He died from severe head injuries sustained August 16 in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at Graz, Austria. Not true. However, the Penske Formula One car proved unsound and Donohue's best finish this year was a fifth place. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Had there been a Drivers' Championship in place at the time, he would have won three of them (his last in 1971) while driving Camaros in 1968 and 1969, and an AMC Javelin in 1971, all for Roger Penske Racing. In everything he droveeven an Elva Courier and a Cobra, cars he didnt develophe still won. As an American driver, he had done it all. Begrudgingly, Donohue used Bettenhausens setup for the race. Clark, J. The book was published shortly before Donohue's death. 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. He was good in Trans-Am, Indy cars, Can-Am and Formula One. 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]. Mark obviously brought an air of professionalism. During their enormous success in Trans-Am, Penske and Donohue would begin to experiment with their Camaros. 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. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove the 917-30 to a world closed-course speed record at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. We were the college kids with the crew cuts and the polished wheels, Penske said. 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 TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 4 yellow car with sports car driver and race car builder Bruce McLaren for Shelby American Racing. 66 Penske Racing entry went on to win at Indianapolis in 1972 to give Roger Penske the first of his 17 Indy 500 wins. Ferraris chief engineer Mauro Forghieri glared at it and said, Theyll never let you run that wing at Le Mans. Mark replied, Well, I wouldnt want to run this wing at Le Mans, would I?, Partly because we were both engineers, Mark and I hit it off, recalls Patrick Bedard. Donohue's rocketed 7 through four wire catchfences and several roadside billboards. Penske and Donohue did not stop acid-dipping after this, however. In 1968, Donohue and Penske returned to defend their USRRC championship with the McLaren M6A Chevrolet. I know their first conversation after the race, he didnt say (that he had won). We went to Phoenix and tested it with the wings off and then put the wings on and couldnt believe how fast it was. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. That got everybodys attention -- the polished wheels, the way our guys looked, the way the cars were prepared and obviously, the performance was good. They also acid-dipped the body on the Camaro and had to caution people not to lean against it, for fear it would dent. 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. Amongst his friends, he liked practical jokes and liked catching people out on things. Donohue was fiercely motivated and was one of the first drivers to bring a sense of mechanical engineering to his craft. Donohue held the record for 11 years, until it was broken by Rick Mears at Michigan International Speedway . After coming out of retirement with his former boss, Penske, Donohue returned to Formula One, entering into the final two races of the 1974 Formula One season. Mark Donohue Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images With the Corvette money, he also bought a trailer to hold the car and a station wagon to tow the trailer.. Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Albany (Mark Donohue of counsel), for respondents. It was hard to believe because Donohue and team owner Roger Penske were then the cleverest guys in racing. That long association resulted in the ultimate triumph for an American driver in 1972, when he won the Indianapolis 500. The highlight of his entire career was winning the . 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. In his career, Donohue started 311 races and won 119 of them, a winning average of 38 percent. The $9500 price was a 50-percent premium over the fully optioned Camaro Racemark started with. He never regained consciousness. Carrying the number 66, Donohue qualified 13 th for the California 500, but a burned piston ended his day early, on lap eight. Of 55 Trans-Ams he entered, he won 29. He said, Just follow me. Following Mark Donohue on a two-lane road with no street lights was an exercise. 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. When you see the car in real life, it becomes so much more real.. He died two days later. The 917/30 generally is considered one of the most powerful and most dominant racing machines ever created. They continued to use the "lightweight" car in 1968, at the Sebring 12-hour race. The lightweight car was featured on an episode of Dream Car Garage on Speed TV in 2005. He was just 22 years old when he had won his first race, a local hill climb. A 25-year-old passenger in the Infiniti, a woman from Olney, was seriously hurt and taken to the hospital. And neither found what they expected. That sense of realism often hits Mark Donohues son. The two proved to be like-minded peas in a pod. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. David followed his father into sports car racing for Porsche. Settlement of Mark Donohue's Estate Reached - Los Angeles Times Twice before he had had serious accidents and he walked like a man who had had his knees shattered and put back together again. He lost his life doing what he wanted to do, which is one thing, but it took us a long time to get over that. In August 1975, while practicing for the Austrian Grand Prix in a March 751, a tire failed, causing Donohue to lose control of the car. Your message has been sent. 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. By the end of the crash, the front end of the car was missing, and Mark's legs were fully outside the car, with his only injury . The only engineering Donohue went back to concerned race cars. Mark Donohue returning from retirement to lead Roger Penske's Formula 1 team looked like a perfect match. In the 19721973 season, driving an AMC Matador for Penske Racing in NASCAR's top division, the Winston Cup Series, Donohue won the season-opening event at Riverside. They changed the grille and taillight to the 1968 model, and then painted both cars identically. Today, he works for Porsche Cars North America as client relationship manager. Donohue was hit in the head by a fence post and knocked . Painkillers affected his memory, and he began drinking heavily to deal with the pain. And my wife gave me permission, so when something like that happens you have to go. He just decided it was time to get out, and he wanted to do the Formula 1 program, Penske said. 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. The Penske PC1 was developed but the car proved problematic and midway through the season they decided to switch to a March 751 chassis. And, according to Cox, Roger certainly did his part in coming up with next projects.. Despite this, Donohue still dominated the series, even though he suffered three DNFs during the season due to mechanical problems with the M6A. I realized then that if I wanted to do better in this business I had to spend more time on my car, he said. What controls the frontline in the latest F1 design tech battles, Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards, Why Autosport is changing how it ranks F1 drivers from 2023 onwards His condition quickly worsened and he passed away two days later, victim of a blood clot in his brain.Following the fatal accident the sterreichring first turn was tightened in 1976 and the track lenght passed from 5.911 to 5.906 kilometers. Maybe it was some Austrian rock, but whatever it was, one of Donohue's tires blew at 160 miles an hour. It is strangely rewarding in a way I never thought racing would be for me, personally. Among the most impressive cars in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is the beautiful blue and yellow No. 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. He was so key in the operation when he was there its something we had to rebuild. 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 was considered a leading Trans-Am driver of the late 1960s and early 1970s. We may earn money from the links on this page. 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. 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. Donohue was obsessed with finding any possible advantage through engineering -- and loopholes in the rules. He is known for Formula 1 (1950) and The Trans-Am Challenge (1972). With Roger Penske, you are always going to have good equipment. By 1973, the "Captain Nice" nickname he had earned earlier in his career was being supplanted by the nickname "Dark Monohue". Foyt and Emerson Fittipaldi, among others tangible proof that, stock-car equipment being even, Donohue was a world beater. My friends began warning me., Racing was becoming an obsession, but in 1965, he realized: Maybe I can make a living out of something like to do.
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