This quiet Frenchman is just another in the ever-lengthening queue of Grand Prix aspirants to have graduated with honours from F3000, only to find no outlet for their talent, for he has shown in the junior formulae that he is a fine prospect. After six seasons of karting, Franck's car racing career was given a flying start in 1987 with second place in the Volant Ekron and the opportunity to move into FF1600. In 1990 he stepped into Formule Renault and finished second in the championship, before two seasons in French F3 with a Dallara-Opel which culminated in his being crowned champion in 1992.

    Joining DAMS in 1993, Lagorce was number two to Panis, and though Olivier was to take the crown Franck's role was not entirely subordinate, for he won the final two rounds at Magny Cours and Nogaro to take equal fourth in the series with Gil de Ferran. He switched to the rival Apomatox team in 1994, scoring two fine wins, but in truth he let the championship slip through his fingers after looking a good bet throughout the year. Already the official reserve and test driver with Ligier, Franck was given a tantalising glimpse of Grand Prix racing with a couple of end-of-season drives, but spent 1995 consigned to his Ligier testing role.

    After returning to racing competition in the Renault Spyder series, Franck joined Pescarolo and Collard in the Courage at Le Mans in 1996, taking seventh place. Deciding that he would rather be in a factory-backed sports car than struggling with a back-of-the-grid Formula 1 team, Lagorce abandoned his efforts to find a place on the Grand Prix stage and opted to join Eric Bernard in the DAMS-run Panoz for 1997. Franck has since been part of both the Nissan and Mercedes squads for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000