They changed the grille and taillight to the 1968 model, and then painted both cars identically. But there was always that missing link, as he called itgrand prix. From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. After considering the potential consequences, the race stewards allowed Donohue's victory to stand, but the rules for the 1968 season incorporated a change whereby all cars would be weighed during the technical inspection before the race. In 1970 new Javelin team owner Roger Penske and driver Mark Donohue would breathe new life into the AMC team. Donohue drove the Javelin to three victories, with AMC finishing second overall in the Manufacturers' Championship. through one of the fastest turns on the track. Event the win at the 1972 Indianapolis 500 created more sleepless nights, because the win did not come on his own terms. Five weeks after winning the 500, Donohue was testing his Can-Am Porsche 917-10 at Road Atlanta when the car got airborne at 160 mph. Mark Donohue was 38 and a sports car champion and 1972 Indianapolis 500 winner. Penske warned that any disqualification would have the potential of motivating Chevrolet to pull all support for the Trans-Am series. (He was operated on at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Drs. A friend once described riding in Donohue's Porsche 911 as a 'Wall of Death thing most of the time. We went to Phoenix and tested it with the wings off and then put the wings on and couldnt believe how fast it was. Directing other drivers, making suggestions, helping mechanicseven sweeping up around the garagewere not enough. Donohue was obsessed with finding any possible advantage through engineering -- and loopholes in the rules. He had been a national amateur champion and the Sports Car Club of America driver of the year in 1965. He is known for Formula 1 (1950) and The Trans-Am Challenge (1972). Our car experts choose every product we feature. Drexel University 1973 Lexerd (Yearbook), pp. In his career, Donohue started 311 races and won 119 of them, a winning average of 38 percent. In everything he droveeven an Elva Courier and a Cobra, cars he didnt develophe still won. The key factors behind F1s Premier League-style managerial revolving door, The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets, The tangible steps Alpine has taken to meeting its humble F1 2023 targets Between 1971 and 1972, Penske Racing (along with Donohue as the primary test and development driver) was commissioned by Porsche to help develop the 917-10 to compete in the Can-Am series. He tinkered his way all through Pingry School, Brown University and a job as a mechanical engineer with the Pulverizing Machinery Corporation in Summit. The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023, The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023 That is something I would have never had if I didnt go to races. Strange and smart, but very driven., The drive set Mark Donohue apart and made him the winningest driver in Team Penske history. I did everything I could to keep up. He won many races for us and the first IROC championship with the Porsche. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked unconscious. Found a bug?SuggestionsCopyrightNeed help?Business DevelopmentGeneral inquiry, PopScreen - Video Search, Bookmarking and Discovery Engine. Donohue died in the one aspect of auto racing he Had not conqueredgrand prix. The doctors in Graz, Austria, said yesterday that the racing driver would have been crippled for life had he survived. I could see myself helping to develop the Formula One car, setting it up and then having some younger hotshot driver take over. There was little question then that Donohue, who would testdrive the new car and help supervise its development, would come out of retirement. 1975 Camaro Racemark GT Bob Bailey. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? Forgot password? On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 91730 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Porsche, Penske, and Donohue quickly started the development of the 917-30, complete with a reworked aerodynamic "Paris" body and a 5.4-liter turbocharged flat-12 engine whose output could be adjusted from about 1,100 to 1,500 bhp[citation needed] by turning a boost knob in the cockpit. Donohue raced at Indianapolis each year following,[15] finishing second in 1970 and 25th in 1971. In 1967 and 1968, Trans-Am schedule included two of the most prized endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. This was not merely a celebrity autobiography, but a detailed, step-by-step record of the engineering approach he took to getting the absolutely highest performance from every car he drove, always looking for that elusive "unfair advantage". A motorist was killed early Tuesday in a single-car crash in Montgomery County, police said. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. ), entered April 29, 2014 in Albany County, which granted a motion by defendants James Finck and Tougher Industries Enterprises, LLC for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against them. That was the most striking thing I ever saw him do. