So off we went to the prizegiving afterwards, and the guy said that it was one of the most extraordinarily good team management decisions of all time, to leave her out on slicks — what a remarkably fine-tuned, honed decision.
There was a round of applause. Were there ever times when it was more about the success and fame and glory, than the going out and having fun? When I came third at Le Mans, we never got on the podium because we never even knew where it was.
The glory of it was never part of it. While they totally warrant their presence, I believe that these factory men who just showed up and parked their bum in a nice warm seat missed out on so much — the struggle to get your car bought, the struggle to find sponsorship, negotiations left, right and centre, for example. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got in the car, but the feeling of euphoria when you got a result was truly magnificent.
It was a momentary thing. When we were on the podium at Monza, I was thinking this is bloody great. And then the mechanic called for us to come and help load the car onto the trailer, and you were brought straight back down to earth. Here at Goodwood you have massive money involved. We had two Transit vans and one trailer, and a spare wheel, and we were going FIA World Championship racing, doing the real deal that gets you in the history books. I always think, before any track action, that I am disciplined enough with all my experience not to have to rev the car too hard, brake too late or make an idiot of myself.
But as soon as I get out on the track, all that goes out of the window. Magazine Classic Life. Hard to believe that racing driver, constructor and TV presenter Alain de Cadenet turns 70 today. Is it true that you were a concert photographer?
So how did you end up in motor racing? TG : If you had to flatter yourself, what about your work makes people so receptive would you say? AdC : I believe that what people like about my stuff is that I am very loquacious and verbal and excited about driving the kind of stuff that I do. That I really love it, and that they can tell. I treat the camera like a bloke sitting next door to me. TG : That leads me to my next question, which is when I grew up watching Victory by Design it always had this feeling of a horny kid deciding to start his own Playboy magazine about cars, if that makes any sense.
I used to watch those videos all the time. AdC : Yeah. I get young kids coming up sometimes at races whose fathers had given them some of those tapes. AdC : Yes. Which episodes really kind of stick in your mind as indicative of what that show was all about? AdC : I particularly like the PB sequence. TG : Because you have a personal connection with that car?
I have to say, it was a real treat. Where was I in watch parlance? I certainly enjoyed that PB section though, and I also really liked driving the Mercedes Benz as well. That Mercedes was a pivotal car in the history of motorsport, as we all know. Four valves per cylinder, with a little single cam and rockers. In fact, every aviation engine that Rolls-Royce built up to the Merlin was single overhead cam, four valves per cylinder.
Quite a few German fliers probably lost their lives to their own technology in World War 1. TG : Interesting way to put it. Certainly truth in that. AdC : Anyway, I really enjoyed driving that one. What else was there there? The P3 was nice, obviously, anything to do with Alfas I loved. The little two-liter Daytona coupe T33, that was a fun one for sure. AdC : You see, this is an interesting connotation, this.
I remember a friend of mine bought the first Miura that ever came to England, and he picked me up in it to take me down to the Crystal Palace race track. Transverse twelve-cylinder engine for the first time and whatnot. Bugatti tried that with their straight eight on a car that they never had a chance to develop. AdC : Why was that the case? It never did a thing.
It was a design exercise, like a custom car. TG : It was a victim of being a little too late to the table in terms of racing technology, and I think regulations. AdC : Yes, exactly that you see.
It sounds like corporate stupidity, basically. It was not such a bad idea, just too late. I think Ricardo had something to do with that. What a delicious, tasty, wonderful little thing it was, but it did zilch. Never raced. And look at the Cisitalia-Porsche I mean a supercharged flat-twelve Porsche, four-wheel drive, one-and-a-half-liter Grand Prix car. Jesus wept, that was the ultimate specification of anything at that time. Because of rules and money and whatnot though, it never did anything.
I also remember you said you sold that car for something like five thousand quid. I have to ask, how many of these cars have you owned at the wrong time? Sounds daft now given their values. You could buy a GTO for fifteen hundred pounds though, and that was cheap.
All those cars, back in period, that were no longer competitive on the track but could still be used to race to get experience and track knowledge, you could buy them for nothing. Next to nothing. You could buy a nice 8C Alfa for twelve hundred pounds or something.
For me, I always had old cars of one sort or another to either race or rally or keep my hand in. I remember I had a Riley TT Sprite, and ex-Mike Hawthorn car, and you could drift that car—you could take that car flat round and then you could drift it, especially in the wet, it loved it. TG : There are definitely universals in car racing, car driving for that matter.
I like Invictas, the S-type Tourer. TG : Very cool. Can you tell me more about the Bristol? AdC : With that car, I love the magic of the way that it was all thought out and the thoroughness and aviation approach that Bristol had taken.
That has to be, I would say, the most profound, in depth biography of a marque of car ever written and I love it. TG : It must be a unique experience, being able to learn about the history in its entirety, and then walk out and drive the thing.
Thank you for taking the time, I really appreciate it. What happened to deCad becoming a contributor to this web site? I was really looking forward to it, but as far as I can tell there has been nothing from him. I reall want to enjoy theese shows on my app: Swift Streamz App. So glad you have Alain on board now! Want to keep our WWII history correct. Great work on the site!
A very nice read. Thank you TG and AdC for providing a look back on bygone days when simpler times allowed for stories like this to be written. Minus 2 ehhh? Whats a matter little fellas.. I AM Jewish! And just in case there should be any among you of the anti semitic persuasion taking offense to the facts ….
Or alternatively allow me the pleasure of dealing with you … in person! When I meet someone who expresses an interest in the kind of cars we all love I use my library of Victory By Design to lure them deeper into the life. Thanks for this great look at a very interesting guy. Thank you. Awesome interview with an interesting man. It was an interesting time, when someone who just really wanted to do something extraordinary, could go out and do it. Helps to have lots of capable friends, too.
Facebook Google. Subscribe to newsletter. Sign Up. Log In. Most reacted comment. Hottest comment thread. Recent comment authors. He was educated at Framlingham College. He started racing in the mid with an AC Ace Bristol at Brands Hatch and this was followed by a Porsche which was also his road car.
He made his reputation building and driving his own sports prototypes, taking on works teams and occasionally beating them. In he finished 3rd overall at the Le Mans.
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