Penske PC-20

Penske PC-20
Category CART IndyCar
Constructor Penske Cars Ltd.
Designer(s) Nigel Bennett
Predecessor Penske PC-19
Successor Penske PC-21
Technical specifications
Suspension (front) pushrod
Suspension (rear) pushrod
Engine Ilmor-Chevrolet 265A V8 90° turbocharged Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted
Transmission manual
Fuel Methanol, supplied by Mobil
Tyres Goodyear Eagle
Competition history
Notable entrants Penske Racing
Notable drivers 3 Rick Mears
5 Emerson Fittipaldi
17 Paul Tracy
Debut 1991 Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix
RacesWinsPoles
3238

The Penske PC-20 was a CART Penske Racing car which competed in the 1991 and 1992 seasons. In 1991, it raced in all seventeen events, scoring 3 wins, two with Rick Mears, and one with Emerson Fittipaldi, placed 4th and 5th at the season's end respectively. The most remarkable success of the PC-20 was the 1991 Indianapolis 500 win by Mears, his 4th win at the Brickyard. The car was designed by Nigel Bennett, his 4th for Penske Racing.[1] In 1992, it also raced alongside the Penske PC-21.

Racing history

The PC-20 was powered by an Ilmor-Chevrolet V8 265A turbo engine and it debuted at the 1991 Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix where it qualified 6th and 7th with Fittipaldi and Mears, respectively. In the race Mears scored a 3rd place, while Fittipaldi retired with drive shaft failure. After a 4th place finish in Long Beach with Mears, and a 3rd place finish at Phoenix with Fittipaldi, the PC-20 scored its biggest win at 1991 Indianapolis 500. In qualifying, Mears clinched his 6th pole at Indy 500 (224.113 mph[2]). Mears battled with Michael Andretti during final stages of the race, who led Rick Mears by 15 seconds when a caution flag flies on lap 182. Andretti was able to make it to the pits for fuel under the yellow, while Mears lined up as the leader. Andretti then completed a daring pass around the outside of Mears into turn 1 on the restart. Exactly one lap later, Mears repeated the move on Andretti, passing him on the outside of turn one to re-take the lead. Another caution does not alter the result as Mears powered away again to his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 Victory,[3] tying A.J Foyt and Al Unser, Sr. During the rest of the season, the Penskes weren't able to compete with Michael Andretti dominance, who clinched the title with 8 season wins.[4] Nevertheless, Fittipaldi won at Detroit, and Mears scored a win at Michigan 500, as confirmation of the PC-20's competitive form on long ovals.[5]

In 1992, the PC-20 chassis was used by Penske Racing, as a third car for Paul Tracy in early stages of season (Tracy was driving the #4 car in second half of the season as replacement for injured Mears), and for entire season by Bettenhausen Racing, with Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. and Stefan Johansson sharing the #16 car, with two 3rd places by Johansson as best results. It raced along the PC-21.

The PC-21 was instead powered by an Ilmor-Chevrolet 265B V8 turbo engine. It made its race debut in the Gold Coast, Australia, at the renamed Daikyo IndyCar Grand Prix where it finished first and second, driven by Fittipaldi and Mears, respectively. It is also the last car that Mears drove to his final career podium finish.[6]

Ayrton Senna tests

In December 1992, concerned by possibly being unable to secure a competitive drive for the 1993 Formula One season, three-time world champion Ayrton Senna test-drove a PC-21[7] at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona. This test was facilitated by the fact that, Penske Racing's lead driver was countryman Fittipaldi, and they were both sponsored by Marlboro. According to former Penske race engineer Nigel Beresford, Senna completed 24 laps in the car after which "He came back into the pits and said: 'Thank you very much, I've learned what I need to know.' Then he got out of the car and that was that." Senna covered the initial 14 laps relatively slowly to familiarize himself with the PC-21 since, unlike F1 racers of the time, IndyCars were markedly heavier and powered by a turbocharged engine. More crucially, they had a traditional transmission with clutch pedal and iron brakes, unlike the semi-automatic transmissions and carbon brakes used in F1. In his subsequent 10 laps using the same tyres, Senna set a best time of 49.09 seconds, which compared favourably with Fittipaldi's time of 49.70 seconds. The latter subsequently improved his time on the day by achieving 48.5 seconds, but only thanks to driving the new 1993 Penske PC-22.[8]

Complete Indy Car World Series results

(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Engine Tyres Driver No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points D.C.
1991 Team Penske Chevrolet 265A V8t G SFR LBH PHX INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
United States Rick Mears 3 3 4 5 1 15 5 6 17 3 20 1 8 6 6 15 15 5 145 4th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 5 19 17 3 11 8 1 2 2 7 21 20 2 17 2 6 8 4 140 5th
1992 Team Penske Chevrolet 265A V8t G SFR PHX LBH INDY DET POR MIL NHA TOR MCH CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG
Canada Paul Tracy 7 4 20 59* 12th*
Bettenhausen Motorsports Chevrolet 265A V8t G United States Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. 16 13 11 15 DNQ 21 18 9 6 24th
Sweden Stefan Johansson 3 10 11 9 19 3 6 21 11 47 14th

*Only results with PC-20 chassis are shown. Tracy raced in a total of 11 events in 1992 season, scoring 59 points and 12th final place.

References

  1. ↑ "Mercedosaurus Rex at Indianapolic Park, Part 10: Penske PC23 - a home for the engine". forix.autosport.com.
  2. ↑ "Rick Mears". www.race-database.com.
  3. ↑ "Year-by-Year Highlights". Penske Racing.
  4. ↑ "1991 CART PPG IndyCar World Series standings". www.race-database.com.
  5. ↑ "1991 Marlboro 500". www.race-database.com.
  6. ↑ "1992 Penske PC21-005". John Cummiskey Racing. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Penske test in Indy". Ayrton Senna Official. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Fagnan, René (2012-08-27). "Penske engineer recalls the day Ayrton Senna drove an Indy Car". auto123.com. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
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