Penske PC1 car-by-car histories

Mark Donohue in the Penske PC1 at the 1975 Brands Hatch Race of Champions. Copyright David Bishop 2018. Used with permission.

The Penske PC1 was the first car designed and built from scratch by Roger Penske's operation and took the team into Formula 1 in late 1974. It was not a great success and was replaced by a customer March 751 in mid-1975.

In December 1973, Roger Penske commissioned 37-year-old ex-Brabham designer Geoff Ferris to produce three design themes for Penske’s move into Formula 1. Ferris, driver Mark Donohue and Penske’s Director of Engineering Don Cox selected the most conventional of the three, and work began in February 1974 at Penske’s ex-McRae factory in Poole, Dorset, supervised by F1 Team Manager Heinz Hofer. Karl Kleinhofer, Penske’s regular chief mechanic, would take the same role with the F1 team. The monocoque was a standard “British F1 kitcar”. Suspension at the front used lower wishbones and top rocker arms, with the spring/damper unit inboard; and at the rear it was the normal arrangement of single top link, parallel lower links, and twin radius rods. Brakes were outboard at the front and inboard at the rear. The main radiators were at the side, as was now almost entirely standard since the Tyrrell 007 and McLaren M23 had followed the lead of the Lotus 72, and the oil radiators were located just behind them. Also entirely conventional was the choice of Cosworth DFV engine and Hewland FGA400 gearbox. The car was unveiled in the team’s Reading, Pennsylvania base at the end of May, leaving plenty of time for Donohue to test the car prior to its planned debut at the Canadian GP in September. Sponsorship was attracted from First National City Bank (which was renamed Citibank from 1976), Goodyear, Sunoco Oil, the Sears retail stores and Norton Abrasives.

Donohue returned to racing a year after his retirement to drive the PC1 in the Canadian and US Grand Prix. He qualified near the back at Mosport Park but went quicker during the race, finishing 12th. He then improved to qualify 14th at Watkins Glen, but retired from the race. Donohue and the team continued with the car in 1975, but never again equalled that 14th in qualifying at the Glen. A fifth-place finish at the Swedish GP was a little fortuitous, and Donohue was finding that the PC1 would not respond to his adjustments. Just before the French GP, he tested a March 751 at Silverstone and realised it was a significantly more responsive car. A new March was ordered, and the Penske was put to one side.

Donohue's grid positions in the team's new March 751 did not significantly improve, but he doubled his points tally for the season by finishing fifth at the British GP. The race was badly affected by rain and ended after half the field went off at Stowe corner. Donohue joined them, but the race was stopped and positions at the end of the previous lap were used for the declared result. He retired after just one lap in Germany and then tragically lost his life during practice in Austria. He crashed at a flat-out kink, demolishing rows of catch fencing which launched him over the barrier. He was taken to hospital but died later from a head injury.

Penske continued in F1 and recruited John Watson to drive a new Penske PC3. The new car was tested in time for the team's return to F1 at the US Grand Prix but had electrical problems before the race, so the old PC1 was quickly readied. Watson started from the pitlane in the unfamiliar car, and could only finish ninth.

Penske built three PC1s. The first car, PC1/01, was used in 1974 and was then modified with narrow track and short wheelbase for 1975. A new car, PC1/02, was raced at the start of the 1975 campaign but was damaged when he went off on spilt oil in Spain and hit the barrier. Then PC1/03 was produced in time for the Monaco GP and was Donohue's race car the last few times a PC1 was used. This car stayed with Penske and was later restored and placed in the Penske Museum.

The fate of the other two cars remains unclear. A pair of PC1s exist in Germany, having appeared at the Nürburgring Museum in 2007 and at various shows since. OldRacingCars.com has been unable to make contact with the owner. If anyone has any information on them or can facilitate correspondence with their owner, please get in touch.

These histories last updated on 30 Jun 2023.