An experienced race driver named Walt Hansgen (who worked for Inskip Motors in New York & Rhode Island) recognized Donohue's ability[2] and befriended him, eventually providing an MGB (through Inskip Motors in Providence, RI and prepped by their race shop Competition Engineering)[8] for Donohue to race at the 1964 Bridgehampton He did everything he could to lose me. He died two days later. The Iconic 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Raced by Mark Donohue Is Up for The original Penske Racing team included Penske, Donohue, chief mechanic and crew chief Karl Kainhofer. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked . It is core to the myth of Mark that he was just an okay driver but a genius engineer. It was August 9, 1975. Penske warned that any disqualification would have the potential of motivating Chevrolet to pull all support for the Trans-Am series. 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. Foyt and Emerson Fittipaldi, among others tangible proof that, stock-car equipment being even, Donohue was a world beater. Motorist killed in Montgomery County crash, police say Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway. When Penske Racing took delivery of a Ferrari 512M, for instance, they immediately fabricated a bigger rear wing. He thinks the same way. The setup he designed for his car didnt have as much speed as teammate Gary Bettenhausens setup. He died on August 19, 1975 in Graz, Styria, Austria. Password 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. There, he was Godthat was his way of distinguishing himself. His divine touch extended to his street cars; a friend once described riding in Donohues Porsche 911 as a Wall of Death thing most of the time., The relentless pursuit of perfection eventually took its toll. 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. Donohue was able to obtain two fifth places in the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp and in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but scored five DNF's in the first 11 races of the season.A few days before going to Zeltweg for the Austrian Grand Prix, scheduled to be contested on 17 August 1975, Penske and Porsche attempted to set the world closed-course record. It is there at Saint Teresa Cemetery and Mausoleum that Donohue is buried alongside his mother and father. And, according to Cox, Roger certainly did his part in coming up with next projects.. His body will be flown to the United States tomorrow and the funeral will take place Monday in Summit, N. J., where Donohue grew up and first got caught up in the hotrod phenomenon. A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 1 P.M. in St. Teresa's Church. "We had stop watches back then, with a timing chart taped on the back that converted seconds to miles per hour, but 180mph didn't exist on the timing chart." 12 How famous was Mark . Midway through the 1975 F1 season, Penske abandoned the troublesome PC1 and started using the March 751. Strange and smart, but very driven., The drive set Mark Donohue apart and made him the winningest driver in Team Penske history. Truth is, they often didnt know if something would work., Thirty-three years after the big crash, Penske told Argetsinger: Mark was my best friend [this, despite Donohue once spearing his boss with an AMC Javelin in the pits, tossing Penske 15 feet]. John Phillips: For Mark Donohue, 1100 hp was 'Far From Too Much' During its production life, there were 192 Series 200 Griffiths built, 59 of the Series 400 and only 10 of the Series 600. Donohues degree from Brown in Mechanical Engineering got him a job designing filters for air conditioners -- not quite what he had in mind. His son, David, told me: The legend was that my dad and Roger conquered all. With his marriage to Sue falling apart, Donohues personal life was in turmoil. It was at Hangsens funeral that Roger Penske approached Donohue to drive for him. [9] That year, Donohue also won two divisional championships: in SCCA B Class in a GT350 and in SCCA Formula C in a Lotus 20B. It includes information and additional photography that was not available before the first edition was published. 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. He also gave us our first NASCAR win. Both Donohue and Penske changed teams to American Motors Corporation in 1970 and won their third championship in 1971. 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. He was just that way. Mark Donohue was an enigma. One night I was in Philadelphia and was following Mark to the old shop in Newtown Square. Donohue was obsessed with finding any possible advantage through engineering -- and loopholes in the rules. Not that Donohues career or his one win in NASCAR needed validation, but IROC has long crystallized what fans thought of the talent in drivers who never outwardly succeeded in the Cup Series. The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023, What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles, What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles It would have been really fun to watch the two of them because they are so much alike. He was passionate about racing. Mark Donohue: Returns to Die - The New York Times 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 races to the win at the the 1972 Indy 500. By clicking on 'Join' button, you confirm that you are over 13 years of age and agree to the Terms of Service & Privacy Policy. With Roger Penske, you are always going to have good equipment. August 19th marks twenty-five years ago that Mark Donohue passed away from brain trauma, which was caused from an accident while practicing for a Formula 1 event. 