Donohue started racing in 1961 and his career mainly took place in the USA, across the different Can-Am and Trans-Am categories. He achieved a lot of success, including a first place at the Indy 500, in a McLaren.

“Captain Nice” was a meticulous and cold engineer, as well as an excellent test driver with a heavy foot. He was the right man to create an unmatchable understanding with the perfectionist Roger Penske, built on friendship and collaboration. The Penske team presented their F1 car prototype, Penske PC1, with a Cosworth engine, and at its debut, there was the famous trio: Donohue, Kainhofer and Penske… as well as a British designer, Geoffrey Ferris. Mark retired from competitions after winning the Can-Am championship driving a Sonoco Porsche, prepared by Penske, and Roger was actually the one to announce his return.

The key principles of the Penske team were organisation and perfection. Mark went through a hard apprenticeship, which ended during the free practice of the Austrian GP, on 18th August 1975. Donohue had a serious accident due to the explosion of one of his tyres and his wounds were fatal to him, he died two days later in Graz. A race commissioner suffered the same fate after he was hit by the single-seater’s spoiler. Team Penske would win only one GP on the Zeltweg racetrack, with John Watson, where by tragic coincidence, Mark met his death the previous year.