Alain de Cadenet (born 27 November 1945 in London) is an on air personality for the Speed Channel and ESPN. The British-born de Cadenet has hosted many shows on SPEED, including Legends of Motorsport, as well as the network's coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He also hosted a magnificent showVictory By Design, in which he drives vintage race cars, and talks about their history. Currently, de Cadenet hosts a Velocity Channel show called "Renaissance Man", in which he explores the history of cars, motorcycles, the Merlin Engine, The Monaco racing history, etc...
Alain de Cadenet is the son of Maxine de Cadenet, a lieutenant in the French Air Force, and his wife Valerie. Alain made his reputation building and driving his own sports prototypes, taking on the full works factory teams and, at times, even beating them. In 1976 he finished 3rd overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1980, he won two rounds of the World Sportscar Championship at the Monza 1000 kilometers and Silverstone 6 hour events, with co-driver Desiré Wilson. This was a major achievement in an era of increasing professionalism, when it was very difficult for privateers to defeat larger, better funded factory supported teams.
de Cadenet is also one of the most respected and accomplished racers of classic and vintage cars. He has owned and raced numerous historic automobiles, particularly Alfa Romeos. As the host of six episodes of Victory by Design, featuring classic marques, Alain has sampled a vast assortment of legendary, winning racing cars. In addition to his passion for cars, Alain is also an avid collector of motorcycles and aircraft, including a Supermarine Spitfire. For many years he was also a collector and authority on George V stamps, even advising the Royal Mail on their collection.
He is divorced from his wife Anna, but remains in contact with their children, Alexander and Amanda de Cadenet. He also has a younger son named Aidan de Cadenet and is currently married to his wife Alison de Cadenet.
He has become well known for a clip which surfaced on the Internet of him presenting a documentary on the Spitfire, in which a Spitfire makes an extremely low pass right over him, from behind: Spitfire low pass video