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 * Most laps led. Mark Donohue - Wikipedia Donohue had stepped out of driving retirement . He obsessively lived at the shop, working as many as 20 hours a day. Michael is another guy but there is this thing between Mark and David, even in terms of their life experiences. He approaches things the same way. He did it at Talladega, Ala., in the turbocharged Porsche he drove to the 1973 CanAm title. Its been 43 years since Donohues death, but he remains Penske Racings cornerstone. He was, I feel, the finest road race driver this country has ever produced, Allison told Hemmings Motor News years later. He tinkered his way all through Pingry School, Brown University and a job as a mechanical engineer with the Pulverizing Machinery Corporation in Summit. 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. In 1969, Penske and Donohue raced in their first Indianapolis 500,[14] with Donohue finishing seventh, winning the rookie of the year award. But in eight months of retirement, the quiet, wellspoken kid from the other side of the tracks learned that the hobby that had become an obsession still haunted him. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. A fire at the Sunoco refinery near the airport dominated the front pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer, but the sports section belonged to Mark Donohue, a racecar driver who had blown a tire during a practice run before the Austrian Grand Prix and died from complications related to the accident two days later, August 19, 1975. They won the race, finished third overall, and went on to win 10 out of 13 races that year. Mark Donohue's Fatal Crash - sterreichring 1975 (42 years ago) Humphrey The Auto Racing Fan 1989 2.38K subscribers Subscribe 54 Save 13K views 5 years ago Notice Age-restricted video. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/21/archives/mark-donohue-returns-to-die.html. When David Donohue was young, he never really got to know his father -- Mark Donohue. In 2003, in commemoration of Penske Racing's 50th NASCAR win, Nextel Cup driver Ryan Newman drove a Dodge Intrepid painted to resemble Donohue's 1973 AMC (with a No. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway . Donohue's racing tradition is carried on by his son, David Donohue, a successful road racer in his own right. Donohue was the driver of Penskes first Brickyard effort in 1969. His lone NASCAR race win was just part of his narrative, but that victory another hurdle in auto racing cleared in partnership with Penske helped ignite a flame thats lasted over 50 years across different genres of the sport and in turn elevated the quality and intelligence of American racing. It became official last September. I think at that point we started to bring the sport to a higher level, Penske said. 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. Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times, Why Las Vegas is key to F1's growth plans, Why Las Vegas is key to F1's growth plans Once, Penske rented a Formula One car for Donohue and in 1971, in his first start in one of these singleseat, opencockpit racing cars, he finished third in the Canadian Grand Prix. And my wife gave me permission, so when something like that happens you have to go. Ford had developed a new GT, the Mark IV. I can hardly wait to get back to work with our car, he said. Hamilton: F1 retirement talk from Button and Hill not "helpful, How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy, How Gulf deal has boosted Williams's F1 commercial strategy At about 09h45 he left the pits again for another testing run. He was young Roger Penskes equal. He died from severe head injuries sustained August 16 in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at Graz, Austria. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). I got to know Mark and hired him to run our Can-Am car. Donohue, equipped with a mechanical-engineering degree from Brown University, approached car setup not with pet theories or traditional wisdom but with a slide rule, an overarching grasp of how physics strives to thwart a race cars mission, and 300 push-ups daily. In 1974, Mark Donohue took a year off from driving at the height of his racing career to write "The Unfair Advantage," a candid and revealing book about his journey through the world of auto racing -- from amateur SCCA races in his own '57 Corvette to winning the Indy 500 in Roger Penske's McLaren M16. 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. A bad week or the dark horse from F1 testing? Browse 481 mark donohue stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Nine weeks before the Le Mans race, while testing a GT40 Mk II in the rain, Donohue's friend and former teammate Walt Hansgen lost control and crashed his car into an escape road barrier, suffering fatal injuries. 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. He had one religion: testing. In all, there were 57 major victories and more than $1million in purses for this pleasant, intelligent man who gave up a career in mechanical engineering because racing is what he wanted to do. He tried to get a car dealership; that didnt work. During the day, being the state of health still worrying, he was airlifted to the Universittsklinik of Graz where he was operated by Dr. Fritz Heppner. The Penske PC1 was developed but the car proved problematic and midway through the season they decided to switch to a March 751 chassis. Donohue, too, recognized the accomplishment as something of a walk-off home run for his career, briefly retiring following his IROC championship before returning later that year with Penske to compete in the final two Formula 1 races. The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue | Goodreads His fathers absence from the family took its toll, and eventually the marriage dissolved into divorce. A doctor's take: Jules Bianchi brain injury 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 Please try again. 