1966-06-03 Porsche 904 - Kamerawagen ZDF

Paul Frère (30 January 1917 – 23 February 2008) was a

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

from Belgium. He participated in eleven World Championship

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Grands Prix debuting on 22 June 1952 and achieving one podium finish with a total of eleven championship points. He drove in several non-Championship Formula One races, winning the 1952 Grand Prix des Frontières and

1960 VI South African Grand Prix 1960 in South African motorsport, Grand Prix, 1960 South African Grand Prix, 1960 1960 in motorsport, South African Grand Prix January 1960 sports events in Africa, South African Grand Prix ...

. He also won the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

with fellow Belgian teammate

Olivier Gendebien Olivier Jean Marie Fernand Gendebien (12 January 1924 – 2 October 1998) was a Belgian racing driver who was called "one of the greatest sportscar racers of all time". Rally racer Gendebien spent some years in the Belgian Congo. On his return ...

Life

Frère was born at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

in 1917. He drove for the Ferrari works team, with Peter Collins. After retiring from active racing in 1960, he worked as an automotive journalist based in Europe (he was the European Editor for ''

Road & Track ''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published 6 times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York, New York. History ''Road & Track'' (often ab ...

'' magazine). He had numerous acquaintances amongst vehicle design engineers, especially in Japan at

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

and

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

and also worked as a consultant to automobile manufacturers. He also had the opportunity to test numerous road and racing cars as a journalist, one of the highlights being the

Audi R8 The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006. The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufac ...

which he tested and demonstrated during a break in the proceedings of the Test Day of the

2003 24 Hours of Le Mans The 71st 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: 71e 24 Heures du Mans, link=no) was a non-championship 24-hour automobile endurance race held for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars from 14 to 15 June 2003 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close to Le ...

. At the time he was 86 years old, making him the oldest racing driver to drive a then-current sportscar. Frère, along with

Piero Taruffi Piero Taruffi (12 October 1906 – 12 January 1988) was a racing driver from Italy. Sports car career Taruffi began his motorsport career racing motorcycles. He won the 1932 500cc European Championship on a Norton and in 1937 set the motorcycle ...

and

Denis Jenkinson Denis Sargent Jenkinson (11 December 1920 – 29 November 1996), "Jenks" or "DSJ" as he was known in the pages of ''Motor Sport'', was a British journalist deeply involved in motorsports. As Continental Correspondent of the UK-based ''Motor Spo ...

, was one of the first writers to treat motor racing as a skill that could be analyzed, explained, and taught. His 1963 book, ''Sports Car and Competition Driving'' is still a standard reference in the field. It influenced the development of competition driving schools, such as those founded by Jim Russell,

Bob Bondurant Robert L. Bondurant (April 27, 1933 – November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road rac ...

and many others. Frère was an expert on Porsche cars, in particular the

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

, writing the definitive book on this series, ''The Porsche 911 Story''. He maintained a close relationship with Porsche over the years. He was also considered an advisor and expert on the 911 by Alois Ruf, a respected Porsche tuner and manufacturer as head of

Ruf Automobile Ruf Automobile GmbH (stylized as RUF) is a German car manufacturer. Formerly using Porsche bodies in white to build cars, today they build vehicles on their own bodies and chassis. They also manufacture performance parts for various Porsche m ...

, who consulted Frère during the development of Ruf's RGT8 Model. In 1967, Frère had a cameo appearance in ''

The Departure The Departure was an English rock band from Northampton, formed in October 2003. Their debut album, '' Dirty Words'', was released 13 June 2005 by Parlophone. A second album, ''Inventions'', was expected to be released in early 2008, but was no ...

'', a Belgian film about a car-obsessed young man trying to get possession of a Porsche 911 for a race. Only weeks before his 90th birthday in January 2007, he was badly injured in an accident near the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

and was hospitalized for 14 days in intensive care. Frère died on 23 February 2008 in

Saint-Paul-de-Vence Saint-Paul-de-Vence (, literally ''Saint-Paul of Vence''; oc, Sant Pau de Vença; it, San Paolo di Venza) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. One of the oldest medie ...

(France). Turn 15 at the

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held ...

, formerly the first part of the ''Stavelot'' corner, has been renamed in his honour.

Rowing champion

Frère was also a successful rower winning three Belgian championships. In 1946 and 1947 he won the national title in a coxless four. In 1946, he also won it with the coxed four.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World 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)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frere, Paul 1917 births 2008 deaths Sportspeople from Le Havre Belgian racing drivers Belgian Formula One drivers Hersham and Walton Motors Formula One drivers Gordini Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Motoring journalists 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Ecurie Nationale Belge Formula One drivers 12 Hours of Reims drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers