| John French | |
|---|---|
 The car with which French and Dick Johnson won the 1981 Bathurst 1000 | |
| Nationality |  Australian |
| Born | 28 November 1930 Millaa Millaa, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 12 March 2025 (aged 94) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
John French (28 November 1930 – 12 March 2025) was an Australian racing driver.
French was born in Millaa Millaa, Queensland, [1] and his long career lasted from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He won the 1962 Australian GT Championship driving a Centaur-Waggott and in 1969 French paired with Allan Moffat 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, Renault, Peugeot and Subaru in Brisbane. 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). [2] He regularly drove the works Ford Falcon GTHO's alongside Allan Moffat, and also drove Moffat's and Ian Geoghegan's Improved Production Ford Falcon GTHOs in the Australian Touring Car Championship rounds when Moffat and Geoghegan were driving their Mustangs.
French died in Brisbane, Queensland on 12 March 2025, at the age of 94. [3] [4]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Ralliart Australia | Mitsubishi Starion Turbo | MNZ | JAR | DIJ | NUR | SPA | BNO | SIL | BAT DND* | CLD | WEL | FJI | NC | 0 |
* French was listed as a driver in the #16 Ralliart Australia Starion, though he did not drive in the race.
* In 1987 French was listed to drive and qualified the #16 Ralliart Starion, but never got to drive in the race
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