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 . A visit to the gravesite on a gray, cold, foggy March day revelaved little toy race cars on the gravestone, along with a plastic checkered flag -- a testament the life of Mark Donohue. You never saw him in an argument with anybody. Despite this, Donohue still dominated the series, even though he suffered three DNFs during the season due to mechanical problems with the M6A. Driver who fled fatal Olney crash gets 20-year sentence He knew, maybe all along, that he would come back. this email address already registerd with us. 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". Donohue. . Donohue took three victories and the series championship, besting the likes of Petty, Allison, David Pearson, A.J. As ADAM COOPER recalls, though, it ended in tragedy. At first, the former Indianapolis 500 winner was thought to have just a mild concussion. Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. 1968 would be a banner year for Donohue in the Trans-Am series, as he successfully defended his 12 Hours of Sebring victory by partnering with Craig Fisher and driving his Penske Chevrolet Camaro to victory. In auto racing, though, even thinking man's drivers can get killed by punctured tires. Portrait of American racing driver Mark Donohue as he poses with his car after winning the Indianapolis 500 race, Speedway, Indiana, May 1972. . Or, signing some autographs. 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. During testing at Road Atlanta, Donohue recommended larger brake ducts, believing that more cooling would slow the brakes' degradation during a race. He finished the race in his McLaren-Offy setting a record speed of over 162mph (261km/h),[16] which stood for twelve years. The pressures of racing and designing the car took their toll on Donohue. We think we've made a major discovery. But this was a safe driver, a man who knew his limits, his car's limits and didn't go over the edge, as they say in racing. After an initial run of four laps, Donohue entered the pits for a routine check-up and a few adjustments. He died two days later. They continued to use the "lightweight" car in 1968, at the Sebring 12-hour race. Hed drive the truck, hed drive the race car, he would work on the car. 1 Killed in Multi-Car Crash in Olney, Police Say They also acid-dipped the body on the Camaro and had to caution people not to lean against it, for fear it would dent. He would greet those who didnt know him with a smile, but he was so focused and obsessed with making the race car go fast, he was distant. Donohue won in 1972, driving for Penske. The car did a series of cartwheels, and Donohue broke both legs. Allison, the runner-up finisher, will forever be in awe of what he witnessed from Donohue, with whom hed eventually work while driving for Penske. Donohue co-drove in the No. It began as a hobby in 1959 when Donohue sold his soupedup Corvette, which he used to drive around at Brown, and for $3,000 purchased his first racing cara little Elva with an MG engine. During their enormous success in Trans-Am, Penske and Donohue would begin to experiment with their Camaros. Two weeks ago, however, he showed he had not lost his skill at getting a race car around a track when he set a world speed record of 221.160 miles an hour for a closed course. 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. In 1967, Penske contacted Donohue about driving Penske's brand new Lola T70 spyder in the United States Road Racing Championship. The practice sessions were marred by serious accidents; Brian Henton destroyed his Lotus after sliding in an oil patch, and Wilson Fittipaldi broke his hand when crashing at the Rindt Kurve. 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. 4445. 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. Secrets of the mysterious 1975-77 Camaro Racemark GT To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. Going racing meant anywhere and everywhere, and the two chose to tackle stock cars. He answered, "It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear.". Donohue's death was announced by a spokesman for Roger Penske, a close personal friend and his team boss. 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. Coffay fled the scene. David Donohue is proof positive that apples dont fall far from the tree. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 917-30 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. He joined Roger Penske, a former sports car rival who had set up his own team, the following year as a fulltime professional. He took the lot to Lime Rock, Conn., and finished fourth in a sports car race. They changed the grille and taillight to the 1968 model, and then painted both cars identically. . Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? 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 the Austrian Grand Prix. Twelve identically prepared cars is the mantra forever engrained in those who followed the International Race of Champions, and IROCs inaugural season, ranging from the fall of 1973 to the winter of 1974, was one of Donohues finest showings. Why "grounded" Hamilton remains confident in Mercedes' F1 recovery. Mercedes: New W14 sidepod design wont copy F1 rivals, FIA grants Hamilton medical exemption to wear nose studs, FIA grants Hamilton medical exemption to wear nose studs REWIND: Miller on Mark Donohue | RACER - RACER | Racing News [11] Earlier that year, co-driving with Hansgen, Donohue finished third at the 24 Hours of Daytona and second at the 12 Hours of Sebring. I don't think I could have handled that.. When you see the car in real life, it becomes so much more real.. In the 1971 Indianapolis 500, Donohue started second and led 52 of the first 66 laps before breaking a gearbox. Donohue previously had debuted in Formula One on September 19, 1971, with a Penske-sponsored McLaren at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, finishing on the podium in third place. First to go was his marriage, says Argetsinger. