Carel Godin de Beaufort

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Carel Godin de Beaufort
Formula One Career
Nationality Netherlands Dutch
Active years 1957 - 1964
Team(s) Ecurie Maarsbergen (privateer Porsche and Cooper)
Scuderia Ugolini (privateer Maserati)
Grands Prix 31
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podium finishes    0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First Grand Prix 1957 German Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix 1964 German Grand Prix
Carel Godin de Beaufort's Porsche 718 single-seater, in Dutch racing orange.
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Carel Godin de Beaufort's Porsche 718 single-seater, in Dutch racing orange.

Earl Carel Pieter Antoni Jan Hubertus Godin de Beaufort (b.10 April 1934, Maarsbergen – d. 2 August 1964, Cologne, Germany) was a motor racing driver from the Netherlands. He competed in Formula One between 1957 and 1964.

He participated in 31 Grands Prix, debuting on 4 August 1957, and scored a total of 4 championship points, becoming the first Dutchman ever to score points in the Formula One World Championship. He was one of the last truly amateur drivers in F1, and ran his own cars — painted the vibrant Dutch racing colour: orange — under the Ecurie Maarsbergen banner, the team taking its name from de Beaufort's country estate. In early years he was considered something of a mobile chicane, and a danger to other drivers on the track. However, in later years he matured into a competant and popular competitor.

Always a Porsche devotee (he only drove two races in anything else) he was a familiar sight at both Championship and non-Championship races in his orange Porsche 718, bought from the Rob Walker Racing Team. Although the 718 was outclassed even in its first year with him, he persisted with it as it was the only design into which he could fit his burly frame. The size of the car, and a streak of self-depricating humour in de Beaufort himself, earnt it the nickname "Fatty Porsche". With stereotypical aristocratic eccentricity he often drove without shoes,[1] and at his final race in Germany was even seen taking practice laps wearing a Beatles wig, rather than his helmet.[2]

He died after an accident at the Nürburgring, during practice for the 1964 German Grand Prix. Driving the Porsche 718, the car suddenly veered off the track at the infamous Berwerk corner. He was thrown out of the car and suffered massive injuries to his head, chest and legs. Initially de Beaufort was taken to a local hospital, but on the arrival of his family he was swiftly transferred to a major neurological hospital in Cologne. Sadly even they could not help him, and he died from his injuries three days after the accident.


[edit] Complete Formula One results

(Note: grands prix in bold denote points scoring races.)

Yr Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Team
1957 Pors ARG MON IND FRA GBR GER PES ITA       Pors
1958 Pors ARG MON DUT IND BEL FRA GBR DEU POR ITA MOR Pors
1959 Pors MON IND DUT FRA GBR DEU POR ITA USA     Mase
1960 Coop ARG MON IND DUT BEL FRA GBR POR ITA USA   Coop
1961 Pors MON DUT BEL FRA GBR DEU ITA USA       Pors
1962 Pors DUT MON BEL FRA GBR DEU ITA USA SAF     Pors
1963 Pors MON BEL DUT FRA GBR DEU ITA USA MEX SAF   Pors
1964 Pors MON DUT BEL FRA GBR DEU AUT ITA USA MEX   Pors


[edit] References


Preceded by:
Ricardo Rodríguez
Formula One fatal accidents
August 2 1964
Succeeded by:
John Taylor


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