9 replies to this topic

[TerryS]

FOR INTEREST

 

Tragedy in Austria: The death of Mark Donohue, an end to Penske’s Formula 1 team (msn.com)

[sabrejet]

Time to celebrate Mark's incredible talents as a race engineer and driver, in so many branches of the sport from Trans-Am to Can-Am, NASCAR to IROC, Indy to Le Mans. For some reason I always picture him racing an Elva Courier, and it saddens me that his life ended with something so bloody mundane as an F1 single-seater.

 

But Mark's racing career almost reads like that of several drivers; to pack so much success into so many different disciplines is beyond my ken, and with few equals.

 

And I doubt there are many drivers who are instantly associated with particular race cars: obviously if I see a 917/30 I think of Mark, but it's the same with a 512M or an Elva 300 or an AMC Javelin. Or the afore-mentioned Courier. Again, those cars also show how strong his depth of talent was.

[E1pix]

Memories of Mark go far beyond achievements, like every time I got his autograph and that must number a dozen.

A longtime best friend, whose childhood in racing stopped at 15 with his Dad’s death though carried on with his own AMA Superbike career, still thinks of Mark as a Hero who one day offered him a sandwich when he about 8. I think it was at the 1973 F5000 race at Road America, 51 years ago — but to my friend’s mind might as well have been yesterday.

[jonpollak]

One of my favorite articles….

From MotorSport Magazine's email campaign today
Circa 2005 article. Mark Donohue: Nigel Roebuck's Legends

Jp

[B Squared]

If you want to know the full story on Mark Donohue, late friend Michael Argetsingers Technical Excellence at Speed from David Bulll is highly recommended.

https://motorsportco...oducts_id=13717

[Bloggsworth]

Apart from the tragedy it is an important lesson. If you get a serious bang on the head, don't assume that all is well, seek medical help. My bank manager slipped and banged his head, waved away help, died the next day from a brain bleed, as did Leslie Crowther after a car crash.

[B Squared]

John Force recently walked away from his big crash only to be later discovered with a severe head injury

[petere]

Apart from the tragedy it is an important lesson. If you get a serious bang on the head, don't assume that all is well, seek medical help. My bank manager slipped and banged his head, waved away help, died the next day from a brain bleed, as did Leslie Crowther after a car crash.

That has to be the first time Leslie Crowther (Crackerjack...) has been mentioned on tnf.... He actually recovered -mostly - from pretty much the same sort of brain injury as Donohue that he suffered in the 1992 crash- it may have been worse, he had two major clots and surgery to remove both of them - and then survived another 4 years before  dying from heart failure in 1996. 

Edited by petere, 20 August 2024 - 16:46.

[JohnH]

John Force recently walked away from his big crash only to be later discovered with a severe head injury

I volunteer at the NHRA museum and have a lot of contacts there , and I’m friends with Jack Beckman, his replacement. “ walked away” ? He went into the ambulance and straight to the hospital. It was all on video and in the reports. 

[B Squared]

Maybe they had video footage mixed up when they showed it on the news, because what I saw showed Mr Force get out of the wreckage and was standing next to it before the events you described.