Alain de Cadenet
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Alain de Cadenet (born 27 November 1945 in London) is a television presenter and former racing driver. After a career in sports car endurance racing, he has hosted numerous shows and broadcasts for the Speed Channel, ESPN, the Velocity Channel and the Petrolicious website.[1] De Cadenet hosted Legends of Motorsport for Speed between 1996 and 2000, as well as the network's coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. During the 2000s, he hosted Speed's Victory By Design, in which he drove vintage racing cars and discussed their history. In 2012, de Cadenet hosted Renaissance Man for the Velocity Channel (now called the Motor Trend network), covering cars, motorcycles, the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and racing at Monaco.
Biography[]
Alain 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.[2]
Career[]
He made his reputation building and driving his own sports prototypes, taking on works teams and occasionally beating them. In 1972, he persuaded Duckhams Oil to sponsor a car he commissioned Gordon Murray to design for the Le Mans 24 Hour race. De Cadenet finished 12th overall. In 1976 he finished 3rd overall at the Le Mans.[3] 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[]
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 operated a Supermarine Spitfire. A video on the Internet shows a clip from a documentary in which a Spitfire flies extremely low over his head.[4] He was also a collector and authority on George V stamps, and advised the Royal Mail on their collection.
Personal life[]
He is 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 |
Ford-Cosworth | C | 7 | DNF | DNF |
1983 | Primagaz | Yves Courage |
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 |
References[]
- ^ Petrolicious. "Homologation Specials: 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL". Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "De Cadenet, Maxine". Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790–1976. Andrews Collection, Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, Kent, England: Ancestry.com.
- ^ "Alain de Cadenet 24 hours of lemans". Florence Tri-city Times Daily. Google News. 16 June 1974.
- ^ Video on YouTube
External links[]
- Profile on Historic Racing[permanent dead link]
- 1945 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from London
- English racing drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- English people of French descent
- World Sportscar Championship drivers
- 24 Hours of Daytona drivers