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A blue Ferrari at the start

26. Apr 2021 
by Ziv Knoll
4688 views

In 1971, Roger Penske (picture above, with Mark Donohue on the starting grid of the Le Mans 24 Hours) bought a used Ferrari 512M that was totally dismantled, rebuilt and improved.

The car was specially tuned for long distance races receiving many unique features, among them were a large rear wing and an aviation inspired quick refuelling system.

This 512M was painted in blue and yellow livery (picture below) and was sponsored by Sunoco and the Californian Ferrari dealer Kirk F. White. The car made pole position for the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona and finished second despite an accident.

At Le Mans, the Penske-Sunoco Ferrari was unable to achieve more than 200 mph (320 km/h) on the straight while the Porsche 917 LH were lightning quick at speeds over 240 mph (380 km/h).

However, Mark Donohue qualified the car fourth, thanks to having more downforce than drag, which helped in the slower sections, but Donohue and Hobbs had to retire in the race and victory went to the Porsche 917K of Marko and van Lennep.

Source: Bernard Cahier / The Cahier Archive

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