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Old 28 Jul 2003, 07:09 (Ref:672977)   #1
sgjb
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Craig Pollock - Good Salesman (Talker) ! or Good Owner??

I just wanted to start a thread to see peoples opinion of Craig Pollock. Is his real claim to fame being Jacques manager. How does a phys-ed teacher get funds and backing to accomplish what he has done. Even though he has had alot of money backing his ventures he seems to fail miserably at running a race team. I just got home from the Vancouver indy race and couldn't believe how off the pace they are; and they are running a Lola like the top teams. Any further opinions??
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 07:38 (Ref:673002)   #2
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I didn't expect the world from PK Racing in their first year but I did expect a couple of races where they hit the setup and challenged for a top 6 or 7. I'm not sure on Pollock, I'll put it this way, depending on the choices they make in the off season and how they react to the problems they have will make up my mind.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 07:42 (Ref:673006)   #3
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macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!
My take? Pollock's only got a team in CART this year because he's scoping out the situation before he buys it. I kinda wonder whether the race team itself is all that important to him, I think he's got his eyes on a bigger prize.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 13:13 (Ref:673271)   #4
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The Idiot Ski Instructor has shown that he cannot competently run a team, and even with formerly race winning components, he has actually managed to make the team go backwards faster than Sarah Fisher on racedays. He ought to learn how to manage his own team before he thinks about managing anyone else's.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 13:25 (Ref:673293)   #5
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I think he's more concerned with retaining business and personal ties than creating a team that will win. Hiring Lemarie was dumb, and firing him was even dumber (both done for personal reasons). That said Kalkoven has to take some of the blame too.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 17:17 (Ref:673492)   #6
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Quote:
Originally posted by Jay
I think he's more concerned with retaining business and personal ties than creating a team that will win. Hiring Lemarie was dumb, and firing him was even dumber (both done for personal reasons). That said Kalkoven has to take some of the blame too.
I agree
and about his poor running of race teams, Jay is right: Kalkoven has some blame too and as far as BAR is concerned, He never ran the whole team either and I rember Adrian Renyard cuasing problems within that team as well.

Last edited by boom boom; 28 Jul 2003 at 17:18.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 17:55 (Ref:673529)   #7
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His record speaks for itself. Fantastic at manipulating, absolutely miserable at managing.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 18:08 (Ref:673542)   #8
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Actually...looking back at BAR...their fastest year (albeit unreliable) was their first year, and most of their success (2 podiums) came under Pollock...
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 18:38 (Ref:673581)   #9
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...in attrition affected races. Podium number one came when Mika Hakkinen broke down on the last lap and number two came at Hockenheim where even the slug-like Benetton B201 scored a double points finish.

Yeah, that's what I call success!
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 18:42 (Ref:673586)   #10
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2 podiums are 2 podiums...the BAR cars and drivers were able to outlast the others. ...even if Mika hadn't retired, it still would have been a 4th place.

It's better than anythign they've gotten since.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 18:54 (Ref:673597)   #11
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Yes they did get to podiums but what did Pollack have to do with that. They did outlast the others probably more luck than Pollocks skill.

Was he wealthy prior to meeting Jacques V.? I would sure hate to see run the CART series. His track record seems to show he is good at the concept of what he wants to do but poor in the execution.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 19:06 (Ref:673607)   #12
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I don't know... all I'm saying is that BAR hasn't done at all better since Pollock has left.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 19:13 (Ref:673614)   #13
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Thats very true Jay!

History has not been kind to well funded new teams in F1. Look at Toyota the funds they have and they are still a long way from being in the elite. I still have no hope for BAR, Toyota will reach the promised land sooner than them. Must be humbling for Honda, who once was dominant, to be this poor.

Craig Pollock appears to me to be one slick talker, very convincing person (convinced Jacques to ruin his legacy by going to BAR). I just am not sure of his business accumen, I would rather see a true business person run CART with his right hand man being a person from a racing background. They must collaborate on all issues to come to a common good for the sport.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 19:42 (Ref:673641)   #14
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Quote:
Originally posted by Jay
I don't know... all I'm saying is that BAR hasn't done at all better since Pollock has left.
That's like saying CART hasn't done at all better since Heitzler has left.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 19:55 (Ref:673653)   #15
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ok...care to back that one up?
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 20:02 (Ref:673656)   #16
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Car count is down comparing to 2001.
TV numbers are far worse than it was in 2001.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 20:11 (Ref:673664)   #17
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And that's Pook's fault?

Also, do you think BAR has done that much better since Pollock departed?
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 20:23 (Ref:673675)   #18
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No, but you can't use only numbers to compare Pollock/Richards but then say they are not valid when comparing Heitzler/Pook.

In both Richards and Pook's cases both put up worse number than the previous administration but that had more to do with the fact that they had to rid the dead wood left by the previous administration.

The fact that there is no outright public power struggle at BAR is an improvement over the Idiot Ski Instructor.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 20:26 (Ref:673676)   #19
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fair points...
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 22:35 (Ref:673750)   #20
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I'd agree that Pollock is a good business man, good at sealing the deal, but not as handy when it comes to effective organisation and management.

Is he a racing man? I don't really know much about him TBH. He helped put BAR together, the major sponsors, buying out Tyrrell, and then bringing Honda back as a works unit.

PK racing could do with a Haberfeld/Manning type driver. I've never considered Papis anything more than a journeyman. Why not try putting Giorgio Pantano or Tomas Enge in there for a few races and see how they go.
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Old 28 Jul 2003, 23:23 (Ref:673769)   #21
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Pollock is a manager, but a cash-manager and I don't think he is a real race fanatic nor than a team manager with hart and soul. Motoracing is glorius and that's a good platform for him to spin connections and meet all the dollar-collar-people who will later pay the bill - that's the things he's interested in. I would say he is something like a talking-dealer, trading with dreams, big business ideas and tons of money floating around... fact is PK-Racing is a shame, in comparison with the other new teams in CART, struggling all the time. One thing is to talk about money and buying CART but the other thing is to run and motivate a big team...
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Old 29 Jul 2003, 07:50 (Ref:673958)   #22
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macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!
I've said it in another thread, but I'll say it again...
PK Racing is not here to race.

Of course, I'm reading between the lines, and you may well read something different.

Both the P and the K are here this year only to put out their "feelers." They're either gonna buy the company or they're not. My opinion? They are. (Not Bernie).

If they've got the money to publicly suggest that they're gonna buy the series outright, then surely they've got the money to invest in a driver and an engineer. There are so many great talents out there who would be willing to work for free. (Freeish). Instead they bring on Papis, who in my opinion is a proven winner, but make no changes to the nucleus of the engineering staff (where the problem lies). And the results stay stagnant. Why? There's little interest in results. There's much interst in everything else.

This post has been rated "IMO"
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