Carel Godin de Beaufort

Carel Godin de Beaufort
Godin de Beaufort at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix
Born
Karel Pieter Antoni Jan Hubertus Godin de Beaufort

(1934-04-10)10 April 1934
Maarsbergen, Utrecht, Netherlands
Died2 August 1964(1964-08-02) (aged 30)
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Cause of deathInjuries sustained at the 1964 German Grand Prix
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Dutch
Active years19581964
TeamsMaarsbergen, privateer Maserati
Entries29 (27 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points4
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1958 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry1964 German Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years19561960, 19621963
TeamsPorsche
Best finish5th (1958)
Class wins1 (1957)

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 1958 to 1964.

Born and raised in Maarsbergen to a noble family, Godin de Beaufort debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1956 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 1958—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 1959 and 1960, before entering six of eight rounds in 1961, driving his orange Porsche 718. He scored his maiden points with sixth-placed finishes at the Dutch and French Grands Prix in his 1962 campaign, a feat he repeated in Belgium and the United States in 1963; 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 1959 and 1963, retiring from each.