Châssis : Tubulaire
Carrosserie / Bodywork : Polyester
Poids / Weight : 675 kg
Dimensions : 3850 mm / 1850 mm
Moteur / Engine : Ford Cosworth V8 DFV 3.0l
Boîte de vitesses / Gearbox : 5 vitesse Hewland FT200 (5 speed)
Freins / Brakes: Lockheed aluminium
Jantes / Rims: Aluminium
Suspensions : Double triangulation / Double wishbones

A F1 for Le Mans !
For his second participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1972, the great Alain De Cadenet did not hesitate to ask the brilliant Gordon Murray, then a young engineer at Brabham, to transform an F1 car into a prototype made for Le Mans. Mission accomplished...
When Alain De Cadenet took part in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans aboard an impressive Ferrari 512 M of the Francorchamps team, he had no idea that he had just put his finger in a gear that was to set the pace of his exciting life for a quarter of a century. Enthused by this first experience, he only wanted to buy a 312 PB from Ferrari and enter it in the next 24 Hours race. But he receives a refusal. The 312 PB being a prototype version of the F1 312 B, the Italians consider that it could not be put in the hands of an amateur.
Offended, De Cadenet devises another plan. He owns a Brabham BT33 that he entered for his friend Chris Craft during the last two grand prix of the 1971 season. Why not transform it into a prototype homologated at Le Mans? He then turned to Brabham which had just been bought by a certain Bernie Ecclestone. The latter directed the lively "Decad" towards a young South African engineer working in the design office. He was Gordon Murray (see box).
Murray took up the challenge, working at home in the evenings after his day's work at Brabham. In six weeks, he finally designed a specific monocoque chassis that would be manufactured by the company Grand Prix Metalcraft. Unfortunately, De Cadenet's Cosworth V8 was at the end of its life and the English driver went in search of a replacement. John Nicholson, McLaren's engine builder, restored the DFV with which Bruce McLaren had won the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix and sold it to him for £1,500. De Cadenet then went to Colnbrook and brought it back... on the back seat of his Mini! Until then, only Guy Ligier had ventured to the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Cosworth DFV on his back.
De Cadenet convinces the lubricant brand Duckhams to finance a (small) part of the operation. The car is painted in yellow and blue like an oil can. It was entered in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans under the name Duckhams LM. From the outset, the car, one of the lightest on the grid, proved to be competitive. Qualified in 11th position at an average speed of more than 200 km/h, the De Cadenet-Craft duo was in fourth place with two hours to go! Unfortunately, Craft -on slick tires- was surprised by the rain and hit the rail. The Duckhams had to return to the pits and make repairs, and finished 12th. This was the first time that a Cosworth DFV V8 crossed the finish line at Le Mans. In the meantime, the Duckhams competed in the 6 H of Watkins Glen (withdrawal due to engine problems) as well as in the Canam race (same cause, same effect), held the following day.
The agreement with Duckhams being finished, the car runs in 1974 under the name of De Cadenet, with a British racing green livery. After finishing 6th in an Interserie race at Silverstone, it arrived at Le Mans. Unfortunately, Alain De Cadenet could not drive the car bearing his name. Having broken his collarbone shortly before, he noticed during the night tests that he was physically unfit and was replaced. The Nicholson-Craft duo qualified in a very respectable 8th place, running for the first time under the 4 minutes per lap mark (3'52''400 against 4'03''900 in 1972). However, the race ended with another retirement. This is the last participation of this car in an international race.

Alain De Cadenet sold it to Colin Hawker who installed a Volkswagen 1600 Type 3 body on the chassis to compete in club races. Nicknamed "DFVW", the car will collect successes during several seasons. Restored in 2002 in its 1972 configuration, it was soon bought by Jacques Nicolet who drove it with brio in prestigious historic races. At its wheel, he won in 2018 in the very competitive Plateau 5 of Le Mans Classic.

Alain De Cadenet (1945-2022): charisma in action
Born in London to a French aviator father who passed through London during the Second World War and an actress mother, Alain De Cadenet quickly became one of the most colorful figures in endurance racing in the 1970s. However, nothing predestined him for motor sport...

Working in finance, the young De Cadenet changed his path for the first time after his girlfriend at the time left him for a photographer. But he decided to become a photographer! He made a name for himself in the then booming London rock scene. Then, his girlfriend leaves him for a race car driver...

With an implacable logic, he calls the editorial staff of Autosport magazine to find out how to become a racing driver, too. He buys an AC Ace and competes in his first races. He then bought a Porsche 904, then a Ferrari Dino 206S, then a Porsche 908/2... The Englishman quickly demonstrated his driving skills and set up his own team, called Evergreen. He often teams up with Chris Craft, a compatriot with whom he develops a strong friendship.

Upset that Craft's victory in a McLaren M8E at an Interserie race was treated by the media as a minor event, he decided to go for... Formula 1! De Cadenet buys a 1970 Brabham BT 33 and drives it for his friend during the last two grand prix of the 1971 season. Without much success, it must be admitted. Aware that F1 requires considerable means, he concentrates on endurance racing and its jewel, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he has just discovered at the wheel of a Ferrari 512 M.

A long adventure then began. After the Duckhams parenthesis described elsewhere, the charismatic "Decads" managed to convince sponsors each year to follow him in his Le Mans tours. At the wheel of a Lola hired by him and revisited by Gordon Murray, he managed to reach the third step of the podium with Chris Craft in 1976. A feat that he never managed to surpass during his ten following participations.

After the 1981 edition, he stopped entering his own cars and was content to race for other teams. In 1986, while supporting Yves Courage and Pierre-Henri Raphanel at the wheel of a Porsche-powered Cougar, he was shocked by the fatal accident involving the young hopeful Jo Gartner and decided to hang up his helmet.
But he is not done with the world of motorsports, as he puts his skills to work on television. He became a popular presenter on the American Speed Channel. His innumerable and delectable anecdotes as well as his English accent will be his success and his charm for many years.
Gordon Murray, the creativity in addition
When it comes to listing the best engineers in motorsport, three names stand out: Colin Chapman, Adrian Newey and Gordon Murray. These brains not only designed some of the best race cars, but also came up with innovative and daring designs.
To fully express his art, Gordon Murray soon realized he had to leave his native South Africa. After graduating in engineering and racing a car of his own design, he took a one-way ticket to England in 1968. He then found a job at Hawker Siddeley, a manufacturer of... missiles!
Recruited by Brabham in 1969, he became the technical director in 1972. His BT42 and BT44 were soon among the best single-seaters in the field. In 1978, his boundless imagination shook the Formula 1 world with the BT45B "vacuum cleaner", the most efficient wing car ever seen on the track. So formidable that it was banned after its first race, which resulted in a scathing victory!

Murray still outruns all his opponents with a system that allows him to get around the ban on skirts in 1981. Nelson Piquet was crowned world champion that year and in 1983, the season in which Murray introduced the concept of mid-race refuelling. He moved to McLaren in 1986 and designed a GT car that is still a reference today: the McLaren F1, whose racing version won the 24 Hours of Le Mans on its first appearance, in 1995. He now works on his own.

1972 24 Heures du Mans De Cadenet / Craft 12e
1972 6 Heures de Watkins Glen De Cadenet /Birrane Abandon
1972 Watkins Glen Canam De Cadenet Abandon
1973 24 Heures du Mans De Cadenet / Craft Abandon
1974 Silverstone Interserie* De Cadenet 6e
1974 24 Heures du Mans* Craft / Nicholson Abandon