The Penske PC1 was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing car developed and raced by

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organizati ...

during the 1974 and

1975 Formula One season The 1975 Formula One season was the 29th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1975 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently from 12 January to 5 O ...

s. The car was designed by

Geoff Ferris Geoff Ferris is a Northern Ireland football manager. He is the current Assistant Manager of Coleraine FC Coleraine Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club, playing in the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of the ...

, and was raced by drivers Mark Donohue and John Watson. The PC1 entered and competed in 12 Grands Prix, and was replaced by the

Penske PC3 The Penske PC3 was a Formula One car used by Citibank Team Penske during the 1976 Formula One season, It was designed by Geoff Ferris. Development In 1976 Penske signed a sponsorship deal with Citibank and built a new car, the Penske PC3. Nort ...

in the 1976 season.

Development

Penske Racing (later renamed to

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...

) was formed in 1968 by American motorsport entrepreneur

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...

. The team remains the last American team to win a

Grand Prix (the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix). In 1973, Penske purchased the facilities of small racing car manufacturer McRae Cars Ltd in Poole, Dorset in the UK. McRae Cars had been founded by New Zealand racing driver and constructor Graeme McRae, a designer and competitor in the

F5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

racing formula. Starting with just six employees, Penske appointed his then Porsche Can-Am team manager, Swiss Heinz Hofer, as F1 manager, and Geoff Ferris as chief engineer/designer. Rounding-out the F1 team was Karl Kainhofer, Penske's long-standing chief mechanic and engine builder, who joined the UK operation in mid 1974. By late summer in 1974, the team unveiled their first car, named the PC1, an aluminium

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

chassis built around a

Ford Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had ...

3.0-litre

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

and a

Hewland Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particul ...

FG 400 gearbox. Penske Racing entered Formula One at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix held at

Mosport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a ad ...

, Ontario, using seasoned driver Mark Donohue, who had driven for Penske in Indycar before being elevated to team manager of the US Penske operations. Donohue had retired from motorsport at the end of the 1973 season, but returned to full-time competitive driving for Penske in Formula One. Donohue had previously raced in Formula One in a Penske-sponsored McLaren in 1971, competing in two races, the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a spor ...

and the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

Racing history

1974

The PC1 made its debut at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix with Donohue qualifying 24th and finishing 12th. Donohue retired from his and Penske's home race at the subsequent

1974 United States Grand Prix The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 15 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 Intern ...

held at Watkins Glen after qualifying 14th, failing to finish the race due to rear suspension failure. The Penske team scored no World Championship points during the 1974 year.

1975

Roger Penske planned a full season with the PC1 for 1975, but it turned out to be a difficult season for the Penske team and a tragic one for Donohue. The first race of 1975 was the

1975 Argentine Grand Prix The 1975 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 12 January 1975. It was race 1 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the twelfth ...

and Donohue finished seventh. Donohue retired from the Brazilian Grand Prix because of a handling issue. The

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, R ...

saw Donohue finish eighth. Donohue retired from the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

when he and Alan Jones ( Hesketh) crashed after hitting oil dropped onto the circuit by the car of

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afri ...

( Tyrrell). The Monaco Grand Prix saw Donohue abandon the race after he had an accident. Donohue finished 11th at

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The Swedish Grand Prix saw Donohue finish fifth. The American finished eighth at

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. The

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

saw Donohue retire from the race due to transmission failure. The PC1 was retired after the French Grand Prix, and Penske entered a March 751 for the next three races. Donohue badly crashed the 751 in the final practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix and suffered severe concussion. He regained consciousness briefly at the circuit, but fell unconscious again at the hospital. An emergency operation to relieve pressure on his brain was unsuccessful, and he died from his injuries. A track marshall was also killed in this accident. The Penske team chose to miss the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

, returning for the

. For this race the March 751 was abandoned in favour of the team's newly developed

driven by Northern Irish driver John Watson. Watson used the car in practice sessions and qualified 12th, but technical problems with the car forced him to switch to the spare PC1 for the actual race. Watson finished ninth in the PC1. The Penske team scored two World Championship points during the 1975 year.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Non-Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{F1 cars 1975 Penske Formula One cars