Paul Alexander was born in Colchester, Essex, but has lived all of his life in the Hemel Hempstead area of Hertfordshire. Since leaving school he has always worked in the IT industry, but now also spends most weekends teaching at the UK's leading rally schools.
In 1996, after one-too-many near misses with the traffic police, Paul decided to find a legal way of enjoying his driving, and purchased an ex-Marlboro Spain Ford Sierra Cosworth. Despite being competitive, the car suffered numerous reliability issues and was soon replaced by a self-built Mk2 Escort. This change of mount instantly provided Paul with the results he craved, and after numerous class victories Paul was crowned "Barretts South of England tarmac rally champion" for upto 2-litre cars.
Unable to progress any further against the Metro 6R4s and other 4WD vehicles appearing on the clubman scene, Paul sought a more even playing field in the shape of the 1998 Ford Ka Rally championship. Although being his first season of multi-venue and gravel events, Paul managed to set some credible times, including numerous podium stage times.
In 1999 Paul won the opening round of the Ford Ka Rally championship, and comfortably led the 2nd round until a puncture intervened. More bad luck and reliability issues dogged the team, although winning the "blue-riband" event in Flanders (by 1.6secs!) against the UK, Irish, Belgium and Dutch Ka competitors was a season highlight.
In 2000 and 2001 Paul contested the Peugeot 106 SuperCup until a stunning performance at the non-championship round at Silverstone led to him being offered a Puma S1600 drive by Ford Motorsport. This car was used on a selection of events until ultimately, finances led to it being sold.
Late in 2001 Paul was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and it appeared to be facing a lengthy spell away from the sport. However, after a miraculous recovery from major surgery, Paul appeared (5 weeks later!) on the first round of the Peugeot 206 Cup courtesy of a hastily arranged deal with Geoff Jones Motorsport. Immediately in the top 5 standings, Paul then tried being too clever and retired from both the Welsh (whilst in 2nd place!) and the Scottish due to accidents.
A move to 4WD machinery in the shape of a Promax Motorsport-built Mitsubishi Evo VII instantly led to more success, the highlight of which was a 9th overall finish on the 2002 Cork 20 International Rally. Paul followed this by winning opening round of the 2003 Mitsubishi Evo Challenge and was in runners up position in the series when a change of employment forced the campaign to an end.
After a winter of developments, Paul plans to campaign the Team PURE Digital Evo on all rounds of the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship.
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Question & Answers
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| Age |
33 |
| Hometown |
Kings Langley, Hertfordshire |
| Profession |
BARS Rally Instructor / IT Consultant |
| First event |
1995 Lynn Stages, Snetterton in a Ford Sierra Cosworth |
| Best result |
9th Overall 2002 Cork 20 International Rally |
| Worst results |
Retiring (mechanical - VW Golf) after 7 miles on 2004 JCMR
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Retiring (mechanical - VW Golf) after 2 miles on 2004 Scottish
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Rolling end-over-end on stage 1 on 2000 Tour of Flanders |
| Favourite rallycar |
My Evo VIII of course !! or maybe a SWB Group B Quattro |
| Favourite rallydriver |
Ari Vatanan |
| Favourite rally |
Cork 20 or any Manx event |
| Co-drivers sat with |
Martin Westrop, Dave Parsons, Mike Panes, James Phillips, Jakes Kelly. |
| Favourite food |
Any fast food (although I'm eating less nowadays!) |
| Favourite drink |
Jupiler Begium lager or Kronenbourg 1664 |
Event you'd most
like to contest |
Corsica, Sweden or Monte Carlo |
| Gravel or Tarmac |
No preference |
| Notes or Maps |
My own notes |
| Hobbies |
Golf. Captain of pub football team. Played pool for county before rally took all my time up ! |
| Ambition |
Top 10 results on ANCRO rallies, Top 5 in the National Championship, and the become highest ranking Mitsubishi driver in the UK |
First event you
spectated on |
1998 (I think) Cartel Rally in Yorkshire. |
Favourite sportsperson
outside rallying |
Eric Cantona or Eddie Irvine |
| Favourite film |
Carlito's Way or Donnie Brasco |
| Favourite filmstar |
Robert de Niro / Al Pacino |
| Favourite holiday destination |
Waikiki or Vancouver |
| 2004 World Rally Champion |
Probably Loeb again! |
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