Alain de Cadenet: I drove Le Mans at 230mph... with only one working eye

October 23 sees the release of A Sicilian Dream, a film that explores the Targa Florio. After the Mille Miglia, it’s perhaps the world’s most celebrated road race.

British driver Alain de Cadenet competed there twice – as well as driving in Le Mans and managing motorsport teams – and stars in the film. TG got the chance to speak to Alain about his Targa Florio days, his Le Mans experience, and a whole lot more…

Alain on… why the Targa Florio was so good

"It’s the most romantic of all the great road races that people my age [Alain is 69] could do, because we missed the Mille Miglia. It’s reminiscent of all the great city-to-city races from when motor racing started.

Once you got to Sicily, you were treated to the most unbelievable geography, topography, local life, Sicilian food and booze. Though “keep well clear of the ladies,” we were always told.  If you wanted to return home with all your bits intact you had to keep away!

I’m very sad indeed it all came to a close. Firstly because the Sicilian people still live and dream that race. And secondly because of all the races I ever did, it is easily my favourite event.

It was the purest form of racing: it was you, the car, the twisty hilly track, and tens of thousands of people just watching everything you do. The only thing we have today that even approaches it is rallying."

…on his accident

"The first time I got to do the race was 1970. The next year I went back and had a terrible accident. I was coming back to the pits, when someone’s bodywork hit me on the head and knocked me out.

My car hit the wall and came to a halt on fire. A guy outside his house was standing right where it ended up; he was a Sicilian soldier and he waded into the fire, pulled me out and saved my life.

And for 42 years, until we went back to Sicily to do this film, I had no idea that I’d had my life saved. I thought I’d been thrown out the car. I ended up meeting the guy’s son and daughter and his grandchildren.

He died about four or five years ago, and I could have given him a hug or thanked him. To discover my life was saved by a very noble Sicilian soldier 42 years after the event was a good head trip for me."

…on the after effects

"As a result of the accident, though, I lost the use of my left eye. My next event was going to Le Mans for the first time. I had never gone over 180mph in my life, but I was racing a big five-litre Ferrari – a 225mph car – for the first time, and I was told that I had to take the kink flat.

A Sicilian soldier waded into the fire and saved my life

When you’ve only got one eye it’s very difficult; unless I turned my head to the left so my good eye was in the middle of the steering wheel, I was having great difficulty judging the turns. It took me two days of practice to get through the kink without lifting, eventually hitting 230 tucked behind another car.

This is what racing is really about; you have to get hold of your brain, which wants to do one thing because it’s scared s***less, and make it do another thing. Which in this case wasn’t lifting off the throttle."

…on F1 vs Le Mans

"In F1, everything has been tried and tested so many times before the event, the race has been done many times before on simulator. The races also don’t last very long, they’re not driving the cars desperately hard and the drivers are unlikely to get hurt. So they can put on a show that is very polished. It’s a bit like watching world championship snooker players. It’s pure practice, practice, practice.

F1 is like watching world championship snooker players

At Le Mans it’s a different thing: you’ve got massive changes in weather and wind, things that fail, brakes give up, gearboxes jam, people have accidents. Your brain is plugged in and tuned in 24 hours. For the whole of that race, you never relax. You might get the chance to scratch your balls on the straight, if you can find them!"

…on Alfa Romeo

"When I was younger I wanted to have one of those Alfa Romeo Spiders from The Graduate, because I remember fancying Mrs Robinson, but you couldn’t buy one. They cost more than an E-Type, or anything else for that matter.

So I had to buy something older. I bought several different old Alfa Romeos, and I wound up with the one that’s in that movie [a 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C]. I’ve had it all my life really. This is the phenomenon of antique, classic cars. People suddenly want to own them for the therapy, the joy. The investment is obviously huge in these things now, too. I come from an era where we only bought old cars because we couldn’t afford new ones!

I’m an Alfa man. I like their products. When I see that badge on the steering wheel, even on a modern one, it makes me feel good just looking at it. They’ve got a new SUV coming out, and the new Giulia, how nice. I look forward to seeing what they produce."