His father,
Ben Pon, Sr., was an importer of
Volkswagen Beetles into the United States, and is considered to be the "father" of the
Volkswagen Type 2 due to his initial interest and input into the project. Pon was a personal friend of Formula One driver
Carel Godin de Beaufort. It was de Beaufort's own
Ecurie Maarsbergen privateer team that provided a
Porsche 787 for him to race at
Zandvoort, in his home Grand Prix on 20 May 1962. He failed to finish the race due to an accident, which flipped his car over, throwing Pon out of the cockpit and into a shrubbery. In response, Pon vowed never again to race single-seaters, and in the years that followed he remained true to his word, while achieving many successes in
sports car racing also driving a
Porsche. Pon retired from professional sports car racing in 1965, but came 7th in the
1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving with Vic Elford in a works Porsche 906. After his retirement in the sports arena, Pon turned his attention to the wine trade. He was known for his
Bernardus Winery in
Carmel Valley, California, and owned the oldest wine negotiating business in the Netherlands. ==Racing record==