Franck Fréon (born 16 March 1962, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) is a French race car driver. He began his career in the French

Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a four-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 called Su ...

Turbo Championship in 1986 and 1987 then competed in French

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as 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 dr ...

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 t ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and participated in

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a progr ...

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 former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapol ...

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 one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

, 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, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...

. 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 called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

in a 3 year old

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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) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

. 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 (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

from 1995 to 1999. He then signed onto the Chevrolet factory team to drive the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R. He teamed with

Ron Fellows Ronald Charles Fellows CM (born September 28, 1959) is a Canadian auto racing driver. Fellows holds the record for most wins by a foreign-born driver in NASCAR's top three series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and trucks) with six – four in Nationw ...

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. Caree ...

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 endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

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 busines
Pumpkin Fine Cars & Exotics
in 1998. Image:Collins-Pigrim-Freon-P-LM01.jpg, Franck Freon with teammates Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins in Le Mans 2000 Image:24-hours-le-mans-03.jpg, Franck Freon at Indianapolis Speedway in 1995

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

Driver Database profile

Racing reference profile (US results)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freon, Franck 1964 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