Advertisement

Alain De Cadenet

Advertisement

Alain De Cadenet

Birth
France
Death
2 Jul 2022 (aged 76)
California, USA
Burial
Putney Vale, London Borough of Wandsworth, Greater London, England Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
De Cadenet driving a Ferrari

Driving an Alfa Romeo P3
Alain de Cadenet (27 November 1945 – 2 July 2022)[a] was an English television presenter and racing driver. He was noted for racing in 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1970s and 1980s, achieving one podium finish with third place in 1976.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Later life
3.1 Collecting
4 Personal life
5 Official results
5.1 24 Hours of Le Mans
6 Explanatory notes
7 References
8 External links
Early life[edit]
De Cadenet was born on 27 November 1945, the son of Maxime de Cadenet, a lieutenant or a film technician in the French Air Force, and his English first wife, Valerie (Braham) who occasionally acted in Hollywood.[3][1][2] According to The Times, he "claimed that his French ancestors had fought with Charlemagne in the 9th century".[1] As a baby he and his family was abandoned by his father.[1][2] He attended Framlingham College in Suffolk.[3][4] Although he studied to become a barrister, he did not pursue the profession.[5] He first worked as a fashion and music photographer for Radio Caroline and Wonderful Radio London.[3][6]

Career[edit]
De Cadenet decided to pursue racing after attending a race meeting at Brands Hatch in which his friend was participating.[3][6] He made his reputation building and driving his own sports prototypes, taking on works teams and occasionally beating them. He first raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971 driving a Ferrari 512M.[3] A year later, he persuaded Duckhams Oil to sponsor a car he commissioned Gordon Murray to design for the Le Mans race. He finished 12th overall. De Cadenet later finished third overall at Le Mans in 1976.[7] In 1980, with co-driver Desiré Wilson, he won two rounds of the World Sportscar Championship – the Monza 1000 kilometers and Silverstone six 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.[3][6]

Later life[edit]
After retiring from sports car endurance racing, de Cadenet hosted numerous shows and broadcasts for the Speed Channel, ESPN,[8] the Velocity Channel, and the Petrolicious website.[9] He hosted Legends of Motorsport for Speed between 1996 and 2000, as well as the network's coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.[10] During the 2000s, he was the host of Speed's Victory By Design, in which he drove vintage racing cars and discussed their history.[3] The New York Times described the series as "car pornography".[11] 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.[10][12]
De Cadenet driving a Ferrari

Driving an Alfa Romeo P3
Alain de Cadenet (27 November 1945 – 2 July 2022)[a] was an English television presenter and racing driver. He was noted for racing in 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1970s and 1980s, achieving one podium finish with third place in 1976.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Later life
3.1 Collecting
4 Personal life
5 Official results
5.1 24 Hours of Le Mans
6 Explanatory notes
7 References
8 External links
Early life[edit]
De Cadenet was born on 27 November 1945, the son of Maxime de Cadenet, a lieutenant or a film technician in the French Air Force, and his English first wife, Valerie (Braham) who occasionally acted in Hollywood.[3][1][2] According to The Times, he "claimed that his French ancestors had fought with Charlemagne in the 9th century".[1] As a baby he and his family was abandoned by his father.[1][2] He attended Framlingham College in Suffolk.[3][4] Although he studied to become a barrister, he did not pursue the profession.[5] He first worked as a fashion and music photographer for Radio Caroline and Wonderful Radio London.[3][6]

Career[edit]
De Cadenet decided to pursue racing after attending a race meeting at Brands Hatch in which his friend was participating.[3][6] He made his reputation building and driving his own sports prototypes, taking on works teams and occasionally beating them. He first raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971 driving a Ferrari 512M.[3] A year later, he persuaded Duckhams Oil to sponsor a car he commissioned Gordon Murray to design for the Le Mans race. He finished 12th overall. De Cadenet later finished third overall at Le Mans in 1976.[7] In 1980, with co-driver Desiré Wilson, he won two rounds of the World Sportscar Championship – the Monza 1000 kilometers and Silverstone six 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.[3][6]

Later life[edit]
After retiring from sports car endurance racing, de Cadenet hosted numerous shows and broadcasts for the Speed Channel, ESPN,[8] the Velocity Channel, and the Petrolicious website.[9] He hosted Legends of Motorsport for Speed between 1996 and 2000, as well as the network's coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.[10] During the 2000s, he was the host of Speed's Victory By Design, in which he drove vintage racing cars and discussed their history.[3] The New York Times described the series as "car pornography".[11] 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.[10][12]

Sponsored by Ancestry

Advertisement

  • Created by: GPMCMAHON
  • Added: Jul 17, 2022
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/241680200/alain-de_cadenet: accessed ), memorial page for Alain De Cadenet (27 Nov 1945–2 Jul 2022), Find a Grave Memorial ID 241680200, citing Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium, Putney Vale, London Borough of Wandsworth, Greater London, England; Cremated; Maintained by GPMCMAHON (contributor 47482738).