Carel Godin de Beaufort

Karel Pieter Antoni Jan Hubertus "Carel" Godin de Beaufort (10 April 1934 – 2 August 1964) was a Dutch racing driver and nobleman, who competed in Formula One from to .

Born and raised in Maarsbergen to a noble family, Godin de Beaufort debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Wolfgang Seidel, aged 22. He made his Formula One debut at the 1957 German Grand Prix, driving a privateer Porsche RS550 under his Ecurie Maarsbergen banner; he won his class at Le Mans that year. A gentleman driver, he returned at the Dutch and German Grands Prix in —the former marking his first entry in Formula One machinery—amongst finishing fifth overall at Le Mans.

Godin de Beaufort made further intermittent performances in and , before entering six of eight rounds in , driving his orange Porsche 718. He scored his maiden points with sixth-placed finishes at the Dutch and French Grands Prix in his campaign, a feat he repeated in Belgium and the United States in ; he became the first Dutch driver to score points in Formula One. He scored three podiums in non-championship events that year, at the Syracuse, Rome and Austrian Grands Prix.

During practice for the 1964 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Godin de Beaufort suffered fatal head injuries after losing control of his 718 at the Bergwerk corner. He had entered four further editions of Le Mans between and , retiring from each.

Career

Godin de Beaufort participated in 31 World Championship Grands Prix, becoming the first Dutchman ever to score points in the Formula One World Championship, and numerous non-Championship Formula One races. He was one of the last 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 competent and popular competitor.

Always a Porsche devotee (he only drove two World Championship races in anything else), Godin de Beaufort 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-deprecating humour in de Beaufort himself, earned it the nickname "Fatty Porsche". With stereotypical aristocratic eccentricity he often drove without shoes, and at his final race in Germany was even seen taking practice laps wearing a Beatles wig, rather than his helmet.

Death

Godin de Beaufort was driving the Porsche 718 in practice for the 1964 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring when the car suddenly veered off the track at the Bergwerk section. The Porsche was barely damaged, but in the era before seat belts, he was thrown out and suffered massive injuries to his head, chest and legs. Initially, De Beaufort was taken to a hospital in Koblenz, but on the following day he was transferred to a major neurological centre in Cologne where he died in the evening.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! Pts

| 1957

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche RS550

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| ARG

| MON

| 500

| FRA

| GBR

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GER

| PES

| ITA

! NC

! 0

|rowspan=2| 1958

!rowspan=2| Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche RSK

!rowspan=2| Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| ARG

| MON

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| NED

| 500

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

!rowspan=2| NC

!rowspan=2| 0

! Porsche RS550

|style="background:#efcfff;"| GER

| POR

| ITA

| MOR

|rowspan=2| 1959

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche RSK

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| MON

| 500

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| NED

!rowspan=2| NC

!rowspan=2| 0

! Scuderia Ugolini

! Maserati 250F

! Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| FRA

| GBR

| GER

| POR

| ITA

| USA

| 1960

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Cooper T51

! Climax FPF 1.5 L4

| ARG

| MON

| 500

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| NED

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

| POR

| ITA

| USA

! NC

! 0

| 1961

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| MON

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| NED

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| BEL

|style="background:#efcfff;"| FRA

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GBR

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GER

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| ITA

| USA

! NC

! 0

| 1962

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| NED

|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| MON

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| BEL

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FRA

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GBR

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GER

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| ITA

|style="background:#efcfff;"| USA

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| RSA

! 16th

! 2

| 1963

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| MON

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| BEL

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| NED

| FRA

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GBR

|style="background:#efcfff;"| GER

|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| ITA

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| USA

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| MEX

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| RSA

! 14th

! 2

| 1964

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| MON

|style="background:#efcfff;"| NED

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

|style="background:#fff;"| GER

| AUT

| ITA

| USA

| MEX

! NC

! 0

!colspan="17"|

;Notes

– Formula 2 entry.

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

| 1961

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| LOM

| GLV

| PAU

| BRX

| VIE

| AIN

| SYR

| NAP

| LON

| SIL

|style="background:#efcfff;"| SOL

| KAN

|style="background:#efcfff;"| DAN

|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| MOD

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| FLG

| OUL

| LEW

| VAL

| RAN

| NAT

| RSA

| 1962

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| CAP

| BRX

| LOM

| LAV

| GLV

| PAU

| AIN

| INT

| NAP

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| MAL

| CLP

|style="background:#cfcfff;"|RMS

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| SOL

|style="background:#dfffdf;"|KAN

| MED

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| DAN

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| OUL

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| MEX

| RAN

| NAT

| 1963

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| LOM

| GLV

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| PAU

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| IMO

|style="background:#dfdfdf;"| SYR

| AIN

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| INT

|style="background:#dfdfdf;"| ROM

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SOL

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| KAN

|style="background:#ffffff;"| MED

|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| AUT

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| OUL

| RAN

| 1964

! Ecurie Maarsbergen

! Porsche 718

! Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4

| DMT

| NWT

| SYR

| AIN

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| INT

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SOL

| MED

| RAN

!colspan=25|

Career

Death

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

Notes

References