Where does G H-C go now???

Tim the Grey · 25 Oct 2011, 16:09 (Ref:2976632)

George Howard-Chappell has announced he's resigned from AMR.
So where could he be headed???
Wherever, he has a SIX month notice period...

isynge · 25 Oct 2011, 16:22 (Ref:2976640)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

George Howard-Chappell has announced he's resigned from AMR.
So where could he be headed???
Wherever, he has a SIX month notice period...

Guess in that line of work 6 months isn't all that unheard of - 3 is pretty much standard in my industry.

What will be interesting is whether it's six months actively working with AMR or if he's been escorted from the building already and is even now tending roses on gardening leave.

The Badger · 25 Oct 2011, 20:11 (Ref:2976754)

He might be headed for Toyota or ..... to the Delta Wing project that he knows so well !!!

Simmi · 25 Oct 2011, 20:41 (Ref:2976771)

If he does have six months notice I'm not sure how much use he'd be to a team next year. A long term project on the other hand...

**GTRMagic** · 25 Oct 2011, 20:52 (Ref:2976775)

Taking the fall for the simply wonderful AMR Le Mans project?

CTD · 26 Oct 2011, 05:40 (Ref:2976892)

Have we heard any rumors on who will lead the Porsche effort!? (thinking he could go there)

rich07 · 26 Oct 2011, 06:33 (Ref:2976898)

Its a bit of a coincidence that this comes towards the end of 2011, arguably Aston Martin's worst year of recent. Did he jump or was he pushed is something I'd like to know. Im thinking he already knows where he is going and sometime during the six months gardening leave we'll know.

Who would let a man of his talents go unemployed? Im thinking Porsche or Toyota wont.

Mal · 26 Oct 2011, 07:44 (Ref:2976917)

I am pretty sure Toyota will already have their team in place and Porsche will recruit from within the group.

Its more likely to me that he will be in at the start with one of the yet to be announced project. My bet is on Jaguar.

peebee2 · 26 Oct 2011, 08:29 (Ref:2976934)

Perhaps those in motorsport have a more realistic assessment of his talents than some of the enthusiasts on here.

Could be back at Silverstone, maybe working in the cafe?

The Badger · 26 Oct 2011, 08:49 (Ref:2976940)

Yaknow , the saying about your only as good as your last job is quite true on this forum anyway .

GH-C has done very well indeed with the GT1 project and the P1 Lola/Aston ..... but is being slated for the AMR-ONE ..... but the high points are quickly forgotten about !!!

old man · 26 Oct 2011, 09:53 (Ref:2976974)

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Badger

Yaknow , the saying about your only as good as your last job is quite true on this forum anyway .

!!!

Sadly true in the wider world but would you ask the man who was in charge of AMR1 to run your next LMP1 effort? If he stays in motor racing he has to rebuild I am sorry to say

CTD · 26 Oct 2011, 10:06 (Ref:2976990)

With Oreca partnering Toyota, that rumor is gone.
But Porsche or the Jaguar/Landi rumor could be something (maybe a proper Jaguar GT-E)

Just sprung to my mind - The future Lotus program?

isynge · 26 Oct 2011, 10:10 (Ref:2976995)

Quote:

Originally Posted by old man

Sadly true in the wider world but would you ask the man who was in charge of AMR1 to run your next LMP1 effort? If he stays in motor racing he has to rebuild I am sorry to say

There's undeniably a lot to be learned from the AMR-ONE debacle (let's assume it's never going to see light of day again), not least in terms of project initiation, corporate messaging, and pragmatic programme management - as I've said elsewhere, the Le Mans disaster (which killed the programme) can largely be put down to a bad call on replacing a part without doing a proper consequence mapping or risk assessment, but do we dismiss GH-C completely on the basis of this? I'd think not.

Nobody really turned around and said McLaren were a bunch of idiots who should all be fired off the back of their abortive MP4/18, Norbert Singer recovered from Porsche's last F1 engagement, and there are countless other examples of how one failed project does not doom a career.

The AMR-ONE is a problem for GH-C only if he allows it to be - if, in the way he sells himself around the industry he can show that what was learned there can stop it ever happening again then that is enormously valuable.

AGD · 26 Oct 2011, 10:16 (Ref:2976999)

Quote:

Originally Posted by isynge

There's undeniably a lot to be learned from the AMR-ONE debacle (let's assume it's never going to see light of day again), not least in terms of project initiation, corporate messaging, and pragmatic programme management - as I've said elsewhere, the Le Mans disaster (which killed the programme) can largely be put down to a bad call on replacing a part without doing a proper consequence mapping or risk assessment, but do we dismiss GH-C completely on the basis of this? I'd think not.

I think you are underestimating how bad the AMR-One really was. If Mike's information is correct, it seems that AMR built a chassis that had little chance of ever competing without major changes. When you consider AMR's budget and financing situation, spending that kind of money to build something totally useless is quite silly. I think it is unfair to pin this all on GH-C as who knows who pulled the trigger on the AMR-One project, but it is clear that someone or a group of people were not thinking clearly in regard to the AMR-One.

