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89-533: Penske Racing (later renamed to Team Penske ) was formed in 1968 by American motorsport entrepreneur Roger Penske . The team remains the last American team to win a Formula One 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,

178-414: A 19-year partnership. The team subsequently changed their livery to black and white with red trim, reflecting Verizon sponsorship (similar to McLaren Formula One team when they had a black-silver livery from 1997 to 2005 reflecting Mercedes-Benz engines and West sponsorship). Penske first fielded a blue Sunoco 1967 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Mark Donohue in this series designed for Pony cars like

267-495: A 6.0 litre V12 in the IMSA / GTP class. In what was Jaguar's first appearance at Le Mans since 1959 , Watson briefly took the lead of the race towards the end of the first hour when the faster Porsche 956s and Lancia LC2s pitted. Driving with American Tony Adamowicz and Frenchman Claude Ballot-Léna , they failed to finish the race due to engine trouble though they were classified in 28th place. Watson also finished second in

356-429: A customer Brabham BT42-Ford modified by the team. He failed to score Championship points the following year, driving for Team Surtees , Team Lotus and Penske Cars . At the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix he had the chance to score his first win. He was in second position, behind Mario Andretti , until he had to stop in the pits for checks after his car started to suffer vibrations. Andretti retired later, and after rejoining

445-536: A designer and competitor in the F5000 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

534-420: A fight for position with teammate Niki Lauda , who had started the race 23rd, though Watson ultimately finished 27 seconds ahead of his dual World Championship winning teammate. At the end of the 1983 season however, Watson was dropped by McLaren and subsequently retired from Formula One. Negotiations with team boss Ron Dennis reportedly broke down when Watson asked for more money than dual World Champion Lauda

623-416: A more successful season in terms of race finishes, even out-qualifying and out-racing his teammate Niki Lauda on occasion. He managed three podiums and a pole, and notched up 25 points to earn the highest championship placing of his career to that point. For 1979 , Watson moved to McLaren where he gave them their first victory in over three years by winning the 1981 British Grand Prix and also securing

712-436: A performance in a nearly twenty years; none of Team Penske's drivers qualified inside the top fifteen, Will Power was almost bumped from the starting lineup, and their best result was a third-place via a late charge by Simon Pagenaud. A bright spot for the team was their partnership with all-female operated Paretta Autosport team for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 ; Team Penske prepped a chassis leased from Juncos Racing and helped

801-749: A reference of Porsche Motorsport works team. The Porsche RS Spyder made its successful debut at the ALMS season final race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . The " Porsche Junioren " factory drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr finished 1st in LMP2 Class and 5th Overall in the 4–Hour Endurance Race. The livery of the Penske Racing American Le Mans Series team was inspired by Jordan EJ12 's DHL Formula 1 livery driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato . In 2006, Penske Motorsports fielded two LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder in

890-555: A second championship for the team in 2019 while Will Power and Simon Pagenaud respectively won back-to-back Indianapolis 500s in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 the team would win the most races of any team in the IndyCar series but did not win the Indianapolis 500 or secure the IndyCar championship, with Newgarden being unable to defend his title against Scott Dixon. In 2021 Team Penske expanded again to four-time cars. The year also marked

979-449: A shares at Ilmor Engineering Ltd. as well as Chevrolet official team vehicles, financial support and also Chevrolet and Ilmor staff would work with the team at their Mooresville base. Once again, Penske would dominate the early portion of the season, winning 4 consecutive races, with Castroneves taking the season opener at St. Petersburg, and Power capturing wins at Barber, Long Beach, and São Paulo. Briscoe would have struggles throughout

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1068-414: A television commentator, ran a race school at Silverstone and managed a racetrack. He also became the first man to ever test a Jordan Formula One car in 1990. From 1989 to 1996 he worked as a Formula One commentator for Eurosport alongside Andrew Marriott (1989-1990), Richard Nicholls (1990–1992), Allard Kalff (1992–1994) and Ben Edwards (1995–1996). The last Grand Prix Eurosport broadcast live in