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? Acid-dipping car bodies was prevalent with competing Trans-Am teams also. He died from severe head injuries sustained August 16 in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at Graz, Austria. The Porsche engineers obliged, but the new ducts interfered with the bodywork closure pins that attached body panels to the car. [2], At Hansgen's funeral, Roger Penske spoke to Donohue about driving for him. Donohue was able to muster fifth-place finishes at the Swedish Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix, but the new Penske PC1 chassis proved problematic, as evidenced by three retirements in the first six races. U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current. The two drivers disagreed on many aspects of racing and car setup, but as a team were able to muster a fourth-place finish in the endurance classic.[13]. In an interview then, he talked of his disappointing grand prix showing. He will be ranked with A. J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Andretti in the leading group of American drivers. Donohue began his Trans-Am series campaign in 1967, winning three of twelve races in a Roger Penske-owned Chevrolet Camaro. Donohue. Upstairs was a small room with a bed that had an outside private entrance. Of 55 Trans-Ams he entered, he won 29. And when he thought he had done enough, he quit. As an American driver, he had done it all. Donohue qualified his Penske midway the grid, and took it to the morning warm-up session before the start of the race. We were there to go racing.. Donohue was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He died two days later. The lightweight car was featured on an episode of Dream Car Garage on Speed TV in 2005. [5][19] Donohue is buried at St. Teresa Cemetery in Summit, New Jersey. That long association resulted in the ultimate triumph for an American driver in 1972, when he won the Indianapolis 500. And neither found what they expected. We may earn money from the links on this page. . This remains the last time a ringer captured a win in a Cup Series road course race, but the victory took on a far greater meaning in hindsight. But there was one phase of racing that he had never really taken part in, what he called his personal missing link. This was in the Formula One cars, perhaps this dangerous sport's most dangerous, which run on the grand prix circuit. A 25-year-old passenger in the Infiniti, a woman from Olney, was seriously hurt and taken to the hospital. He said so himself many times. In auto racing, though, even thinking man's drivers can get killed by punctured tires. Donohue recently had arrived in Austria for the Austrian Grand Prix at the sterreichring race track following the successful closed-course speed record attempt at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama just a few days earlier. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). In 69 Mark repeated his Trans-Am championship, winning six of 12. Mark Donohue (1937-1975), pictured here with wife Eden and nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American race driver who is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp Can-Am Penske Porsche 917-30 and as the 1972 Indianapolis 500 winner in a Team Penske-entered McLaren.Sadly, he perished in an accident during practice for the 1975 Austrian Formula One Grand Prix. Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery. [12] In his first race for Penske, at Watkins Glen in June 1966, Donohue qualified well but crashed the car at the top of a hill, destroying it. It was an iconic car, iconic colors for the day and it really brings back memories. Though he walked away from the resulting crash, he fell into a coma the next day and, shortly after, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. The book documents his career from his first races to his final full season of racing the year before he was killed. Or, signing some autographs. A Montgomery County man who crashed his car and fled from the wreck, leaving three of his friends dead or dying, on Thursday was sentenced . In 1967 he became the USRRC champion, winning six out of eight races. Her . I think at that point we started to bring the sport to a higher level, Penske said. The 38yearold Donohue underwent a threehour operation at a hospital here Sunday to remove a blood clot from his brain. With the Corvette money, he also bought a trailer to hold the car and a station wagon to tow the trailer.. At the age of twenty-two,[citation needed] while a senior at Brown, Donohue began racing his 1957 Corvette. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Donohue won. The 1975 season turned out to be a difficult one for Donohue and Penske. We started to look at data Mark was an engineer at Brown (University), and that was certainly part of it, but we were committed. The bungalow is where team manager Chuck Cantwell and the teams public relations director Dan Luginbuhl worked along with secretary Maryann ODonnell. Toy cars at the gravesite of Mark Donohue in Summit, New Jersey. