(Photo: Bob DOlivo / The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images). We need an obit.. 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. Choose a Username Available! You never saw him in an argument with anybody. 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. 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. He never regained consciousness. The out-of-control car left the track at high speed, tore some 60 meters of the catch-fence on the left side of the track and crashed against the guard-rail, vaulting over it. Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return, IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice, IndyCar St. Petersburg: Dixon leads Herta in incident-packed opening practice To those who work at the cemetery, Donohue is simply known as The Race Car Driver to visitors looking for his gravesite. I was the chief engineer because I was the only engineer, Cox recalled. 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. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that all memorial donations be sent to the Auto Racing Fraternity Foundation, 13539 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, Queens. But where other youngsters were souping up cars to impress girls, I was only interested in the mechanics, Donohue said. During a practice session for the race, Donohue lost control of his March after a tyre failed, sending him into the catch fencing at the fastest corner on the track, Vest Hgel Kurve. I realized then that if I wanted to do better in this business I had to spend more time on my car, he said. He was the thinking man's driver, maybe because, unlike most of his rivals, he had an Ivy League education and maybe because looking at that cherubic face, which was several years younger than his racescarred body, there was no other way to explain how this kid was winning. Mark Donohue and Roger Penske during a break in the Indy-car action at Michigan International Speedway n 1974. Donohue won. 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. [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. A lot of the things we saw on todays cars are things Mark thought about and brought to the surface., Mark Donohue stood out more ways than one when he was dominating the Can Am Series in the early. Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Albany (Mark Donohue of counsel), for respondents. He was a partner, he was a friend and a critical piece of the foundation of our race team.. 500-mile (800km) SCCA endurance event, which he won. Every time David Donohue sees that car, he sees his father. Through racing and after more than four decades after the tragic death of his father, David Donohue believes he has found Mark Donohue. 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. Donohues degree from Brown in Mechanical Engineering got him a job designing filters for air conditioners -- not quite what he had in mind. 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. Police have not yet released his identity. 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 He was hit on the side of his helmet with debris as his car, which had suffered a punctured tire, went out of control in prerace practice and crashed through four rows of wire catchfences and some billboards along the Oesterreichring race course. 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. He finds the same things funny. That took a couple of years. Your message has been sent. the email address you entered is invalid. Today, he works for Porsche Cars North America as client relationship manager. 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. Every dime I had I put into cars, he said. The 1967 Z-28 won its last race by lapping the entire field of cars, causing suspicion throughout the paddock. He was so key in the operation when he was there its something we had to rebuild. Brian Redman drove it once in 1974, and that was it for the car as far as Penske campaigning it. 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. The book was re-released in 2000 by Bentley Publishers (Cambridge, Massachusetts). It was an iconic car, iconic colors for the day and it really brings back memories. Except I knew it wouldnt last, recalls Penske Racings timer/scorer Judy Stropus. In 1968 he was USRRC champion again, winning five of eight, and he was also Trans-Am champion, winning 10 of 13. So they fiddled with it in non-meaningful ways, then Mark went back out. He gained 11.5 secondsthe quickest Ferrari in the field and fourth overall. Mark Donohue. The team was third at Daytona and second at Sebring. Once, in 1971, he and Penske showed up at the Canadian Grand Prix and Jackie Stewart, the former world champion, kidded them: Welcome to the major leagues.. 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. He was very quiet, very unassuming, Mario Andretti told Autoweek. 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. But he was still, a great driver. He will be ranked with A. J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Andretti in the leading group of American drivers. He finished the race in his McLaren-Offy setting a record speed of over 162mph (261km/h),[16] which stood for twelve years. 66 Penske Racing entry went on to win at Indianapolis in 1972 to give Roger Penske the first of his 17 Indy 500 wins. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. Donohue was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is buried in Saint Teresa Cemetery in Summit, Union County, New Jersey.R.I.P Mark Donohue \u0026 Manfred Schaller. That got everybodys attention -- the polished wheels, the way our guys looked, the way the cars were prepared and obviously, the performance was good. Stroll was "protecting" injured wrist during Bahrain GP practice, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times, Alonso "not thinking" about Bahrain pole despite topping Friday times 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. Or, signing some autographs. The four-race schedule consisted of three races at Riverside and a finale on Daytonas road course. Donohue was about to have his race victory taken away for cheating, but Roger Penske stepped in. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked unconscious. 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. He was my original partner in racing, Penske told Autoweek. He was passionate about racing. 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. His first marriage ended in divorce and some friends blamed racing. Her . Donohue was obsessed with finding any possible advantage through engineering -- and loopholes in the rules. Conversely, Mark had one of the greatest senses of humor of anybody I ever met. Mark Donohue began racing at the age of 22 in a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette . Were far from having too much horsepower, he asserted. (key) (Bold Pole position. Cars that Donohue raced include: AMC Javelin, AMC Matador, Chevrolet Camaro, Eagle-Offy, Elva Courier, Ford GT40 MK IV, Ferrari 250LM, Ferrari 512, Lola T70, Lola T330, Lotus 20, McLaren M16, Porsche 911, Porsche 917/10, Porsche 917/30, Shelby Cobra, and Shelby Mustang GT350R. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. Instructions on how to reset your password have been sent to your email. To those who knew him best, he had a tremendous sense of humor and enjoyed pulling pranks. But there was always that missing link, as he called itgrand prix. The track chosen for the speed record attempt was the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
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