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4 Apr 2002, 01:46 (Ref:251449) | #1 | ||
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Changes at BAR, why not sooner?
During TSN's (Canada) coverage of Interlagos, Gerald Donaldson had a very interesting conversation with Craig Pollock. He asked him why changes were not made sooner, if he knew there were problems. Craig stated that his shareholding in BAR gave him the right to run the team as he saw fit, but it did NOT give him the right to sack the Tech director, or the chief designer. That right was assigned to the shares held by Adrian Reynard, so Craig was, in effect, hamstrung, and could not do anything about it.
Since so many people were quick to condemn Pollock over the situation at BAR, I found this information interesting, so I thought I would pass it along. I was actually quite impressed with Craig in this interview, and I hope he finds further success in F1, not neccessarily as Jacques manager. |
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4 Apr 2002, 02:33 (Ref:251461) | #2 | ||
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Interesting.....that will teach me to watch the race in french...Interesting, so basicaly the engineering and design where under Reynards control....So basicaly he has been trying to take control of Bar since the very beginning, and push Polock out...by showing how bad the team where doing...and he was the one the bad engineering and the design department...interresting
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4 Apr 2002, 05:29 (Ref:251517) | #3 | ||
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Yes, that would be it, in a nutshell. Craig would run the business end, while Reynard had the tech side. And considering Adrians current financial situation, it speaks volumes as to where the problems resided.
And that also suggests why Jacques seems a lot happier these days, at least with the direction the team has taken. You know, you would think that Honda would have pressed the issue a lot sooner, considering their substantial investment in the team. Not to mention BAT. The same goes for them. It's not as if these problems weren't known for quite awhile. I'll have to re-watch the tape, but I think Craig mentioned that changes should have been made well more than a year ago. A prime example of how team politics in F1 can thwart a teams progress. |
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4 Apr 2002, 05:34 (Ref:251524) | #4 | ||
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Reynard and Craig are still share owners.....we all know that Craig will still sit on the board of directors...
What about Reynard...we know that Craig was dismissed of his racing functions, but what about Reynard,,,Does Richard effectly have free reighns as Craig wanted, or does he still have to deal with Reynard..... We havent hear what happend to his position.....? |
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The problem with the gene pool is that there is no life guard present |
4 Apr 2002, 05:55 (Ref:251542) | #5 | ||
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Yes, I would also like to know Reynard's position in all of this. Particularly since he is now in receivership, or at least his company is. How will that affect his position or shareholding at BAR?
Since he is still standing, he must have a nice percentage of the team....I wonder how much it is, and how much each partner has. |
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4 Apr 2002, 05:57 (Ref:251543) | #6 | |
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I didn't know Reynard still had that amount of influence in the team. Very interesting stuff...
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4 Apr 2002, 06:28 (Ref:251547) | #7 | |
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BTW Senna12, Craig has something like 35% shares in BAR. Dunno about Reynard though...
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Classic Eddie Irvine moments, #1 Interviewer: "Why has Schumacher got an odd shaped helmet?" Eddie: "Because he's German, he's got an odd shaped head" |
4 Apr 2002, 09:52 (Ref:251663) | #8 | |||
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He has less then 10% |
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4 Apr 2002, 15:41 (Ref:251844) | #9 | ||
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It looks like Pollock retired with the condition that Richards would have all the power. Hopefully that is the case. Now they just need to get Asiatech engines since Honda is not up the the task.
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4 Apr 2002, 17:10 (Ref:251891) | #10 | |||
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If Richards has got the control now, then he should wip Honda..and have them put their full operation in comming to grips with their engine..... |
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4 Apr 2002, 19:09 (Ref:252039) | #11 | |
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Well he did have a meeting to discuss their performance recently...
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Classic Eddie Irvine moments, #1 Interviewer: "Why has Schumacher got an odd shaped helmet?" Eddie: "Because he's German, he's got an odd shaped head" |
4 Apr 2002, 19:12 (Ref:252042) | #12 | |||
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Re: Changes at BAR, why not sooner?
Quote:
I saw the interview you are referring to,it was very good and very insightful.It sure looks like Pollock had his hands tied down.I was glad to see him with a positive attitude again,it must have been a difficult time for him in December. He has done many good things for Villeneuve and I hope he stays as his manager.I think time will tell whether or not the changes were positive,personally I think these moves can only benefit the team.I've always thought that if anyone were to be let go it would be Oastler the Coaster Ciao |
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4 Apr 2002, 19:47 (Ref:252079) | #13 | |
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Ironically, it was Oastler who asked Pollock to get Geoff Willis...
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Classic Eddie Irvine moments, #1 Interviewer: "Why has Schumacher got an odd shaped helmet?" Eddie: "Because he's German, he's got an odd shaped head" |
4 Apr 2002, 20:02 (Ref:252096) | #14 | ||
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Thankyou for the info Senna 12, very ineteresting indeed!
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4 Apr 2002, 21:38 (Ref:252198) | #15 | ||
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You are most welcome. Gerald is quite the insider. He has quite a close relationship with Jacques, not the least of which is due to the excellent autobiography he wrote about his father Gilles (the book is called Villeneuve, a highly entertaining read, and one that allows you to fully appreciate the brilliance that was Gilles).