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? He finished the race in his McLaren-Offy setting a record speed of over 162mph (261km/h),[16] which stood for twelve years. When Mark . Prof. Fritz Heppner, head of the neurosurgical department at Graz Hospital, said irreparable damage had been done to that part of the brain that controls involuntary body functions. Mark Donohue at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix, Today, we have specialists, but Mark was such a versatile guy, he drove everything for us.. The Penske overturned into a ravine, just a few meters beyond an underpass in which several people were standing.Debris from Donohue's car, particularly a wheel, hit a policeman, Richard Httner from Baden, who sustained critical head injuries, and three marshals - seriously injuring two of them, Gottfried Crnic and Manfred Schaller. They discovered that using a drag racing trick of dipping a car in an acid bath would eat away small amounts of metal, which in turn made the car incrementally lighter, and allowed it to be driven faster. But he always had good equipment, too. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway . "They posted me to the infield, taking care of people who got too much sun or had too much to drink," Olvey said. Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar supporting a sign. Autoweek participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. This time, the interlopers would leave no doubt as they set out to prove their reputations for calculated dominance. [17] That race was Penske's first NASCAR win in a long history of NASCAR participation. August 19, 1975 in Graz, Styria, Austria (car accident) Birth Name: Mark Neary Donohue Jr. Mini Bio (1) Mark Donohue was born on March 18, 1937 in Haddon Township, New Jersey, USA. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked . His true passion was racing. When Penske Racing took delivery of a Ferrari 512M, for instance, they immediately fabricated a bigger rear wing. Mark won the 1972 Indianapolis 500 when David was just five. Mark obviously brought an air of professionalism. Donohue went on to win the first-ever 500-mile USAC Champ Car Series race at Pocono in 71 and claimed victory at Indianapolis in his return in 1972. Penske's first race shop in Newtown Square, Pa. All of these tiny little stories you get to put all of these puzzle pieces together and get a much better picture of my father. He was sleeping at the shop, and he couldnt say no to Rogercouldnt decline more development, more cars, more projects., Weary and still recuperating from leg injuries sustained in an awful crash at Road Atlantawhich briefly left him allegedly abusing alcoholDonohue announced his retirement at the end of 73. Mark Donohue and Roger Penske had planned an hard assault to the 1975 Formula 1 Championship, but the season soon turned out to be difficult. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/21/archives/mark-donohue-returns-to-die.html. Walt Czarnecki, Team Penske vice chairman and among the operations early members, has a deep admiration and respect for what Donohue meant to the Penske organization. Mark felt he had to devote all his time to the team. Every time David Donohue sees that car, he sees his father. As a person, he was always fun to be around, but I always admired that work ethic he displayed when it was time to race., Donohue was known as Captain Nice. To some, however, Donohue seemed distant and was later nicknamed Dark Monohue., Donohue was a good guy, said long-time racing journalist Robin Miller, who was a young reporter for The Indianapolis Star when Donohue raced at Indy. Its something that Ive looked at since I was really young as a kid, Donohue said. Mark returned [a year later] because he realized he wasnt good at anything else. The front of the car was torn away, leaving Donohue, still strapped to his safety seat, with his legs dangling outside the car. David Donohue is proof positive that apples dont fall far from the tree. Penske and Donohue did not stop acid-dipping after this, however. The email you entered is not registered with us. (key) (Bold Pole position. Mark wasnt an emotional guy. A mechanical engineering graduate from a wealthy New Jersey background, Donohue won everything in sight on the US scene, in every major category. How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy, Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return, Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return He obsessively lived at the shop, working as many as 20 hours a day. The real engineers were Don Cox [from GM] and Helmut Flegl [from Porsche]. It was largely Flegl who created the Porsche 917-30, whose 1100 horsepower, the SCCA bitched, was killing the Can-Am series. Two weeks ago, he took the 1973 CanAm car out of mothballs and set a world speed record for a closed course of 221.160 miles an. Three years later, Mark was gone, dead from a cerebral hemorrhage suffered in a crash during practice for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at sterreichring. Some day, they promised each other, Donohue would try to become the first American since Phil Hill in 1961 to win the world driving chmpionship. Racing is a very weird circus that way. We went to the Speedway in 1971 and we had this card that translated the speed on the stopwatch to your average speed. I realized then that if I wanted to do better in this business I had to spend more time on my car, he said. A Pennsylvania native by the name of Mark Donohue, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, pedaled a red-white-and-blue AMC Matador to his only Cup Series victory in six career starts. I think I was the first guy to assert that Mark was a better driver than an engineer, says Bedard. He did the job for Roger, no question. Anyone can read what you share. He went over 180 miles per hour for the first time and it wasnt on the chart, so nobody knew how fast he went. On 09 August he reached an average speed around the 2.66 mile high-banked oval, of 221.120 mi/h (about 355 km/h), this has been a World record for several years.Donohue and the Penske team then made the trip to Austria. Mark Donohue did not take a traditional route to racing or to Penskes side. