Bernardus Marinus “Ben” Pon (9 December 1936 – 30 September 2019) 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. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Ben Pon’s father ran the first car dealership outside Germany to sell Volkswagen Beetles and within two years was selling the car in America. He also became Porsche’s Dutch importer and when Ben began racing, it was with a Porsche.
He raced a Porsche 356 Abarth in the 1961 Nürburgring 1000Kms (with Count Carel Godin de Beaufort), athough they retired, and then shared Herbert Linge’s car at Le Mans, finishing 10th overall and won the 1600cc GT class.
His GP debut was in 1962’s Dutch GP at Zandvoort but he rolled his Porsche 787 and was luckily unhurt when thrown out.
He appeared on the podium in the World Sportscar Championship with a 904 GTS, was third in the 1964 Nürburgring 1000Kms and at Spa-Francorchamps in 1965, and won a round of the European Touring Car Championship in 1967.
1967 also saw him make his final start at Le Mans (with Vic Elford) in a Porsche 906/6 Carrera and in finishing seventh overall won the 2000cc prototype class. Unfortunately during the 1968 Brands Hatch Six Hours race he crashed into a tree when his Porsche 910’s steering arm broke.
After retiring from motor racing that year, he concentrated on skeet shooting and was in the Dutch team for the 1972 Munich Olympics. He also established the Bernardus Winery and Lodge in Carmel, California and owns the oldest wine negotiating business in the Netherlands.
The action photo is from Avus in 1966.