1157-801: A win in a Formula One race. In 1971 Penske had sponsored the McLaren car entered in the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix by the White Racing privateer team and in the 1971 United States Grand Prix by the Kirk White privateer team. At the Canadian Grand Prix Mark Donohue took the Penske-sponsored McLaren car to a podium finish. Penske returned three years later, in the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix , with their own works team as well as own chassis,

1246-526: Is a division of Penske Corporation , and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske . The team president is Tim Cindric . Team Penske currently fields three cars: the No. 2 Hitachi Dallara / Chevrolet for Josef Newgarden , the No. 3 Dallara / Chevrolet driven by Scott McLaughlin , and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara / Chevrolet driven by Will Power . Notable past drivers include 4-time Indianapolis 500 winners Al Unser , Rick Mears , and Helio Castroneves . At

1335-573: Is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series , NASCAR Cup Series , IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship . Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona , the organization has also competed in various other types of professional racing such as Formula One , Can-Am , Trans Am , and Australia's Supercars Championship . Altogether, Team Penske has earned over 500 victories and over 40 championships in all of auto racing. Team Penske

1424-519: The 12 Hours of Sebring the "Sunoco" made the pole again but finished the race at the sixth position after making contact with Pedro Rodrigez's 917. Despite this misfortune, the car had proved to be a serious opponent for the 917. Not only this car was the fastest on track in Daytona and Sebring but it was also the car that had the shortest refueling time. The presence of the 512 M "Sunoco" forced Porsche to pursue his effort of research and development on

1513-710: The 12 Hours of Sebring . This was Porsche 's first overall win in the race since 1988 in a Porsche 962 . 2008 team lineup: On December 4, 2008, Roger Penske announced that the Team Penske officially shut down its participation in the American Le Mans Series and thus defected to ALMS's rival Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for the full 2009 season. The team utilized a Porsche-powered Riley with Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas as their official drivers. However, in late 2009, Roger Penske announced that

1602-508: The 1982 World Drivers' Championship with McLaren. Watson also competed in the World Sportscar Championship , finishing runner-up in 1987 with Jaguar . Upon his retirement from motor racing, Watson became a commentator for Eurosport from 1989 until 1996. Since 2022, he has served as the lead commentator for GT World Challenge Europe , and also commentated on the 2022 Miami Grand Prix for F1TV. John Watson

1691-582: The 1987 season alongside Jan Lammers in the TWR Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-8 when they won a total of three championship races ( Jarama , Monza and Fuji ). Watson competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times over the course of his career between 1973 and 1990, finishing 11th, a career best, in his last start in 1990 driving a Porsche 962 C for Richard Lloyd Racing alongside fellow Grand Prix drivers Bruno Giacomelli and Allen Berg . After retiring from active racing, he worked as

1780-526: The 2006 IRL season , they would consolidate IRL and NASCAR operations at the team's Mooresville North Carolina facility; with the flooding in Pennsylvania in 2006, the team's operations were moved to Mooresville earlier than expected. Roger Penske has been involved with IndyCar racing since 1968, when his team first fielded a stock block -powered Eagle with Mark Donohue . The organization first competed at Indianapolis in 1969, where Donohue

1869-748: The 2023 24 Hours of Daytona . With the No. 6 Porsche retiring due to a gearbox issue and No. 7 finishing in 7th place. In May 2021 Porsche announced its return to FIA World Endurance Championship new category LMDh with Penske running their factory team. They announced their return to both WEC and IMSA for 2023 season running two new Porsche 963 in each competition. To prepare their return to WEC, Penske took part in WEC 2022 season with one Oreca 07 -Gibson in LMP2 class. Former Team Penske lubricant partner and supplier Mobil 1 rejoined as official team's lubricant partner and supplier from 2023 season onwards due to

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1958-639: 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 , returning for the United States Grand Prix . For this race

2047-521: The Austrian Grand Prix having qualified second on the grid. After the race he shaved off his beard, the result of a bet with team owner Roger Penske . In a June 2023 interview with F1Weekly podcast Watson said the team flew to London Sunday evening after the race, and Penske did not recognize him in the hotel lobby Monday morning. In the third race of the 1977 Formula One season , the South African Grand Prix , he managed to complete

