Ben Pon

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Ben Pon
Formula One Career
Nationality	Dutch
Active years	1962
Team(s)	Ecurie Maarsbergen (privateer Porsche)
Grands Prix	1
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First Grand Prix	1962 Dutch Grand Prix


Last Grand Prix	1962 Dutch Grand Prix

Bernardus "Ben" Pon (b. 9 December 1936, Amersfoort) is a vintner and former Olympian and motor racing driver from the Netherlands. 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.

His father 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.[1] 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 Zandvoort, in his home Grand Prix on May 20, 1962. He failed to finish the race due to an accident. The impact was so violent that Pon vowed never again to race single-seaters, and in the years that followed he remained true to his word, while achieving many sucesses in sports car racing also driving a Porsche. Pon retired from professional sports car racing in 1965.

Since his retirement in the sports arena, Pon has turned his attention to the wine trade. He is now known for his Bernardus Winery in Carmel, California and owns the oldest wine negotiating business in the Netherlands.