Guy Fréquelin (born 2 April 1945 at
Langres
Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est.
History
As the capital o ...
) is a French former
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sport ...
and sports car driver.
Biography
Perhaps Fréquelin's finest hour as a driver came when he finished runner-up only to
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally ...
, alongside then-navigator
Jean Todt
Jean Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executive offi ...
, at the wheel of a briefly competitive
Sunbeam Lotus Talbot in the driver's classification of the
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
.
It was during that year that he collected his only individual rally victory in the series, in
Rally Argentina
The Rally Argentina ( es, Rally de Argentina) is an Argentine rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championshi ...
.
Fréquelin was also part of a four-car Renault assault on the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
in 1977 with their highly successful
Alpine Renault A442B. As part of a team which included the French racing drivers,
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (born 1 October 1942) is a French former racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabou ...
,
Jacques Laffite
Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1.
...
,
Patrick Depailler
Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-champi ...
,
Patrick Tambay
Patrick Daniel Tambay (25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice. Between 1977 and 198 ...
,
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (3 June 1937 – 22 July 2021) was a French racing driver, noted for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 and 1980.
Jaussaud was born in Caen, Calvados, and started racing in automobiles in 1962, taking courses in the Ji ...
,
René Arnoux
René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...
and
Didier Pironi
Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981 ...
, as well as the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
long distance expert
Derek Bell, Fréquelin was named as the third driver for both the #7 Tambay/Jaussaud and the #16 Arnoux/Pironi machines. Neither cars were to finish the race. Tambay and Jaussaud eventually retired after just 158 laps with engine troubles to blame, while the sister #16 Arnoux/Pironi car was immediately out, with no laps registered to its name, after a turbo oil seal caused a fire. Fréquelin, though, was to return to the
Sarthe circuit for the 1981 race, paired with countryman
Roger Dorchy
Roger Dorchy (born 5 September 1944) is a French former racing driver. He is known for holding the top speed record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, setting a top speed of with a WM-Peugeot at the end of the Mulsanne Straight at the 1988 24 Hours of L ...
in the #5 WM P79/80
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
. Again, though, he scored only a DNF after an engine fire forced the pair's exit after 46 laps.
In more recent years, Fréquelin has held a position as Team Principal at the
Citroën Total World Rally Team
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
. He retired at the end of 2007.
In this position he oversaw the four consecutive world championship titles of
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rallying, rally, auto racing, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nin ...
and an impressive number of victories in the Paris Dakar and in WRC, with cars such as the ZX, the Xsara and the C4.
In rallying circles he is nicknamed the ''Grizzly''.
WRC victories
:
Racing record
Complete WRC results
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frequelin, Guy
1945 births
French rally drivers
Living people
People from Langres
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
World Rally Championship drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Sportspeople from Haute-Marne