2136-607: The Ford Mustang . Penske-entered Camaros won the series championship in 1968 and 1969. Later they switched to a red/white/blue American Motors backed 1970 AMC Javelin , and later the restyled 1971 AMC Javelin AMX which had an aerodynamic tail spoiler and other features suggested by Donohue. American Motors won the Over 2.5-liter title in 1971, after which Penske withdrew from the championship. Penske Racing also had an alliance with

2225-475: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series , driving full-time for the 2008 season with Team Penske American Le Mans Series confirming Porsche LMP2 driver Ryan Briscoe as Castroneves's new teammate for 2008 on November 13, 2007. Team Penske started the 2008 season poorly but Hélio Castroneves posted five top-four finishes (including two 2nd-place finishes) to start the year. Meanwhile, Ryan Briscoe

2314-721: The Penske PC1 , a standard tub built around a Cosworth DFV engine and a Hewland gearbox. Donohue took the car to 12th place on its debut. John Watson (racing driver) John Marshall Watson MBE (born 4 May 1946) is a British former racing driver and broadcaster from Northern Ireland , who competed in Formula One from 1973 to 1985 . Watson won five Formula One Grands Prix across 12 seasons. Watson competed in Formula One for Brabham , Surtees , Lotus , Penske and McLaren . He finished third in

2403-817: The Porsche partnership. 2023 line-up: Penske competed in the Formula One World Championship as a chassis constructor from 1974 to 1977 and as a works team from 1974 to 1976 . Although the cars were built at the British base in Poole , the works team held an American licence . Excluding the Indianapolis 500 , Penske is, along with the All American Racers , one of only two American constructors to have achieved

2492-545: The US Grand Prix , where he drove the third works Brabham BT42. Neither was particularly successful, as in the British race he ran out of fuel on the 36th lap and his engine failed after only seven laps in the United States event. Watson scored his first World Championship point in the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix , while driving for Goldie Hexagon Racing. He went on to score a total of six points that season, driving

2581-457: The 2010 season in style by winning the first three races of the season. Will Power challenged for the driver's title until suspension failure in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway robbed him of a shot at the championship. Penske ended up finishing the 2010 season with nine wins, thirteen pole positions, and six fastest laps (mostly by Will Power ). On 12 November 2010, Penske confirmed that they would end their partnership with Honda at

2670-430: The 2011 season with six victories, all from Will Power , while Castroneves and Briscoe went winless. Roger Penske announced a switch to full-works General Motors -owned Chevrolet engines for the 2012 IndyCar Series season onwards and thus Team Penske earned a full-factory support from General Motors and Chevrolet and also Team Penske received free engines formally from Ilmor and Chevrolet as Roger Penske has

2759-525: The 2024 race, Team Penske won the Indy 500 for a record 20th time. The team has won the series championship 16 times. The open-wheel racing portion of Penske Racing had been based in Reading, Pennsylvania since 1973 with the cars, during the Formula One and CART era, being constructed in Poole , Dorset , England , which was also the base for the F1 team. On October 31, 2005, Penske Racing announced after

Penske PC1 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-399: The 5-liter Ferrari 512 . To prepare for the 1972 season, the new works prototype Ferrari 312PB was presented and engaged by the factory in several races. Roger Penske bought a used 512 M chassis that was dismantled and rebuilt. The car was specially tuned for long races receiving many unique features, among them were a large rear wing and aviation-inspired quick refueling system. The engine

2937-559: The 917: The 917K short tail was modified, and the 917 LH aerodynamics received further improvements. New Magnesium chassis were developed. An entirely new car, the 917/20 was built as a test-bed for future CanAm parts and aerodynamic "low-drag" concepts. In Le Mans the "Sunoco" Ferrari was unable to break the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier on the straight while the Porsche 917 LH were lightning-quick at speeds of over 240 mph (380 km/h). Mark Donohue qualified fourth anyway, which

