After Dinner Speakers: Jean Alesi, Gail Porter, Alan Price

Jean Alesi was one of the handful of racing drivers whose talent and commitment set him apart from the others. Unfortunately, one bad professional move (early in his career) kept him from achieving numerous wins and possibly multiple world driving championships. He started out racing in the 80s and immediately achieved success winning the French Formula 3 championship. He then won the Formula 3000 title, the final step towards the prestigious Formula 1 World Championship. Alesi first raced for Tyrrell and scored championship points in his first race (1989 French Grand Prix). The next year he put the racing world on its ear when he qualified on the front row at the opening race of the year (Phoenix GP) and battled the legendary Ayrton Senna for the lead. He ultimately finished 2nd and immediately predictions of wins and world titles came and he even signed a contract with then power Williams. Unfortunately, he let his heart rule his head and he left the contract to race for Ferrari, which at the time was struggling to re-establish itself as a racing power. He raced for four fruitless seasons before he finally won what would turn out to be his only F1 victory in Canada. He then raced for Sauber, Benetton and Prost (formerly Ligier) in inferior equipment. Although he does have a win, his was the career that could have been and had he raced for Williams, he could have been elevated into the pantheon of Senna, Prost, Clark, Stewart and other F1 untouchables. As of 2001, he is still racing in F1 and could ultimately wind up racing in the CART Champ Car Series in the U.S.