Alain de Cadenet

Alain de Cadenet (born 27 November 1945 in London) is a television presenter for the Speed Channel and ESPN and former racing driver. Alain's main career was in sports car endurance racing along with Formula One. He has hosted numerous shows on Speed, including Legends of Motorsport, as well as the network's coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He also hosted Victory By Design, in which he drove vintage racing cars and talked about their history. Currently, de Cadenet hosts the Velocity Channel show Renaissance Man, a history programme whose coverage includes cars, motorcycles, the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and racing at Monaco.

Alain de Cadenet 1975
De Cadenet driving a Ferrari
Driving an Alfa Romeo P3

Biography

De Cadenet is the son of Maxime de Cadenet, a lieutenant in the French Air Force, and his English first wife Valerie. He was educated at Framlingham College.[1]

Career

He made his reputation building and driving his own sports prototypes, taking on works teams and occasionally beating them. In 1976 he finished 3rd overall at the Le Mans.[2] In 1980, with co-driver Desiré Wilson, he won two rounds of the World Sportscar Championship —the Monza 1000 kilometers and Silverstone 6 hour events. This was a major achievement in an era of increasing professionalism, when it was very difficult for privateers to defeat larger, better-funded teams that had factory support.

A passion for collection

De Cadenet also races classic and vintage cars, having owned and raced numerous examples, particularly Alfa Romeos. In addition to cars, he also collects motorcycles and aircraft, and owns a Supermarine Spitfire. A video on the Internet shows a clip from a documentary in which a Spitfire flies extremely low over his head.[3] He was also a collector and authority on George V stamps, and advised the Royal Mail on their collection.

Personal life

Divorced from Anna de Cadenet, with whom he has two children, Alexander and Amanda, he is now married to Alison de Cadenet and has a younger son Aidan.

Official results

24 Hours of Le Mans
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1975 Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft De Cadenet-Lola T380 Ford-Cosworth S
3.0		 291 14th 5th
1976 Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft De Cadenet-Lola T380 Ford-Cosworth S
3.0		 338 3rd 3rd
1977 Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft De Cadenet-Lola T380 Ford-Cosworth S
2.0		 315 5th 3rd
1978 Alain de Cadenet Chris Craft De Cadenet-Lola T380 Ford-Cosworth S
2.0		 273 15th 6th
1979 Alain de Cadenet François Migault De Cadenet-Lola T380 Ford-Cosworth S
2.0		 10 DNF DNF
1980 Alain de Cadenet François Migault De Cadenet-Lola LM Ford-Cosworth S
2.0		 313 7th 3rd
1981 Alain de Cadenet
Belga		 Jean-Michel Martin
Philippe Martin		 De Cadenet-Lola LM Ford-Cosworth S
+2.0		 210 DNF DNF
1982 Grid Racing Desiré Wilson
Emilio de Villota		 Grid Plaza S1 Ford-Cosworth C 7 DNF DNF
1983 Primagaz Yves Courage
Michel Dubois		 Cougar C01B Ford-Cosworth C 86 DNF DNF
1984 Charles Ivey Racing Chris Craft
Allan Grice		 Porsche 956B C1 274 DNF DNF
1986 Primagaz Team Cougar Yves Courage
Pierre-Henri Raphanel		 Cougar C12 Porsche C1 267 18th 11th
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References
  1. "De Cadenet, Maxine". Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790–1976. Andrews Collection, Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, Kent, England: Ancestry.com.
  2. "Alain de Cadenet 24 hours of lemans". Florence Tri-city Times Daily. Google News. 16 June 1974. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  3. Video on YouTube


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