Frédéric Johais
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (April 2017) |
| Frederic Johais | |
|---|---|
 Fred Johais wins in Magny-Cours, Sept 2017 | |
| Nationality | French |
| Born | 15 September 1980 Tours, France |
| 2017 GT4 European Series Southern Cup career | |
| Car number | 9 |
| Starts | 11 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 4 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 3 |
| Previous series | |
| EXR Series Late model NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Rotax Max Challenge FFSA GT Championship 2001 French Formula Renault 2000 Citroen Saxo Cup Karting World Championship | |
Frederic Michel Henry Johais (born 15 September 1980, in Tours, France) is a French racing driver. He has worked in the Las Vegas-based racing school, Exotics Racing, since 2013.
Racing career
Johais began his racing career karting from 1991 to 1999, where he competed at a world-class level in the Karting World Championship alongside notable drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Heikki Kovalainen.
In 2000, Johais transitioned to auto racing and participated in the Citroën Saxo Cup. Despite a crash during his second race in Nogaro, he managed to achieve a podium finish at the end of the season in the Junior category, securing 11th place overall (5th in Junior) and earning the title of Rookie of the Year.[1]
The following year, Frederic participated in two championships: the Citroen Saxo Cup and the French Formula Renault 2000 Championship. In the Saxo Cup, he finished 3rd overall after claiming victory in one race and won the title in the Junior Category. However, his season in Formula Renault was challenging due to budget constraints, resulting in his best result being 15th place at the Renault International Finals in Estoril.[1]
In 2002, thanks to Bernard Simmenauer, he moved up to the French FFSA GT Championship with the Porsche 996 GT3 RS in the McDonald's Racing Team, alongside Jean Louis Miloe. After finishing in the top 5 during the season start, Johais was forced to stop at the middle of the season due to a lack of money. To finish his season, he raced in a go kart, finishing runner up in the French endurance championship and 2nd at Le Mans 24 hours race.[1]
In 2003, he raced a Porsche 996 GT3 for a Cup alongside Thierry Rabineau for Nourry Competition in the French GT3 Championship, finishing 4th overall with four podiums and two pole positions.[1]
In 2004, after losing his main sponsor, he reduced his program and started the season in the French Formula France Championship, winning the first event in Nogaro.[2] He later stopped the season despite leading the championship in points. A few months later, Jacky Foulatier invited him to join the Kart Mag Racing Team to finish the season in the go-kart category, finishing 5th at the Le Mans (24 hours) race and 3rd at the ROK Cup World Final in Lonato (Italy).[1]
From 2005 to 2007, Johais went back in go kart in the Rotax Max Euro Challenge finishing 7th overall with 2 podiums in UK and Austria. During those years, he also won a new title at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and as well as the 24 hours of Bahrain and 24 hours of Essaouira in Morocco. After a break to work on his professional career through FJ Driving Concept, he came back to the auto racing in 2012 through the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and win the opening race at Tours Speedway.[1][3]
Then he moved to the US and raced in Super Late Model,[4] finishing 5th in Las Vegas in 2013, and in the new EXR Series Championship finishing 2nd in COTA (Austin, Texas) in 2016.[5] In 2015, he also came very close to winning the SKUSA Supernats in Las Vegas, starting from the first row in the final, but he had been pushed in the barriers at the start.[6][7]
He raced in the 2017 GT4 European Series Southern Cup on a BMW M4 for the BMW Team France alongside Julien Piguet,[8][9] taking back-to-back victories at Magny-Cours in September.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Frédéric Johais - Racing career profile - Driver Database".
- ^ "future racing - Photos début 2004".
- ^ "LE DÉFI DE FRÉDÉRIC JOHAIS - 19/04/2012 - La Nouvelle République Indre-et-Loire".
- ^ "Souffler n'est pas Johais ! - 05/07/2013 - La Nouvelle République".
- ^ "BURT AND CAITLYN JENNER ON PODIUM AT COTA - EXR Racing Series". 8 November 2018.
- ^ Cole, David (22 November 2015). "Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XIX presented by Evinco – Saturday Report". ekartingnews.com.
- ^ "2015 Pro Tour". SuperKarts! USA. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "BMW Team France engage deux M4 GT4 en Championnat de France FFSA GT 2017".
- ^ "BMW Team France confirms double entry in 2017 GT4 European Series Southern Cup » Flagworld.com".
- ^ "Two from two for BMW Team France and CMR at Nevers Magny-Cours". south.gt4series.com.