Australian motorsport world mourns the loss of Bathurst winner John French

The world of Australian motorsport is mourning the loss of 1981 Bathurst 1000 winner John French, who died earlier this week on March 11 aged 94.

French, who was born in the far north but emerged from Queensland’s south east racing scene in the 1960s, first rose to prominence in 1962 by winning the Australian GT Championship in a Centaur Waggott.

He also won the Sandown Three Hour race alongside Allan Moffat in 1969 behind the wheel of a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase I.

However, it was his 1981 victory years later at the crash-shortened Bathurst 1000 that French is best remembered for, where he was the co-driver in Dick Johnson’s #17 XD Falcon, better known ‘Tru-Blu’ due to its iconic sponsor.

French was behind the wheel and in the lead at the time the race was called off due to a six-car accident that blocked the track. French and Johnson became the first Queenslanders to win the race when the decision was declared, while French also became the oldest winner until that record was eclipsed by Jim Richards in 2002.

Despite his on-track success in Fords, he was a well-known Brisbane car dealer off the track, specialising in Alfa Romeos which was the make featured most prominently in his racing career. Subaru, Peugeot, and Renault vehicles were also sold and serviced at his business which he retired from in 2006.

John French was a founding member of Dick Johnson Racing, while off the track, he was a well-known Brisbane car dealer (Image: Dick Johnson/Facebook)

It was Dick Johnson who led the tributes to the man he called “the best teammate I ever had” via his Facebook page.

“A legend of the sport and true friend passed away last night,” Johnson wrote on March 12.

“As far as I’m concerned, he was a very underrated driver and he always shared the mantle with the likes of Moffat, Geoghegan, Gibson, Bond and Brock. I looked up to him and admired him. Safe to say that I was humbled and honoured when he agreed to co-drive with me!”