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. In 1996, after one-too-many near misses with the traffic police, Paul looked to find a legal way of enjoying his driving. It soon became apparent that Pauls skills behind the wheel were very well suited to the Sport of Rallying. Paul is now not only one of the most competitive Tarmac Rally Drivers in the Uk but also a teacher at one of the UKs leading Rally Schools!
Paul first 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. Despite a brief foray in an ex-USA Rally Championship winning GpA Evo8, Paul's new job effectivcely ended his rally career, although he continued to be a successful part-time rally instructor for The Forest Expereince and Bill Gwynne Rallyschools.
After nearly 10 years away from the rally stages, the desire to compete again saw Paul deciding to build a new Mk2 Escort with which to "just have fun" on events of his choice. The build took considerably longer than planned, but now the car is complete it is proving to be the fun, competitive mount we hoped for.
