Penske's UK shop built a long line of successful Indycars, well into the 1990s. Things were looking up for Penske's F1 efforts, but they couldn't manage to secure sponsorship for 1977 and Roger Penske decided to focus more on NASCAR and Indycar. Watson qualified in 12th place with the PC3, but mechanical issues forced him to drive the PC1 and start at the back of the pack.Īfter the triumph in Austria, Watson drove his way to a seventh place finish in the Driver's Championship, giving Penske fifth in the constructors championship. Team Penske sat out the rest of the 1975 season, returning for the final race at Watkins Glen with Irish driver John Watson and a new car, the PC3. An emergecny operation to relive pressure on his brain was unsuccessful and he died from his injuries at age 38. He regained conciousness after crashing, but fell unconcious once again at the hospital. Donohue placed 5th at Silverstone, but tradgedy struck two races later.Īt the Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue crashed badly in qualifiying and suffered a concussion. For the British Grand Prix, Penske and the boss of sponsor First National City Bank decied to replace the PC1 with a March-Ford 751. His best result in the PC1 was at the Swedish Grand Prix, where he finished in 5th. Wikimedia Commons/Gillfotoĭonohue's impressive driving skill was outweighed by the PC1's lackluster performance, forcing him to retire from five races. Mark Donohue and James Hunt at the 1975 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Geoff Ferris came to some races, but he worked mostly at the shop." "There was Mark, Heinz, and three of us working on the car. "We had only five people going to the races that year," said Karl Kainhofer, one of Penske's lead mechanics, speaking to MotorSport Magazine. Despite Penske's big budget, the team remained small too. The Geoff Ferris-designed PC1 was powered by the venerable Cosworth DFV V8, but it couldn't hope to be competive in 1975. Still, Donohue felt good about Penske's F1 debut, so he decided to run the complete 1975 season with the PC1. Grand Prix.ĭonohue finished in a respectable 12th place in Canda, but was forced to drop out of Watkins Glen due to a failed rear suspension after qualifiying in 14th place, according to MotorSport Magazine. Feeling restless, he helped test the PC1 and convinced Penske to let him race in the 1974 Canadian and U.S. Donohue had retired from racing and was working Penske's team manager and engineer. With just six employees at his new facility, Penske made Heinz Hofer–who previously ran Penske's Porsche Can-Am team–F1 director and directed his new shop to build a new car for the 1974 Candian Grand Prix.Īfter just a few months of development, the Penske PC1 was complete and sent overseas to race in the Candian and U.S. In 1973, Penske purchased a small race car manufacturer in the UK that built Formula 5000. Grand Prix and Roger Penske announced his intention to join F1 competition in earnest. Hobbs managed a 10th place finish at the U.S. Grand Prix, Penske intended to have both Donohue and Hobbs drive, but a scheduling conflict kept Donohue out of the race. Mark Donohue–who in many ways was Penske's right-hand man–made his F1 debut at Canada, snagging a third place finish. Grand Prix, Penske sponsored a McLaren, painting it in the iconic blue and yellow Penske/Sunoco livery. For the two final races, the Canadian Grand Prix and the U.S. Penske's first foray into F1 began at the tail end of the 1971 season. Bob Harmeyer/Archive Photos // Getty Images Mark Donohue drives Roger Penske’s mclaren m19a 1 ford cosworth en-route to third place in the canadian grand prix at mosport park near bowmanville, ontario, canada, on september 19, 1971. In just a few years after Team Penske made its debut at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour, it became an American racing powerhouse. Both American teams and drivers have always had a difficult time in F1, but if any American team could break into F1's elite, European club, it'd be a team led by Roger Penske. The most surprising thing about Penske's F1 efforts isn't its successes, but the fact that it wasn't all that successful overall. On the eve of Haas F1's entry into the sport, it's worth revisiting this nearly forgotten team. Roger Penske only fielded F1 cars for two Grands Prix in 1971 and from 1974 to 1976, never replicating the success of his Indy and sports cars. Interestingly, the F1 effort is but only a footnote on Team Penske's own website. His team remains the last American team to win an F1 Grand Prix, the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. Most of Team Penske's success has come in Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am and American sports car racing, but in the mid-1970s Penske tried his hands at Formula 1. Roger Penske is one of the most famous names in American motorsports, but you don't generally think "F1" when you hear his name.
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