Franck Fréon (born 16 March 1962, in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
) is a French race car driver.
He began his career in the French
Renault 5
The Renault 5 is a five-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also call ...
Turbo Championship in 1986 and 1987 then competed in French
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
History
Formula Three (adop ...
from 1988 to 1989. In 1990 he competed in
International Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become to ...
and failed to qualify for four of his first five race attempts, but was credited with 5th place in his first successful start although he did not finish the race. He subsequently left his team and joined another for the final two races of the year where he qualified but failed to point. His fifth place was good enough for 19th in the championship.
He moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and participated in
Indy Lights
Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Roa ...
from 1991 to 1993 capturing 4 wins and finishing runner up in both the 1992 and 1993 standings, behind
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
and
Bryan Herta
Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American race strategist and former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series and is the strategist for the #27 Andretti Autosport in the same se ...
respectively. However, he had trouble finding a good team in
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs.
A handcart ...
, making 4 starts (and 1 DNF) for 3 different teams in the 1994 season with a best finish of 12th in his CART debut at the
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in Downtown Long Beach, downtown Long Beach, California. It was the premier race on the ...
. 1995 wasn't much better as Fréon finished 15th in the Long Beach season opener, then failed to qualify for the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
in a 3 year old
Lola
Lola may refer to:
Places
* Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama
* Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States
* Lola Prefecture, Guinea
* Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture
* Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands
People
* Lol ...
chassis and returned 5 months later only to fail to make the show at
Laguna Seca Raceway
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for sponsorship reasons) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 ...
.
Franck Fréon then ventured into endurance car racing, driving marginally competitive LMP vehicles in the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
from 1995 to 1999. He then signed onto the
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
factory team to drive the
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
The Chevrolet Corvette C5-R is a grand touring auto racing, racing car built by Pratt Miller and Chevrolet for competition in Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing. The car is based on the Chevrolet Corvette C5, C5 generation of the Chev ...
. He teamed with
Ron Fellows
Ronald Charles Fellows Order of Canada, CM (born September 28, 1959) is a Canadian retired auto racing driver.
Personal life
Fellows was born in Windsor, Ontario, on September 28, 1959. At age four, he became interested in auto racing with his ...
and
Johnny O'Connell
Johnny O'Connell (born July 24, 1962) is the most successful GM factory racing driver from the United States. He currently drives for Cadillac in the Pirelli World Challenge, winning the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 GT driver's championship.
Care ...
to win the
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
in 2001. He continued with the team until 2004.
Nearing his retirement, Franck Fréon leveraged his knowledge, experience and passion for cars to establish his business Pumpkin Fine Cars & Exotics in 1998.
Career Results
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Indy Lights
CART
24 Hours of Le Mans
References
*
*
Champcar Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freon, Franck
1962 births
French racing drivers
Champ Car drivers
French Formula Three Championship drivers
Indy Lights drivers
Living people
International Formula 3000 drivers
British Formula 3000 Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Corvette Racing drivers
Dale Coyne Racing drivers
EuroInternational drivers
Racing drivers from Paris