John French (born 28 November 1930) is an Australian retired racing driver. French was born in

Millaa Millaa, Queensland Millaa Millaa is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Millaa Millaa had a population of 514 people. Geography Millaa Millaa is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, a ...

, and his long career lasted from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He won the

1962 Australian GT Championship The 1962 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-6 for drivers of Appendix K GT cars. Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, page 200 The title, which was the third ...

driving a Centaur-

Waggott Waggott Engineering was an Australian automotive engineering company which gained fame for the engines which it produced for motor sport applications from the 1950s through to the 1970s. The company had its origins in a machine shop opened in 1948 b ...

and in 1969 French paired with

Allan Moffat Allan George Moffat OBE (born 10 November 1939 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian-Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four ...

to win the Sandown Three Hour race in a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase I. French was well known multi-franchise car dealer selling BMC vehicles,

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

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 ...

and

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Many of the marques he sold featured prominently in his professional racing career. Nationally however he is best remembered as Dick Johnson's co-driver to win the crash-shortened

1981 Bathurst 1000 The 1981 James Hardie 1000 was the 22nd running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1981 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS Group ...

(French was driving the #17

Ford XD Falcon The Ford Falcon (XD) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1979 to 1982. It was the first iteration of the fourth generation of the Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (XD)—the luxury-oriented version.

when the race was stopped, but wasn't one of the cars in the accident). He regularly drove the works Ford Falcon GTHO's alongside

, and also drove Moffat's and

Ian Geoghegan Ian "Pete" Geoghegan, (26 April 1939 – 15 November 2003) was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Sometimes referred to as "Pete" Geoghegan, he was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 197 ...

's Improved Production Ford Falcon GTHOs in the

Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...

rounds when Moffat and Geoghegan were driving their Mustangs.

Gallery

Image:Centaur-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, The Centaur

with which French won the

Image:Alfa-French-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Alfa Romeo GTA at Lakeside 1971, 18 April 1971 Image:Mini-French-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Morris Mini Cooper S at Lakeside, 16 May 1971 Image:Falcon-French-G-Ruckert.jpg, John French in

's Improved Production Ford Falcon GTHO at Lakeside, 25 July 1971 Image:GTHO-French-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III at Surfers Paradise International Raceway, 6 February 1972 Image:French-GTHO-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Bryan Byrt Ford sponsored Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III at Lakeside, 10 October 1972

Career results

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ''* French was listed as a driver in the #16 Ralliart Australia Starion, though he did not drive in the race.''

Complete Phillip Island/Bathurst 500/1000 results

* In 1987 French was listed to drive and qualified the #16 Ralliart Starion, but never got to drive in the race

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, John 1930 births Australian Touring Car Championship drivers Bathurst 1000 winners Living people People from Far North Queensland Racing drivers from Queensland Dick Johnson Racing drivers