3026-629: The American Le Mans Series, but did not run the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Penske cars combined to win seven class victories and the overall win at Mid-Ohio . Penske Racing won the LMP2 team championship. Drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr tied for first place in the driver's championship, while Timo Bernhard finished fifth, Romain Dumas finished sixth, and Emmanuel Collard finished tenth. 2006 team lineup: In 2007, Penske Motorsports fielded two LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder Evo in

3115-527: The American Le Mans Series. Penske Motorsports for the 2nd year in a row did not compete in 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Penske's two cars combined for eleven class victories and eight overall victories during the twelve race season. Penske won the LMP2 team championship, and team drivers Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard finished tied for first in the LMP2 driver's championship, while Sascha Maassen and Ryan Briscoe tied for third place. 2007 team lineup: Penske started their 2008 season with an overall win in

3204-573: The Indianapolis 500 19 times, won the Indianapolis 500 pole position 18 times, as well as 200 open wheel IndyCar wins in USAC, CART and IRL (as of May 19, 2018), 29 of which are in 500-Mile Races and 13 open-wheel championships. Team Penske has 1,463 starts in IndyCar races, 231 pole positions, 71 wins from pole, 47 double wins of which 8 are 1–2–3 finishes from the Pocono race on June 26, 1977, to January 1, 2015. In 2001, Team Penske marked its return to

3293-493: The Indianapolis 500 but their overall form would be greatly improved, with the team winning four of the first seven races of the season and nine races overall in the season. Scott McLaughlin would take his first IndyCar win at the season opener in St. Petersburg while Will Power and Josef Newgarden would hold the championship points lead at different points in the season. Will Power would ultimately clinch his second IndyCar championship at

3382-423: The Indy 500 after a five-year absence due to the open wheel split , after the 1995 PPG IndyCar World Series season with an Oldsmobile engines. Later, in 2001 Roger Penske announced he would leave CART for the 2002 IRL IndyCar Series season with Chevrolet engines. As Toyota confirmed defection from CART Champ Car to IRL IndyCar Series , the team switched to Toyota engines from 2003 season onwards as it

3471-576: The Japanese company's racing division in Japan and the United States including tune-up support from Ilmor Engineering in Plymouth, Michigan. The partnership started well in 2006, winning the 2006 Indianapolis 500 and 2006 IndyCar Series titles at the hands of Sam Hornish Jr. . Penske retained their Castroneves - Hornish Jr. pair for the 2007 season. The second year of the renewed Honda partnership

3560-738: The March 751 was abandoned in favour of the team's newly developed Penske PC3 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. ( key ) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Team Penske Cup Series : 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race ( Phoenix ) Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing )

3649-589: The McLaren domination of the Can-Am, Penske switched back to Lola Cars for his 1969 Can-Am efforts, but only entered the car in one race at Mid-Ohio . From 1972 to 1974, Penske was Porsche's official partner in the CanAm Series. In late 1971, Penske and Mark Donohue helped to develop the turbocharged version of the Porsche 917 . George Follmer won the series in 1972, and Donohue dominated CanAm in 1973 with

Penske PC1 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-501: The No. 12 and featured primary sponsorship of both the Verizon Wireless brand and Roger Penske's truck rental business. For the 2010 season, the team entered their fifth year of its Penske-Honda partnership with Will Power promoted to a full-time Penske seat alongside Castroneves and Briscoe. Team Penske became a three-car team for the first time since 1994, with the addition of a full-time team for Power. Team Penske started

3827-525: The PC1, an aluminium monocoque chassis built around a Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0-litre V8 engine and a Hewland FG 400 gearbox. Penske Racing entered Formula One at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix held at Mosport Park , 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

3916-461: The Penskes to run significantly faster, giving them the pole and outside front row on the grid for the 78th Indianapolis 500 . Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi dominated the race, eventually lapping the field with 16 laps to go in the 200 lap race when Fittipaldi made contact with the wall coming out of Turn 4, giving Al Unser Jr. the lead and win. The only driver who finished on the lead lap

4005-639: The UK was the Japanese GP in 1996. The contracts for Formula One live broadcasts were shifted to private TV stations for 1997. In 1997 Watson worked as a Formula One commentator for ESPN. From 1998 to 2001 he was Charlie Cox 's sidekick in commentating on the British Touring Car Championship for the BBC . During the 2002 F1 season, Watson co-commentated on Sky Sports' Pay Per View F1+ coverage alongside Ben Edwards. However, this