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He busted a gut when we got back to the shop. Then there was Marks other side. That got everybodys attention -- the polished wheels, the way our guys looked, the way the cars were prepared and obviously, the performance was good. He never regained consciousness. 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. 1975 Camaro Racemark GT Bob Bailey. Mark Donohue was one of the daredevil drivers of the 1970's. He exuded boyhood charm, was a speed demon behind the wheel, and was a legend of US racing, with wins at Daytona, the Indy 500, and Trans-Am Champion. He is buried in Saint Teresa Cemetery in Summit, Union County, New Jersey.R.I.P Mark Donohue \u0026 Manfred Schaller. Mark Donohue | Formula 1 Wiki | Fandom Mark Donohue. Their performance on the track also quickly turned heads. [10], In 1966, thanks to his friendship with Hansgen, word quickly spread to the Ford Motor Company about the young driver. The Penske team leader, Heinz Hofer, said Donohue had told him after the crash that the left front tire had been punctured as he was traveling about 160 m.p.h. 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. My definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear., Burge Hulett, Donohues lifelong friend, told Bedard: Mark was actually a bit of a doofus, awkward everywhere except behind the wheel. During a post-race inspection, race stewards discovered that the car was 250 pounds lighter than the 2,800-pound minimum weight requirement. who retired from one of the greatest careers in auto racing history at age 36, unretired at 37 and died Tuesday night at 38 of brain injuries suffered in a crash before the Austrian. 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. Donohue raced in seven of the eight races that year, winning six (at Las Vegas, Riverside, Bridgehampton, Watkins Glen, Pacific Raceways, and Mid-Ohio) and finishing third at the Laguna Seca Raceway round behind Lothar Motschenbacher and Mike Goth. After going to the hospital in Graz the next day, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a cerebral hemorrhage and died. "Going down the back straightaway, the wing, which produced a tremendous amount of downforce at high speeds, came off the back of the car," Donohue claimed. The book told how Donohue learned to exploit the antilock braking system and the powerful turbocharged engine of several prototype Porsches, as well as how he learned from various mishaps, including a near-fatal crash. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Mark Donohue's tragic comeback - Autosport The Ferrari lived up to none of Marks calculations, and he was devastated, Bedard recalls. The book documents his career from his first races to his final full season of racing the year before he was killed. Worse yet, when Donohue wasnt racing, he was working 18- to 20-hour days at the teams small race shop, located in a garage in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, and later, a more modern facility in nearby Reading. Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? Search instead in Creative? The No. It was an iconic car, iconic colors for the day and it really brings back memories. If he didnt test a car before a race, he didnt have his Peanuts security blanket and would fret that his edge was lost.. Toy cars at the gravesite of Mark Donohue in Summit, New Jersey. 66 McLaren/Offenhauser that Mark Donohue drove to win the 1972 Indy 500. On his second lap, while at about 260 km/h a rear tire of his March 751 - Ford suddenly blew, the out of control car went through the fence for about 180 feet, over a guard-rail and into a ravine. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Appeal from that part of an order of the Supreme Court (Platkin, J. In 1970 new Javelin team owner Roger Penske and driver Mark Donohue would breathe new life into the AMC team. But where other youngsters were souping up cars to impress girls, I was only interested in the mechanics, Donohue said. Today, he works. Amazingly, Donohue only suffered an internal derangement of his knee with meniscus damage and limited cruciate plus collateral ligament damage. It was always on to the next project.. For Donohue, there was little time to grieve, as his own Le Mans debut was looming. (He was operated on at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta by Drs. Anyone can read what you share. Auto Race Car Driver. Donohue raced at Indianapolis each year following,[15] finishing second in 1970 and 25th in 1971. Carrying the number 66, Donohue qualified 13 th for the California 500, but a burned piston ended his day early, on lap eight. Video of the Day: Donohue breaks closed-course record 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. He won the Can Am championship in 197, the TransAm title in 1968, 1969 and 1971. Donohue began working with cars while growing up in the nineteenfifties in a comfortable neighborhood in Summit, N. J. He flew under the radar a lot, but he was always there. And given enough time just one more year, maybe he wouldve become Americas first world champion.. On his second lap he approached the Vst-Hgel very fast right-hander at the end of the main straight when, at about 162 mi/h (260 km/h), a rear tyre of his March 751-Ford Cosworth suddenly blew up. It was. Make sure you track out all the way for Turn 7.