The Unfair Advantage

The Unfair Advantage is one of the seminal books on motor racing in the United States as it developed in the sixties and seventies. Hugely interesting and important as an in depth view of the developmant of racing as seen through the eyes of Mark Donohue, one of the early technicians of motor racing. The simple solutions that were created from basic trial, error, retrial and success are at once astounding and nas plain as the nose on your face. Things that we take for granted in racing now were developed as 'unfair advantages' by Donohue and Penske as they struggled to develop winning cars in TransAm, CanAm, Formula 1, Usac Champ cars, and a variety of other venues. The lessons learned here have served many racers well over the years and the inside takes by Donohue on the movers and shakers of that time period are enlightening to say the least. Unfortunately, we lost Mark to a racing accident years ago, but we have these words to remember him by as well as his great record of on track success. A great read. I highly recommend it.

Great book

Among his many achievements, Mark Donohue was one of the only men to tame the infamous, all-dominating, 1200+ horsepower Porsche 917 K. As it turns out, he did much more than drive it, he helped make it the beast that it was! More than just a driver, he was also an engineer who had a first hand role in the making of his winning cars, often giving him the "Unfair Advantage". This is something you just don't see anymore. Many of the techniques and inventions he created are now standard practice in racing world wide. He also raced in an era, when drivers would pilot just about anything with an motor. Unlike today, where most only participate in one type of racing, Mark Donohue competed in CanAm, TransAm, NASCAR, IROC, Le Mans, Formula One, Indy and more. ...Often simultaneously!Not only is his story truly amazing, but the book is well written too. Offering sometimes intimate and humanizing insights to a real hero. Full of fascinating stories, it's hard to put down and it's a book you'll be sad to finish, because you just want more.

I lived during his glory years and didn't know most of what he did for racing. A really great book.So glad I bought it. He was a true pioneer in racing that I think got Penske Racing off the ground.I don't think Roger Penske would be where he is today, in racing, without Mark.You will not regret buying this book.

It provided a lot of insight to his character, and also into his work methodology. Like, winning the IROC series (back when they were driving Porsche 911s on road courses, not when it became NASCAR lite) meant the most to him of all his championships. That was specifically because all the cars were as equal as they could be made and he couldn't tinker with the setup. You see, (he said) he didn't think he was a very good driver. He thought he won all those races because he had the best car (The Unfair Advantage). He would reluctantly admit they were the best because he was very gifted at setting them up, but here was concrete proof he could drive, as well. I remember him crying on the podium when they handed him the championship trophy.He also believed that mechanical grip and balance needed to be set before messing with aero. There is a photo of him driving a Porsche 917K around a skid pad without any bodywork getting the suspension geometry right. He said the 917K as delivered by Porsche was almost undriveable on real world road courses because Porsche had concentrated almost exclusively on power (1100+ HP) from the boxer 12 and on body aerodynamics. So, through a tight (slow) corner it didn't stick and you couldn't get all that power down either. Porsche never said much about all that, but Roger Penske said the 917 was a winner because of Donohue.He was also the inventor of the "circle of friction" concept, and its resultant trail-braking technique. At the time, the belief was you would brake as hard as possible in a straight line and then turn in. Mark said, "The tire patch can generate x amount of G force and it doesn't much matter in which direction. So he said you would brake hard, but then turn in more smoothly and ease off the brakes at the same time. And then pick up the throttle as you unwound the wheel. The idea was to keep the G load on the tires the same (and as close to the max as possible) and just rotate the vector.

I LOVED reading this book, I grew up during that period and attended many races from Watkins Glen to Road America. The mentions of Meadowdale, and Lynndale Farms brought back fond memories of attending races at those tracks. Sebring - what a weekend party that was - always a party!!The engineering and depth Mark describes give me a new perspective on how complicated race cars can be. I recognized and remembered most of the racers names from that era. I've always had the utmost respect for Jim Hall and his Chaparrels after watching them many times at Road America - Marks description just depends that respect. Roger Penske descriptions throughout the book are priceless as well as so much information. .... .... A GREAT READ ....

This book exceeds my expectations. Mark was a great story teller with just the right amount of details. Makes you feel like you are/were there. I'm only half way through it and hate to put it down. I didn't know how smart he really was. Gearheads will find lots of good info. If you're thinking about buying it, just do it!

Not quite what I was expecting ... It is MUCH BETTER!!! I thought it might be a little shallow and deal mostly with the celebrity side of motorsports. Instead I found lots of technical detail and historic references that really took me back to the early days of sports car racing in America. I could easily envision the colourful people and places that Mark describes. He was a contemporary of Carroll Shelby, Roger Penske, Dan Gurney, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Richard Petty, Parnelli Jones, etc.. He drove the original Ford GT, McLarens, Ferraris, Porsches, SCCA, Indy, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR, etc.. I bought this as a model builder and am now keen to locate/assemble a few of Mark's iconic rides.

This is a real insight into the ups & downs of a racing team, albeit one with a large budget. I have a collection of over 50 motorsport related books and this is by my bedside always. It's the only one I repeatedly re-read and offers an honest view of Mark's abilities and occasional failings. Would he have succeeded without Roger Penske's money, I don't know.I can recommend this to any serious motorsport fan as a must have book.

Loving this book! Awesome for any race fan, it gives a behind the scenes look into how racing and race car development went on in the sports car scene of the 1960's and onward.

This book shows how the motorsport evolved in time. It shows how important it is to have a good setup and the playing with the limits of the regulations.