The Badger · 26 Oct 2011, 10:42 (Ref:2977010)

Quote:

Originally Posted by old man

Sadly true in the wider world but would you ask the man who was in charge of AMR1 to run your next LMP1 effort? If he stays in motor racing he has to rebuild I am sorry to say

Yes I would actually . Im suggesting the marketing people had their fingers in this again . GH-C is not an aerodynamisist , and was probably listening to what the aero people had to say ..... foolish for him , but probably dropped into that position .

Yes , he can work for me on his past performances .

Would you throw Peter Ellrey on the scrap heap over the Radical too ?

Tim the Grey · 26 Oct 2011, 12:50 (Ref:2977099)

To my mind, G H-C is as good as any on the pit wall? So I can see him being MUCH in demand for all the projects mentioned, for that one single reason alone.
Perhaps he's done the honourable thing, and taken the rap for AMR1, but I feel he carries a lot less blame than others within Prodrive/AMR...

He'll be back, and I reckon, at Le Mans. Look at the timing.

Tim the Grey · 26 Oct 2011, 13:25 (Ref:2977135)

And no Oreca to run a 'spare' Peugeot, or Audi?

Nick6 · 26 Oct 2011, 17:23 (Ref:2977258)

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Badger

Would you throw Peter Ellrey on the scrap heap over the Radical too ?

Was the Radical really that bad? Unlike the AMR-One it did show flashes of brilliance and probably had potential if given/developed by the right team.

Fogelhund · 26 Oct 2011, 17:31 (Ref:2977265)

The Radical was a pretty good car when it first came out. It was pretty close to the front of the privateer pack, and was reliable. Unfortunately the next gen cars, the Spyder, HPD's, etc. moved the bar rather quickly on them. For it's price, it was a very good car, at the time of introduction.

CTD · 26 Oct 2011, 18:34 (Ref:2977291)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

The Radical was a pretty good car when it first came out. It was pretty close to the front of the privateer pack, and was reliable. Unfortunately the next gen cars, the Spyder, HPD's, etc. moved the bar rather quickly on them. For it's price, it was a very good car, at the time of introduction.

Also proven by how long time it actually was run.

isynge · 26 Oct 2011, 21:37 (Ref:2977396)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGD

I think you are underestimating how bad the AMR-One really was. If Mike's information is correct, it seems that AMR built a chassis that had little chance of ever competing without major changes. When you consider AMR's budget and financing situation, spending that kind of money to build something totally useless is quite silly. I think it is unfair to pin this all on GH-C as who knows who pulled the trigger on the AMR-One project, but it is clear that someone or a group of people were not thinking clearly in regard to the AMR-One.

Okay - and appreciating this might be way off topic - in which case mods please feel free to kick this sideways - but <POTENTIAL HERESY>do we actively know that the AMR-ONE was truly that bad?</POTENTIAL HERESY>

In terms of like with like competitive running we've got really very little to go on i.e. Paul Ricard and Le Mans.

So - are there instances in the past where a complete dog of a debut has managed to transform itself into something if not championship winning then at least respectable?

Sadly I'm on the road so sans Wimpffen in terms of tracking down some examples, but surely there must be some out there?

AGD · 26 Oct 2011, 22:39 (Ref:2977424)

Quote:

Originally Posted by isynge

Okay - and appreciating this might be way off topic - in which case mods please feel free to kick this sideways - but <POTENTIAL HERESY>do we actively know that the AMR-ONE was truly that bad?</POTENTIAL HERESY>

In terms of like with like competitive running we've got really very little to go on i.e. Paul Ricard and Le Mans.

So - are there instances in the past where a complete dog of a debut has managed to transform itself into something if not championship winning then at least respectable?

Sadly I'm on the road so sans Wimpffen in terms of tracking down some examples, but surely there must be some out there?

Most "bad" cars that have turned good at least showed some potential before blowing up or whatever. The AMR-One did not do that. Anyway, it's like Dave Richards said. The AMR-One perhaps could have been fixed with time and money. What he did not say, and what the truth is, is that AMR does not have the money to fix all that is wrong with the AMR-One.

The fact that the AMR-One was approved was the disaster. You have a team that does not have a lot of money and what money they do have comes from their reputation on the track. I guess that could be said about most teams, but it is even more true for AMR. Given that, why would they build and run an in-house chassis and engine that had no development at all? Did they really think they could go from CFD to the racetrack with no development at all and expect good results?

So, yes, perhaps the AMR-One theoretically can be fixed. It's only theoretical because AMR spent their money ruining their reputation and potential money sources with the original AMR-One so there is no possibility for an AMR-One B. That's the disaster and that is why it looks like AMR is done with LMP1s. Maybe they would not be where they are now if they had moved more conservatively like they did with the Lola-V12, but it is what it is.

Tim the Grey · 27 Oct 2011, 14:34 (Ref:2977730)

Can we maybe take this AMR1 related stuff over to the Aston Martin main thread, as it's way OT for G H_C's future berth...

Ta v.much!

Simmi · 27 Oct 2011, 14:45 (Ref:2977739)

If I remember correctly GHC said in Autosport today the AMR-One was 20% the reason why he is leaving. I think he was probably quite shrewd and was maybe able to line something else up.

Tim the Grey · 27 Oct 2011, 15:16 (Ref:2977748)

Hmmm. That COULD be read 180 degrees either way?
He's 20% blamed for AMR1,
OR
He is leaving, and 20% of his reason is that AMR won't have an LMP1 for him to race?