Carel Godin de Beaufort was a Dutch nobleman who drove irregularly in Formula One between 1957 and his death in 1964. He was a genuine amateur, funding his own cars which he ran in bright Dutch orange under the Ecurie Maarsbergen banner, the team taking its name from de Beaufort's country estate. Although early on he was seen as something of a joke - his solid frame led to his car being tagged "Fatty Porsche" - who got in the way but as time went on respect for him grew and in 1962 he twice finished sixth to earn two points. He was anything but conventional either, often driving without shoes and even donned a Beatles-style wig rather than a helmet. Once at Reims he stopped during a practice session to give an attractive young lady a ride round the circuit, to the fury of officials. He died when his Porsche 718 crashed at the Nürburgring, during practice for the 1964 German Grand Prix and was thrown from his car and suffered massive injuries from which he died three days later.
Martin Williamson