Alain de Cadenet dies (Update)

STATEMENT FROM BYRON DEFOOR, FOUNDER OF THE CHATTANOOGA MOTORCAR FESTIVAL, ON THE PASSING OF ALAIN DE CADENET ON JULY 2, 2022

“We at the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival have been privileged to have had Alain de Cadenet as such an important and integral part of our event, since we inaugurated it in 2019.

“Not only was Alain an outstanding celebrity and a knowledgeable analyst during our Time Trials and the Pace Grand Prix at the Bend, he was a true gentleman, friend, and his passion for racing and collector cars was evident in his commentary.

“No one can ever replace Alain; he was unique in so many ways. He always said he was truly proud to be a part of the Festival, and we have been profoundly honored to have had his presence at the Festival since its beginning. He will be missed. We extend our love and prayers to his wife Alison, his family, friends and fans.” –– Byron DeFoor

Alain de Cadenet (Nov. 27, 1945 – July 2, 2022)

Formula 1 and endurance racer and TV commentator, de Cadenet constructed his own racing cars, and has hosted TV and commentary shows on auto racing and classic cars. After retiring from racing, his career as a broadcaster included stints at Speed Channel, ESPN, and the Velocity Channel. He hosted Legends of Motorsport for Speed, network coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and Speed’s Victory By Design, in which he drove vintage racing cars and discussed their history. Most recently de Cadenet hosted Renaissance Man for the Velocity Channel (now Motor Trend Network) covering cars, motorcycles and racing at Monaco. He has been an important member of the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival since its inaugural year in 2019. (Image courtesy of Alain de Cadenet Collection.)

We understand from James Redman that Alain de Cadenet has died at the age of 77. Redman, who shared a hospital room with de Cadenet after both crashed in the Targa Florio in 1970 were lifelong close friends.

Where does one start to explain ‘de Cad’? Driver, team manager, journalist, presenter, bon vivant all good round bloke, he left a lasting impression on everyone who met him.

Alain was one of our presenters when Historic Racing News produced the live stream from Amelia Island a few years ago and working with him was an honor and a privilege (as well as a lot of fun!)

Of course, most of us will remember him for his valiant efforts at Le Mans in the 1970s. Driving his own ‘de Cadenet Ford’, which was in fact a redesigned Lola T380 created by Gordon Murray, moonlighting from Brabham, the very British team flew the flag very effectively, finishing third at Le Mans in 1976.

He raced that car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from ‘75 to ‘79 then switched to another De Cadenet, a Lola LM Ford-Cosworth. He also piloted two Cougars and a Porsche 956 at Le Sarthe. He drove a car listed as a Duckhams LM 72—with sponsorship from Duckhams Oil—to a 12th-place finish at Le Mans in 1972 after getting Gordon Murray to design the car. In 1980 he and co-driver Desiré Wilson, one of only five women to have ever raced in F1, won two rounds of the World Sports Car Championship, beating several factory teams at the Monza 1000 Kilometers and the Silverstone 6 Hours.

Alain became a consummate professional in the world of journalism and TV work (He hosted shows for The Speed Channel and ESPN, among others, and may be best known for the shows Legends of Motorsport and Victory by Design.), talking knowledgeably about the motoring world in general and historic vintage and classic cars in particular. He continued to race and display some wonderful machinery, both his own and other people’s, well into his seventies.

Alain will be sorely missed and there will be many ‘de Cad’ stories shared over bottles of wine over the coming days and weeks.

It is an oft used phrase, but very true in Alain’s case “they don’t make them like him any more”.