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CAREL GODIN de BEAUFORT
By Emilio J. Lezcano / carsNtravel
He was his own
man. Running his own ‘Ecurie’ against the better prepared teams
efforts, he managed to upset the establishment on many occasions.
The happy and popular Dutch aristocrat Carel Godin de Beaufort (Maarsbergen,
April 10, 1934 - Cologne, August 2, 1964) was the quintessential
privateer of the late fifties and early sixties. His orange Porsche
housed a free spirit, at unease with the pomp and circumstance of a
racing world trying to come to grips with a growing level of
professionalism.
Jonkheer
Carel Pieter Anthonie Jan Hubertus Godin de Beaufort was a Dutch aristocrat.
His family was well known in banking and political circles. In 1882 the
family acquired Maarsbergen Castle, near Amersfoort, and in 1888 Karel
Antoine Godin de Beaufort was named finance minister. His brother, Willem
Hendrik de Beaufort, later served as Dutch Foreign Minister.
Carel Godin de Beaufort started in his teens, getting
into trouble for driving the cars of family guests when they visited
Maarsbergen Castle
in the late 1940s.
In 1955 he bought an MG and took part in a few local rallies before
acquiring a Porsche 1500 Super and racing it at Zandvoort. The following
year another competitor Mathieu Hezemans sold him a Porsche 550 Spyder and
the pair raced the car at various events around Europe, including the Mille Miglia and Le Mans.
In 1957 he got hold of a Porsche 550A-RS and drove it
in the Formula 2 category at the German Grand Prix finishing third in his
class and 14th overall. He drove the same car at the 1958 Dutch Grand Prix
circuit and finished 11th and the Le Mans 24 Hours finishing
5th. He then began driving a factory Porsche 718RSK,
although he drove his first proper
F1 car – Hans Hermann’s Maserati in the
1959 French Grand Prix.I
He enjoyed some success in sports cars but also had lucky escapes,
not least at Avus in 1959 when he went over the North Wall (where
Jean Mary Behra was killed) and landed in a car park down below.
He drove the car back through the paddock and out onto the race
track before being black flagged. In 1960 he tried his hand with a
Formula 2 Cooper Climax.
With a change of
regulations for 1961 the
Porsche F2 car became eligible for F1 and de Beaufort's orange Porsche, run by his
own ‘Ecurie Maarsbergen’, was a regular sight at
F1 races in the years that
followed, achieving several good results, notably second in the
non-championship
Syracuse
Grand Prix and third in a similar race at Zeltweg.
Carel Godin de Beaufort died after an accident at the Nurburgring
during practice for the 1964 German Grand Prix.
 
He
knew full well the Eifel track he
regarded as his own would give him the
only opportunity to shine and keep himself in the picture. After
arriving in the paddock on Friday, he set out on Saturday
practice, entertaining the paddock crowd by wearing a Beatles
wig before starting on a series of slow reconnaissance laps. Then, on his
fifth lap, Carel decided it was time to push the Porsche 718. The car
suddenly veered off the track at the infamous Bergwerk corner. He was thrown
out of the car into the trees and suffered massive injuries to his head,
chest and legs.
On
arrival, the rescue team found Carel suffering from serious injuries. The
decision was made to transport Beaufort to nearby Koblenz hospital where a
broken thy, a fractured chest bone and several concussions of the skull were
diagnosed. Immediately after the word reached Holland, Carel's
mother and the family's personal physician flew out to Germany.
On his arrival in Koblenz, Prof. Dr.
Nuboer advised that Carel was to be transported to a neurological center in
Cologne.
Up
until Sunday evening doctors fought for
his life but at half past ten Carel was pronounced dead. His death
was not announced until Monday, after which the news filtered through to the
Dutch press. The initial report is very poignant, as it states that
Beaufort's life is "no longer in danger"... His family later issued a
memorial card (front
and inside). Incidentally, the card leaves the date and town where he
died beyond doubt, as there have been resources which state the August 1 and
3 dates, and towns such as Düsseldorf and Koblenz.
Carel Godin de Beaufort was buried at the
family estate at Maarsbergen near Arnhem, in the presence of many Dutch and
international racing drivers. Graham Hill, Bob Anderson, Baron Fritz
Huschke von Hanstein and Ben Pon were among
the friends to carry his coffin. The atmosphere was completely different
from what people had become used to
at the unique post-Zandvoort bashes
Carel hosted at Maarsbergen. The repaired Porsche 718, that had
suffered hardly any
damage during the accident, was
presented to the
Driebergen Automobile Museum by Carel's mother.
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