4094-429: The arrival of three-time Supercars champion and former DJR Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin to the team, marking the first time Team Penske had signed a driver without any open-wheel experience to compete in their open-wheel racing program since Rick Mears signed to compete with the team in 1978. 2021 would be a difficult season for Team Penske. While McLaughlin was given time to adapt to IndyCar racing all three of

4183-399: The back of the grid. At the first ever Detroit Grand Prix in 1982 , he overtook three cars in one lap deep into the race on a tight, twisty track that was difficult to pass on; working his way from 17th starting position on the grid, he charged through the field and scored a victory in the process. Watson went into the final race of the season at Caesars Palace in with an outside chance of

4272-780: The cars any longer following the instruction of Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement restricting cigarette advertising by name. In 2007, the IndyCar Series cars began to carry Team Penske insignia by removing Marlboro branding and sponsorship from Mobil 1 (although the cars remained painted in the Marlboro color scheme—in Formula 1 the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and McLaren has a similar set up due to Marlboro partnership). In 2010, Phillip Morris USA discontinued their relationship with Team Penske, ending

4361-399: The championship at Chicagoland Speedway, but Scott Dixon finished in 2nd place to ensure his 2008 IndyCar Series driver's title. For 2009, Verizon Wireless , joined ExxonMobil ( McLaren 's then fuel and lubricant partner) as associate sponsors, and the team was billed as Verizon Championship Racing. The third car was driven by Will Power (originally a substitute for Castroneves) and carried

4450-612: The championship in the final race on a tie-breaker to Scott Dixon . Team Penske would go on to dominate 2016, filling the top 3 positions in the final standings. Capping the season with a dominating race victory, Simon Pagenaud won his first IndyCar championship, becoming the ninth Penske driver to be crowned champion. Roger Penske's organization claimed its 14th such title and its second in three years (Power won in '14). In 2017 Team Penske signed Josef Newgarden from Ed Carpenter Racing and would secure back-to-back IndyCar championships with Newgarden winning his first in 2017. Newgarden won

4539-415: The championship. In 2020 Team Penske won again the drivers championship, this time with Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor . In the end of that season Penske left IMSA as the 3-year partnership with Acura reached its end. Penske would return to Endurance and IMSA in a partnership with Porsche for the new LMDh regulations. For the 2023 season, the team was the only one that fielded the Porsche 963 at

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4628-488: The championship. The team also dominated a controversial May at Indianapolis. Penske debuted a radical new Mercedes-Benz engine at Indy, the 500I. This engine used a provision in the rules intended for stock block pushrod engines such as the V-6 Buick engines that allowed an extra 650 cm and 10 inches (4.9 psi /33.8 kPa ) of boost. This extra power (at least 900 horsepower , and rumored to be over 1000) allowed

4717-551: The end of the 2011 season and use engines supplied by Chevrolet for the 2012 season. For the 2011 season, the team entered their sixth and final year of its Penske-Honda partnership. Penske's trio of Castroneves-Briscoe-Power remained for the second consecutive year while the team lost the ExxonMobil sponsorship to Stewart-Haas Racing 's NASCAR team in favor of Shell and Pennzoil as their official motor oil partner. The team started well with two victories from Will Power in

4806-500: 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 and the United States Grand Prix . 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

4895-559: The first five races. Power captured his first oval win at Texas Motor Speedway and came into the season finale at Las Vegas 18 points behind leader Dario Franchitti. However, on lap 11 of the race, Power was collected in a fiery 15-car crash that killed defending Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon . The race was cut short in Wheldon's honor and the championship points stood as they had to enter Las Vegas, giving Franchitti his third consecutive driver's title (and fourth overall). Penske finished

4984-427: The first time in sixteen seasons. In 2024 , Team Penske incurred controversy when Josef Newgarden was disqualified from his season opening win at St. Petersburg for having illegally manipulated ECU software to allow for push to pass to be used on the race restarts, marking the first time the team had been stripped of an IndyCar win since Al Unser Jr.'s 1995 win at Portland. Unlike that race, Penske elected not to appeal

