Carel Godin de Beaufort

Interesting facts

Carel Godin de Beaufort was a Dutch aristocrat from Maarsbergen castle who raced from 1957 to 1964 with his own team, Ecurie Maarsbergen, in self-funded, orange Porsches - one of Formula One's last true 'gentleman drivers'. He became the first Dutch driver to score a World Championship point, collecting four points in total with sixth places at the 1962 Dutch and French Grands Prix and the 1963 Belgian and United States Grands Prix. His large frame required an enlarged cockpit on his Porsche 718, which the paddock nicknamed the 'Fatty Porsche' - the car remained uncompetitive throughout his career, yet he stuck with it regardless. He was famously eccentric - he sometimes drove without shoes, and on his final race weekend he was seen practicing in a Beatles wig instead of a helmet. On 1-2 August 1964, during practice for the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, his car suddenly veered off at the Bergwerk section - the car itself was barely damaged, but he suffered injuries so severe that he died in a Cologne hospital the following evening. Carel Godin de Beaufort raced in Formula 1 from 1957 to 1964, across 8 seasons as a Dutch driver. He scored a total of 4 championship points over his career.