Bernardus Marinus “Ben” Pon Jr. (9 December 1936 – 30 September 2019) was a Dutch racing driver, Olympian and vintner whose remarkably varied life stretched from the Formula One grid and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to Olympic shooting and the Californian wine industry.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Birthplace | Leiden, Netherlands |
| Born | 9 December 1936 |
| Died | 30 September 2019 |
| First Grand Prix | 1962 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1962 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Years Active | 1962 |
| Current/Last Team | Privateer: Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche |
Pon made just one appearance in the Formula One World Championship, contesting his home race at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix. His relationship with motorsport went much deeper than that solitary Grand Prix, however, with Pon enjoying a considerably longer and more successful career in sports car racing, particularly with Porsche machinery.
And racing wasn’t his only sporting talent. A decade after his Formula One appearance, Pon represented the Netherlands at the 1972 Summer Olympics, competing in clay pigeon shooting. He finished 31st in the skeet event, giving him the rare distinction of having competed at both Formula One and Olympic level.
Once his sporting days were largely behind him, Pon embarked upon another successful chapter, turning his attention to the wine business and eventually establishing the Bernardus name in California.
Life
Motoring was very much part of the Pon family story.
Ben’s father, Ben Pon Sr., was closely associated with Volkswagen and became an importer of the Volkswagen Beetle into the United States. More significantly, he is widely regarded as the “father” of the Volkswagen Type 2, the vehicle that would become famous around the world as the Volkswagen Transporter or Microbus, thanks to his early interest and input into the project.
The younger Pon chose to make his own mark from behind the wheel.
He became a close personal friend of Dutch Formula One racer Carel Godin de Beaufort, whose private Ecurie Maarsbergen team provided Pon with his opportunity to compete at Grand Prix racing’s highest level.
That chance came on 20 May, appropriately enough at Pon’s home race, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Driving a Porsche 787 entered by Ecurie Maarsbergen, Pon lined up for what would become his only Formula One World Championship start.
It proved to be quite an introduction to Grand Prix racing – and more than enough to convince him that single-seaters weren’t for him.
Pon crashed during the race and his Porsche overturned. With the open cockpits and minimal driver protection of the period, the accident became particularly dramatic when Pon was thrown from the car and landed in shrubbery beside the circuit.
He survived, but the experience had made its point.
Pon vowed that he would never race a single-seater again. Unlike plenty of promises made in the immediate aftermath of racing accidents, this one stuck. He never returned to Formula One and remained true to his decision for the rest of his competitive career.
That certainly didn’t mean he was finished with racing.
Instead, Pon concentrated on sports cars, an arena in which he was able to demonstrate his abilities without returning to the single-seaters that had given him such a memorable introduction at Zandvoort. Porsche machinery remained central to his racing activities, and he went on to achieve considerable success with the German marque.
Pon officially retired from professional sports car competition in 1965, but even that wasn’t quite the end of his story behind the wheel.
He returned to tackle the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing a works Porsche 906 with British driver Vic Elford. The partnership delivered an excellent result, with Pon and Elford finishing seventh overall in one of the world’s most demanding endurance races.
It was a fitting reminder that his single, spectacular Formula One outing didn’t accurately reflect the calibre of his wider racing career.
Pon then found another way to satisfy his competitive instincts.
Already an accomplished clay pigeon shooter, he reached the highest level of the sport when he was selected to represent the Netherlands at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Competing in the skeet shooting event, Pon finished 31st.
His Olympic appearance added another unusual distinction to an already colourful sporting CV. Few Formula One drivers can claim to have subsequently represented their country at an Olympic Games – and fewer still made the transition from Grand Prix cars to competitive shooting.
Once his sporting career had run its course, Pon turned his attention towards an entirely different passion: wine.
He became heavily involved in the wine trade and was associated with the oldest wine-negotiating business in the Netherlands. His ambitions eventually took him to California, where he established Bernardus Winery in Carmel Valley.
The winery became one of the defining projects of his later life, allowing Pon to build a successful second career far removed from the noise and danger of international motor racing.
Pon died on 30 September 2019, aged 82.
His was certainly no conventional racing-driver story. One Formula One Grand Prix, a frightening escape from an overturned Porsche, success in sports cars, seventh place at Le Mans, an appearance at the Olympic Games and a new life in the Californian wine industry made Ben Pon Jr. one of motorsport’s more fascinating multi-talented characters.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 1 |
| Race Starts | 1 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 18th |
| Best Race Finish | – |
| Retirements | 1 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 0 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 1 |
| Reached Q3 | 0 |
| Q2 Eliminations | 0 |
| Q1 Eliminations | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Stats by Season
| Year | Constructor | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Priavateer: Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18th | – | 0 | 0 | NC |
Stats by Constructor
| Constructor | Years | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priavateer: Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche | 1962 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18th | – | 0 | 0 |
Teammates & Qualifying Head-to-Head
| Teammate | Years | Races | Qualifying H2H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carel Godin de Beaufort | 1962 | 1 | – |
| Wolfgang Seidel | 1962 | 1 | – |