5073-489: The first two rows. Problems with the car, accidents, and a disqualification meant that he raced the full distance in only five of the 17 races. The closest he came to victory was during the French Grand Prix , where he dominated the race from the start only to be let down by a fuel metering problem on the last lap which relegated him to second place behind eventual winner Mario Andretti . In 1978 , Watson managed

5162-506: The first victory for a carbon fibre composite monocoque F1 car, the McLaren MP4/1 . Later in the 1981 season, the strength of the McLaren's carbon fibre monocoque (designed by John Barnard ) was demonstrated when he had a fiery crash at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix . Watson lost the car coming out of the high speed Lesmo bends and crashed backwards into the barriers. Similar accidents had previously proven fatal, but Watson

5251-471: The loss of the win and Tim Cindric was banned from the Penske paddock for several races. The team however did have a strong start to the season, with all three of their drivers picking up wins in the first seven races and Newgarden becoming the first driver since Helio Castroneves to win back to back Indianapolis 500s, giving Penske their 20th Indianapolis 500 win. Penske's 1994 IndyCar World Series Championship

5340-470: The pioneer Trans-Am team, Jocko's Racing which won the 1976 Trans-Am Series championship in a Penske-leased car. Penske Racing entered a Lola T70 in the 1966 Can-Am Series for Mark Donohue , resulting in one win at Mosport . In 1967, Penske Racing entered two Lolas, one for Mark Donohue and one for George Follmer . 1968 saw Penske switch to a McLaren M6, which had won the series in 1967. Donohue won one race that year in Can-Am at Bridgehampton . With

5429-588: The prototype (P) class. To prepare their debut in 2018 season, Team Penske took part in the last race of 2017, the Petit Le Mans using the Oreca 07 LMP2 (same framework that the Acura DPi was based on), placing third. 2018 line-up: 2019–2020 line-up: In 2019 Team Penske won the drivers championship with Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron , while Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor finished 3rd on

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5518-471: The race (Lauda had injured his wrist in qualifying for the previous race at Spa , forcing him to miss that race also). Watson raced with Lauda's race number of "1" (the Austrian having won the 1984 World Championship). This was only the second occasion since 1973 that a driver other than the reigning World Champion has raced car number 1 in a World Championship race, the other being Ronnie Peterson when

5607-535: The race Watson finished in eighth, his best Championship result in 1975. In non-Championship races he fared somewhat better, taking second place in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, and fourth at the International Trophy race at Silverstone. He secured his first World Championship podium with third place at the 1976 French Grand Prix . Later that season came his first victory, driving for Penske in

5696-491: The race after he had an accident. Donohue finished 11th at Belgium . The Swedish Grand Prix saw Donohue finish fifth. The American finished eighth at Holland . The French Grand Prix 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

5785-474: The race distance, scored a point, and took his first ever fastest lap. His achievements were overshadowed, however, by the deaths of driver Tom Pryce and a track marshal, Frederik Jansen van Vuuren . His Brabham - Alfa Romeo let him down throughout the season but, despite this, he gained his first pole position in the Monaco Grand Prix and qualified in the top ten no fewer than 14 times, often in

5874-485: The season but managed to find victory lane at Sonoma. However, Power would come up short in the championship after a crash at the season finale. Briscoe left the team after 2012 for other opportunities. In 2014, Will Power took the IndyCar Championship for Team Penske after 3 concurrent runner up finishes in 2010–2012. The 2015 season started well for Team Penske, Juan Pablo Montoya won the first race of

5963-431: The season finale. For 2023 , Team Penske would return to the winner's circle at Indianapolis, with Josef Newgarden clinching the 107th Indianapolis 500 , becoming the first American driver to win the race since 2016. 2023 was otherwise a difficult season for the team; only one of their drivers finishing in the top three of the IndyCar points standings, only winning one road course event, and Will Power recorded no wins for

