Taxi driver, but not only…

Mark Donohue was an eclectic driver, but also a remarkable technician. His career was marked by his long association with Roger Penske, since their debut in the TransAm Series in 1967 until the terrible accident that took the Americans’ life in a Penske F1 car, at Zeltweg in 1975.

Their first successes came in tin-top TransAm cars, first in the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and then at the wheel of the AMC Javelin. Donohue and Penske then dominated the championship in 1968 and 1969 before moving to endurance racing (Lola T70 then Ferrari 512M), then F1 and IndyCar with McLaren as well as the Can-Am series in the monstrous Porsche 917-30.

Donohue was certainly not only a ‘taxi driver’: without a roof above his head , he finished third for his first Grand Prix in F1 (Canada 1971), won the 500 Miles of Indianapolis (1972) and the Can-Am (1974), always with Team Penske, always in the Sunoco colours. Impressive!