John French (28 November 1930 – 12 March 2025) was an Australian racing driver.

Biography

French was born in

Millaa Millaa, Queensland Millaa Millaa is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Millaa Millaa had a population of 523 people. Geography Millaa Millaa is on the Atherton ...

, 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 and in 1969 French paired with

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

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

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

and

Subaru 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 largest aut ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Many of the marques he sold featured prominently in his professional racing career. Nationally however he was best remembered as Dick Johnson's co-driver to win the crash-shortened 1981 Bathurst 1000 (French was driving the #17 Ford XD Falcon 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'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 troph ...

rounds when Moffat and Geoghegan were driving their Mustangs. French died in

, Queensland on 12 March 2025, at the age of 94.

Gallery

File:Centaur-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, The Centaur Waggott with which French won the

File:Alfa-French-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Alfa Romeo GTA at Lakeside 1971, 18 April 1971 File:Mini-French-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Morris Mini Cooper S at Lakeside, 16 May 1971 File:Falcon-French-G-Ruckert.jpg, John French in Ian Geoghegan's Improved Production Ford Falcon GTHO at Lakeside, 25 July 1971 File:GTHO-French-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III at Surfers Paradise International Raceway, 6 February 1972 File: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) (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

External links

*
A history of Centaur automobiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, John 1930 births 2025 deaths Australian Touring Car Championship drivers Bathurst 1000 winners People from Far North Queensland Racing drivers from Queensland Dick Johnson Racing drivers 20th-century Australian sportsmen