6052-533: The season, his second win for Penske since he arrived from NASCAR in 2014, with teammates Will Power, Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaud (first season with the team) finishing 2nd, 4th, and 5th. Power got a win at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the 5th race of the season and just 2 weeks later, the Colombian Montoya won the Indy 500 leading again teammate Will Power. Juan Pablo Montoya would lose

6141-405: The subsequent 1974 United States Grand Prix 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. 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

6230-490: The system first began, as reigning World Champion Jackie Stewart had retired upon the conclusion of the 1973 season. In 1984 Watson turned to sports car racing , notably partnering Stefan Bellof to victory at the Fuji 1000 km during Bellof's 1984 Championship year . He was also part of the driver lineup for Bob Tullius ' Group 44 Jaguar team at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans driving an IMSA spec Jaguar XJR-5 powered by

6319-522: The team qualify Simona De Silvestro at the last spot on the starting lineup, though De Silvestro and the Penske prepped car would fail to finish the race. Scott McLaughlin would be named both IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 Rookie Of The Year while Josef Newgarden was able to finish in second place in the championship for a second consecutive season. For 2022 Simon Pagenaud departed the team for Meyer Shank Racing , bringing Team Penske back down to three full-time IndyCar entries. The team would struggle again at

6408-411: The team would shut down its Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series operations and be turned into the new No. 12 Verizon sponsored IndyCar for Will Power to run full-time in 2010. In 2017, it was announced that Team Penske would make a comeback to sportscar racing in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in a 3-year partnership with Acura , starting in the 2018 season, running 2 Acura ARX-05 DPis in

6497-454: The team's former champions would see their worst years with Team Penske. Both Will Power and Josef Newgarden recorded the lowest win totals of their Team Penske tenures in 2021 and had easy victories at Detroit and Road America taken away from them in the closing laps due to mechanical failures, while Simon Pagenaud was only able to record two third-place finishes as his best result of the year. The team also recorded their worst Indianapolis 500

6586-477: The title, but he was to finish five points adrift of Keke Rosberg and level on points with Didier Pironi . A year later in 1983 , he repeated the feat of winning from the back of the grid at the final Formula One race in Long Beach ; another street circuit, starting from 22nd on the grid, the farthest back from which a modern Grand Prix driver had ever come to win a race. Watson's final victory also included

6675-420: The ultimate evolution of the 917, the 917/30. The rules were changed for 1974, and Penske raced only once this year. A Lola T70 Mk IIIb entered by Penske was the surprise winner of the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona . During the 1970 season, the competition between the 5-liter sportscars of Porsche and Ferrari turned to the advantage of the Porsche 917 . In 1971, Ferrari decided to give up any official effort with

6764-488: Was announced on April 2, 2002. The team's partnership with Toyota engines started well in 2003 including winning the 2003 Indianapolis 500 in the hands of Gil de Ferran . However, Team Penske's Toyota partnership started to decline in 2004 by scoring only two wins, five pole positions, and three fastest laps compared to 2003 due to driver errors and also incidents. The team also resurged slightly in 2005 with just only three wins and two pole positions. On October 31, 2005, it

6853-498: Was announced that Team Penske ended their engine deal with Toyota and switched to Honda with an initial five-year deal. Penske had collaborated with Honda engines in the 2000–2001 CART Champ Car season. After a prolonged period, the team announced Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. as their official race drivers. Despite the Honda partnership, Penske had a de facto direct Honda factory support, with engines coming straight from

6942-639: Was born in Belfast and educated at Rockport School , Northern Ireland. Watson's Formula One career began in 1972 , driving a customer March - Cosworth 721 for Goldie Hexagon Racing in a non-Championship event: the World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch . Watson's first World Championship events came in the 1973 season, in which he raced in the British Grand Prix in a customer Brabham - Ford BT37, and

7031-471: Was earning, citing having won a GP in 1983 where Lauda did not. Dennis instead signed Renault refugee Alain Prost for comparatively little (since he was already under contract to Renault but was fired for 1984). He did return for one further race two years later, driving for McLaren in place of an injured Lauda at the 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch , in which he qualified 21st and placed seventh in

