In 1971, Mark Donohue was a huge Indy, TransAm, USRRC and CanAm star when Roger Penske entered a semi-works McLaren next to Denny Hulme at the season-closing North American races, replacing Jackie Oliver. His debut came at the Canadian track of Mosport Park.
It was one to remember.
The American qualified as high as 8th and finished the race a tremendous third, the only other driver in the same lap as winner Stewart and runner-up Peterson. He was on for a second appearance at the Glen, but a practice accident saw Mark being replaced by David Hobbs.
His instant F1 success led to no further involvement in the category, Mark instead concentrating on his blossoming Indy career, winning the big one in 1972. His CanAm chores with Penske’s Porsche 917/30 came to an early end after a huge shunt mid-season, and Mark saw his Shadow-bound team mate George Follmer take his first CanAm championship.
A recovered Donohue returned to the tracks in 1973, now taking the CanAm title by storm and afterwards announcing his retirement. But at the end of 1974 he was lured back into racing by a bullish Roger Penske wanting to do F1 with his own car. So, a Penske with the unusual No.66 was entered at the two North American races, both races largely uneventful for both team and driver.
In 1975, when the team entered its first full season, Penske’s chassis again worked no miracles but Mark showed flashes of brilliance, especially at Anderstorp where he took the PC1 up to a fine 5th. Then, as Penske has done regularly in Indycars ever since, the recalcitrant Penske chassis was canned in favour of a customer chassis. In the early seventies this had to be a March.
Its first appearance in Britain proved a success, bringing the Penske team its best qualifying position of the year and two well-earned points. Who knew the same March would be Donohue’s death trap just two races later? A bizarre crash in practice for the Austrian GP, when the car flipped over the barrier, killing a marshall and injuring another, spelled the end for a driver who had already retired after winning the 1973 CanAm championship.
Strangely, Mark seemed OK at first. Immediately after the accident he was up and running again but soon after fell unconscious. On the way to Graz hospital it was diagnosed that Donohue had been struck by a brain haemorrhage. He died two days later.
Ironically, Penske’s sole win as an F1 constructor came at the same track, John Watson taking his Penske PC4 to an unexpected and highly emotional victory at Zeltweg – exactly one year on.
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