Anyway, he occasionally finds a scoop, and passes it along,so there we go.. |
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4 Apr 2002, 21:40 (Ref:252200) | #16 | ||
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Thankyou for the info Senna 12
It sheds a lot of light on the arrangement they had. I was at the charity ski event Craig, his wife and Jacques orginized at Tremblant in Montreal. The night before the announcement of Craig sakking was announced.... And you could see there was something brouwing. You could see that the way Jacques was skiing that he was ****ed..... Ir also sheds some light on Jacques comments on the team, critisizing it because the situation was ridiculous. Also now you understand why he was so ****ed at BAT, Reynard picked Oyster, and controlled the engineering....and screwed it up big time, on top of creating all the political mess since the beginning. And Craig is the one that ended up paying for it. Even worste that he had to sell some of his shares back to BAT, just to keep the team going... |
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4 Apr 2002, 21:54 (Ref:252221) | #17 | ||
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Craig also mentioned that he received calls of support from both Frank Williams and Ron Dennis immediately afterwards, and both of them said much the same thing, which was that most people had no idea how difficult the situation was for any managing director, let alone one who was restricted in the way that Craig was. They both felt that he had done an excellent job, considering the relatively short time he had at the helm.
As mentioned before, I came away quite impressed with Craig in that interview. |
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4 Apr 2002, 22:01 (Ref:252231) | #18 | |||
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Like after Jacques wing flew off durring the first race of the season, his comments when he got back to the pits. They where directed at Oyster, stating that 3 years latter and they are right back where they started, with the vibration of the engine making the rear wing fly off..... |
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4 Apr 2002, 22:21 (Ref:252252) | #19 | |||
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Donaldson's book
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I find the coverage on TSN especially good for the reason you mentioned above,Donaldson's insights and interviews with Villeneuve.As a Villeneuve fan myself,I find Donaldson's insights a great addition to TSN's coverage. I have Donaldson's book on Gilles Villeneuve and it is a great read,that there is no doubt. Ciao |
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6 Apr 2002, 20:02 (Ref:253735) | #20 | ||
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interview that appeared in autosport
Here is the interview that appeared in Autosport confirming what was said in the interview we saw on the Canadian broadcast:
_________________________________________________ Ex-BAR boss Craig Pollock says he wouldn’t have been allowed to make the changes to the team David Richards has forced through. Richards last month announced a major shake-up at BAR, axing 50 staff including engineering director Malcolm Oastler and designer Andy Green. Pollock has given his backing to the reshuffle and says he would have done the same, had he been allowed. He told Autosport magazine: "David Richards, the new team principal, has his hands far less tied than I did. He is implementing what should probably have been done a year or 18 months ago. "My biggest regret is that the team couldn’t succeed fast enough under my direction. The mistake was made conceptually in the structure of the company originally. There are three different shareholders – myself, Adrian Reynard and British American Tobacco – and each has different rights linked into their shareholding. "My particular shareholding had no right to touch the technical side of the team. And that is where things went wrong. A team principal has to be 100 per cent in charge, but I could not change the technical leadership. "What has happened in the past few weeks I strongly believe should have happened earlier. That is not because I don’t like or respect the guys who had to leave, but in business it’s not just a question of liking or respecting." But Pollock believes the benefit of Richards’ shake-up may not become clear for some time yet. He said: "When you shake the apple tree there are going to be some apples falling out of it. I think there’s going to be a step backwards to take a step forwards at BAR." ___________________________________________ |
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6 Apr 2002, 20:09 (Ref:253738) | #21 | |
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That is a typical example of all the politics that goes on behind the closed doors of F1. Bloody interesting though.
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6 Apr 2002, 20:14 (Ref:253741) | #22 | ||
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But when you read an article like that one, and you hear the live interview we heard here. And you think back about all the politics that happend, the take over challenges by Reynard...the constant back handed tries to take control away from Pollock.....
Reynard was responsible for the bad performances on track........It gives you a different view on what happend. So my advice to David Richards is to bye Craig shares right away, so he can get his A.S.S. on the board qwick. |
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6 Apr 2002, 21:04 (Ref:253755) | #23 | ||
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I was wondering about the shareholding percentages, and I came across this;
Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR was launched in December 1997 with British American Racing controlling 50% of the shares in the team via a subsidiary called BAT (Westminster House) Ltd.. Around 35% of BAR is owned by an American company called Mount Eagle Inc. This is controlled by Craig Pollock but has a variety of "sleeping partners" including CART team owner Jerry Forsythe and, rumor has it, Jacques Villeneuve. Fourteen percent of the team is owned by Adrian Reynard while the remaining one percent is believed to be split between Rick Gorne and Malcolm Oastler. Management control of the team rests with David Richards and it is believed that his Prodrive company has options to buy BAT's shares and control of the team at some point in the future. courtesy of grandprix.com I wonder if Oastler had to give up his 1 percent. Does Honda have a financial interest through BAT(Westminster House)? Or are they only an engine and chassis know-how supplier? Maybe they really want to go back to McLaren I imagine Richards would only want to take full control, including the technical side, if he were to purchase control through BAT's shares. Or he'd be hamstrung like Craig was. |
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7 Apr 2002, 00:57 (Ref:253891) | #24 | |||
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Quote:
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The problem with the gene pool is that there is no life guard present |
7 Apr 2002, 01:26 (Ref:253905) | #25 | ||
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Concerning who will buy the 50% shares BAT own once the tobacco legislation comes in 2006 (and BAT wouldn't want to retain the shares in something they can't advertise in), I think there will be two potential buyers:
1. Honda - even though they've been substandard at best, linking up with the team this way would help 2. Prodrive - Richards own company. Makes sense.... |
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