7120-754: Was fairly unpopular and it was axed for the 2003 season. In 2005–2009, Watson worked as an expert commentator for BSkyb during their broadcasts of the A1 Grand Prix series. In 2010, Watson commentated on some rounds of the FIA GT1 and GT3 Championship as well as the entire 2014 Blancpain GT Series. Watson currently provides expert commentary on the GT World Challenge Europe alongside regular Blancpain television commentator David Addison. In 2016, in an academic paper that reported

7209-681: Was forced to adapt the Penske IndyCar car, as Briscoe was entering his first season with Team Penske after spending two years as an IndyCar part-timer whilst he raced in the Champ Car World Series in 2006 and later the American Le Mans Series in 2007. Ryan Briscoe finally scored his first win at the Milwaukee Mile while Castroneves claimed his first 2008 win in Infineon Raceway . Castroneves nearly won

7298-440: Was much more promising than the first with the team coming close to defending their Indianapolis 500 victory, as well as their IndyCar Series driver and team titles. However, the team slumped, scoring only two victories due to driver errors and incidents. The team failed to win major IndyCar silverware for the first time since the 2005 season. On November 9, 2007, Sam Hornish Jr. announced he would depart from IndyCar Series to

7387-490: Was named rookie of the year. In 1971, Donohue scored the first win for Team Penske in IndyCar at the Pocono 500 . Donohue won the team's first Indianapolis 500 in May 1972 . In 1978, Penske along with Pat Patrick , Dan Gurney , and several other team owners who had been participating in USAC events involving cars known as Champ Cars and IndyCars formed Championship Auto Racing Teams ( CART ). As of May 28, 2023, Team Penske has won

7476-507: Was one of, if not the most dominating performance from a race team in the history of American open-wheel racing. Roger Penske had found the key to win but also found a way to run from the competition. The new Penske PC-23 chassis with the Ilmor - Indy V8 engine would power the Penske drivers of Al Unser Jr. , Paul Tracy , and Emerson Fittipaldi . The team racked up 12 wins out of 16 races, collecting 10 poles and 28 podium finishes on their way to

7565-681: Was rookie Jacques Villeneuve . This one season gave Penske the Driver's Championship with Al Unser Jr. , Constructor's Cup with the Penske PC-23, and Manufacturer's Cup with the Ilmor-Indy V8 engine. (In the 1995 Indy 500 Penske failed to qualify any cars for the race) Cigarette brand Marlboro had been a sponsor with Team Penske since the 1989 Indianapolis 500 , and primary sponsor of all Team Penske IndyCars since 1991. Late in 2005, Team Penske announced that Marlboro would not appear on

7654-561: Was the 1975 Argentine Grand Prix and Donohue finished seventh. Donohue retired from the Brazilian Grand Prix because of a handling issue. The South African Grand Prix saw Donohue finish eighth. Donohue retired from the Spanish Grand Prix when he and Alan Jones ( Hesketh ) crashed after hitting oil dropped onto the circuit by the car of Jody Scheckter ( Tyrrell ). The Monaco Grand Prix saw Donohue abandon

7743-434: Was the result of an aerodynamic configuration that favored downforce over drag, which helped in the twistier sections. The car did not have much luck in the race though. In April 2005, it was announced that Porsche would build an Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) sanctioned LMP2 Class Prototype that would be entered by Penske Racing in the American Le Mans Series and thus formally competed as DHL Porsche Penske Racing in

7832-514: Was tuned by CanAm V8 specialist Traco, and was probably able to deliver more than 600 hp (450 kW). As of today, it is unknown to what extent Penske's initiative was backed by Ferrari works. This 512M was painted in a blue and yellow livery and was sponsored by Sunoco and the Californian Ferrari dealer Kirk F. White. The car made the pole position for the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona and finished second despite an accident. For

7921-568: Was uninjured in an accident he later recalled as looking far worse than it actually was. After James Hunt 's abrupt retirement after the Monaco Grand Prix in 1979, Watson was the only full-time competitive British F1 driver up until the end of his career. His most successful year was 1982 , when he finished third in the Drivers' Championship, winning two Grands Prix. In several races he achieved high placings despite qualifying towards

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