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. Browse 481 mark donohue stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. What I realize now is that I wouldnt have succeeded in my other businesses if Mark hadnt completely taken over the race team., In the Penske garage at Indy in 71, someonecertainly not Donohue or Penskeerected a sign that said: Those of you who think you know it all are particularly annoying to those of us who do., .css-dhtls0{display:block;font-family:GlikoS,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:400;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-dhtls0:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 61.25rem){.css-dhtls0{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}Elana Scherr: On the Count of Three (Wheels), Elana Scherr: Dodge Challenger Challenge Accepted. Driver who fled fatal Olney crash gets 20-year sentence. As Roger Penske said, Mark wasnt flashy, but he put the numbers on the board.. I used to hate riding with him to the airport, said Don Cox, a former chief engineer at Penske Racing when Donohue was with the team. His Porsche 917-30 was so dominant it was called the Can-Am Killer, as he won seven of eight races and the 1973 Can-Am Championship. The four-race schedule consisted of three races at Riverside and a finale on Daytonas road course. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. And, according to Cox, Roger certainly did his part in coming up with next projects.. He turned his last race, the first International Race of Champions finalin which top driver from all forms of racing competed into an easy victory Feb. 15, 1974, and then concentrated on his new duties as president of Penske Racing. But supervising the Penske efforts in stock car and Indianapolistype racing did not agree with Donohue. Then, in 1977 a chicane, named Hella-Licht, was installed at that point of the track, bringing the length of the circuit to 5.941 kilometers.Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. was survived by his second wife Eden, the couple had only recently married; and his two sons from his previous marriage, Michael and David. It became official last September. Carrying the number 66, Donohue qualified 13 th for the California 500, but a burned piston ended his day early, on lap eight. 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During the development of this motor, the German Porsche engineers often asked Donohue if the motor finally had enough power. I'd always thought that I'm not as good a driver as I am capable of figuring out how to make the car the quickest, he once said. Losing a driver is something you cant replace. Donohue co-drove in the No. Donohue's racing tradition is carried on by his son, David Donohue, a successful road racer in his own right. A headache resulted, however, and worsened. the email address you entered is invalid. Continuing the practice of reducing weight allowed them to place weights of certain sizes strategically in specific locations within the car, thus helping to balance the car while being driven on the limit. He is buried in Saint Teresa Cemetery in Summit, Union County, New Jersey.R.I.P Mark Donohue \u0026 Manfred Schaller. Coffay fled the scene. Search instead in Creative? I had just put in 30 consecutive hours of writing, editing, and laying out race reports for CAR Weekly, which we sometimes spelled Weakly because there were only five of us and we possessed merely the slimmest notion of what we were doing. He was a sweet gentleman in every race. He needed something he could do well., Alas, Penske Racings first F1 car, the PC1, was so mediocre that Donohue persuaded Penske to replace it with a customers March 751, a curious crack in the myth that was Mark. There was no real color out of it. Donohue raced in the inaugural IROC series in 197374, racing identical, specially-prepared Porsche RSRs. We need an obit." Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar supporting a sign. In all, he won 57 major races and more than $1million. They continued to use the "lightweight" car in 1968, at the Sebring 12-hour race. Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards, The key factors behind F1s Premier League-style managerial revolving door, The key factors behind F1s Premier League-style managerial revolving door The trip to the airport was like the Mille Miglia. The 1967 Z-28 won its last race by lapping the entire field of cars, causing suspicion throughout the paddock. GRAZ, Austria, Aug. 19 (AP)Mark Donohue, who ended an eightmonth retirement as an auto driver last year because he couldn't keep away from racing, died tonight of injuries suffered Sunday at. After the Arab oil embargo in 1973, it led the SCCA, IMSA and other race series to impose fuel limitations on motor sport racing as a whole, which hampered the performance of the 917/30, making it uncompetitive in the Can-Am series.