Bernardus Marinus "Ben" Pon (born 9 December 1936 and died 30 September 2019) was a Dutch racing driver and Olympian. He raced in the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort in a privateer Porsche provided by Ecurie Maarsbergen, owned by his personal friend Carel Godin de Beaufort. His Formula One career lasted only two laps due to an accident.
Pon is most well known for his sports car career. However, after finishing first in class in a Porsche at the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans, he entered the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix. He used a Porsche 787 thanks to his friendship with fellow driver Carel Godin de Beaufort, who owned a team.
On the third lap of the race, Pon spun off the circuit and flipped his car. He was ejected from the car. Although he was not seriously hurt in the accident, he vowed never to race single-seater cars again, a promise he stuck to.
He continued in sports cars, racing a variety of Porsche cars. In 1965, he finished second in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two years later, he finished first in class in his final participation in the race.
After retiring from motorsport, he represented the Netherlands at the 1972 Summer Olympics in clay pigeon shooting. He finished 31st in the event.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 |  Ecurie Maarsbergen
|
Porsche | 0 | NC |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 1 |
| Starts | 1 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Sprint Poles | 0 |
| Front Row Starts | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Sprint Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Sprint Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Sprint Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 2 |
| Distance Raced | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pts | Pos | ||||||||||||||
| 1962 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||||
| Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes[]
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