, though bearers tend to use a short form in daily life, like ''Barend'', ''Ben'', ''Ber'', ''Berend'', ''Bernard'', ''Ber ...

Carmel Valley, California Carmel Valley is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to the Carmel River watershed east of California State Route 1, and not specifically to the smaller Carmel V ...

, and owned the oldest wine negotiating business in the Netherlands.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

External links

Bernadus Winery website

Who's Who of Volkswagen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pon, Ben 1936 births 2019 deaths Olympic shooters for the Netherlands Shooters at the 1972 Summer Olympics Dutch racing drivers Dutch Formula One drivers Ecurie Maarsbergen Formula One drivers Dutch male sport shooters Wine merchants Viticulturists 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Sportspeople from Amersfoort People from Carmel Valley Village, California Sportspeople from Monterey County, California 12 Hours of Reims drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Sportspeople from Leiden