Jock Clear Speaketh!

[ASCII Man]

Getting up to almost 2 years now here at 10-10ths and i still haven't started a JV thread.
So here goes...

This comes from La Presse in Montreal where a journalist got the chance to chat with Jock Clear about Jacques. It's been (rather poorly) translated from french to english via Google so i tried to fix the translation a bit:

Friday April 23 2004 - Jacques Villeneuve is happy with what is happening to Jenson Button supports Jock Clear. Since Jacques Villeneuve left, the BARs dance. But is it precisely BECAUSE Villeneuve left that the team is finally a success? Many in the paddock are saying that if BAR is better, it is because the huge wages of the Québécois (around 20 million dollars) are now devoted to the development of the single-seater. "This is false and unjust", believes Jock Clear, the ex-engineer of Villeneuve who works today with Takuma Sato. "It is perhaps a side effect, but nobody in the team, not even the director Geoff Willis, can pinpoint our successes to one individual. Our results are the fruit of efforts of the last five year; we learned from these difficult years. The only thing to say with regard to Jacques, is that if he was to do it again, he would perhaps do things differently. Craig Pollock too." Clear did not break the bonds with Québécois, on the contrary. "He calls me after each qualification, each race. He has many friends in the paddock and he wants to see its mechanics succeed. He doesn’t hide in a hole; he watches each race. He is not at home wishing that Takuma (Sato) or Jenson (Short prop) has an accident. He is happy with what is happening to Jenson." This doesn’t prevent that the successes of his old team must break his heart? "It annoys him, it's certain, but Jacques Villeneuve is still able to surprise me: he is extremely strong."

[hamsmith]

You should of set up a poll for how many post you will get before the thread is closed for no solid reason.

It's good to hear from someone who actually speaks to him that he isn't sat at home all depressed and it's good to hear someone confirm that he is not bitter about Sato and Button having a great car and great success as some like to believe.

[Schummy]

I'd like to know how many people is going to believe this sheer politically-correct speech from Clear

I am not speaking about JV but about Clear's speech! I cannot imagine any driver in JV circunstances (BAR-Button-Richards-...) feeling happy with all this, having passed hard/harsh years of hard work without sporting profits.

When I read any piece of P-C "literature" I ask myself if it would do any sense to say the inverse message, i.e. "JV is watching F1 at home, hating intensively JB and wishing he gets burned horribly in a dual accident with TS. And he prays every waking hour to BAR doing a Jordan and that sonovab*** Richards getting the boot out of the team". Probably, Clear has to say the "correct" thing if asked about it.

I respect JV as a driver and as a person, but I don't think he is the new Dalai Lama

[Adam43]

Originally posted by hamsmith
You should of set up a poll for how many post you will get before the thread is closed for no solid reason.

It'll be about five, unless of course there has been a sudden increase in the number of people who read (and understand) the forum rules

Anyway, cheers for the interesting article IM

I see no reason for Clear to say anything. I dare say JV (the Canadian one) has plenty of other things to do than worry about F1 details. Of course Clear is a friend of Jacques, but then that is why he was asked the question. I see no reason at all to take this as anything other than face value.

[Irv the Swerve]

Good to see that Jacques holds no bitterness to those in BAR that were there when he was let go.

Its only motor racing after all, now get yourself into something like a racing car Mr. Villeneuve.

[climb]

Not very convincing statement, particularly one sentence: "He (JV) has many friends in the padddock" , sounds very new to me

[ASCII Man]

Whatever...

[Adam43]

I'm surprised that this thread has been around for some time and only five replies (and that it is still open ).

Jock Clear BTW is Villeneuve's old race engineer and has been from his Williams days.

[Adam43]

I think JV probably does have many friends in the paddock. The ones that are team bosses might not be falling themselves over to sign him, but that doesn't mean he doens't have friends.

Jock Clear for one is a veyr good friend.

On the subject of Jock Clear. He has taken the recent management change well. IIRC he is on Sato's car?

[ASCII Man]

[sarcasm]Myes, it says so right there in that little post way up there in the thread. Hey whaddyaknow, it's my opening post with the press release, now that's a mindblowing coincidence![/sarcasm]

[Adam43]

nah, my post was a little suggestion that because the thread didn't say JV in the title it has been ignored. Perhaps I am being too harsh

[climb]

Very few posts indeed; apparently Jenson's tremendous offstart has already outfashioned JV

[DriverT]

Yes!

[ASCII Man]

Oi!

[climb]

*sniggers*

[Wrex]

Originally posted by hamsmith
You should of set up a poll for how many post you will get before the thread is closed for no solid reason.

With a 1st post like that it wont be long



On topic, I would'nt blame JV for being a little ****ed watching BAR's success this year. I doubt anyone among us would'nt be buying a new TV every race if in the same position. Ironically, it is like rubbing salt in the wound.

I'm also not suprised he still stays in touch, afterall it was his life for many years. Hopefully he will get him bum in a racecar somewhere and get that feeling back.

[climb]

With all that money to enjoy? mmmhhh...

[Wrex]

All BS aside, Jacques is a racer, and I cant see him being that happy until he is back in a car.

The money is nice, but you enjoy that after you retire, I'm not sure JV is there yet.

[Kirk]

Isn't it obvious: It is DR that Jacques despises! And for good reason. Button's success this year is obviously something JV should be part of after much sacrifice. Thanks to DR, he is not there, however I am sure he relishes in the fact that his efforts weren't a total waste.

[Snrub]

The idea that they money saved on JV is allowing BAR to succeed is non-sense. BAR has had a massive cash infusion that is much more than the meger $15M (or whatever it is) that they save by employing someone else.

[TeddyG]

Well anyone with half a brain knows that Snrub.
JV realises that the team wouldn't even exist without him and so naturally he is happy with the success his "6 year old baby" is having on the track.
I said it too before the season started that I hoped BAR would be a challenger this season despite JV's absence because it would only prove that his intensive testing and guidance in the team had finally allowed this team to prosper. He created the contending team that he always wanted FROM SCRATCH, what other driver can say they did that within 6 years? NOBODY. Natually he's pleased with their success, but I'm sure he's not happy about not being in the team.
Everyone in that BAR team knows they have JV to thank for their jobs and their success, including Mr. DR, Button, and especially Sato.

Still doesn't mean JV can't hop in a Toyota, win a few titles, and take a little revenge out on Honda.

[Knowlesy]

This year isn't really the fruits of six years of Villeneuves hard work though is it? If you ask me, 1999 to 2001 was a period of nothingness, the team was going nowhere fast. Then DR got at the helm in December 2001 and that is where the hard work really began as he recruited Geoff Willis who in turn restructured the engineering department and got rid of all the "dead wood". DR also got a bit more out of Honda as well.
JV was a bit part player in those two years being outperformed by Jenson and looking not so great against Panis in 2002.

The hard work that has got BAR to where it is today is through David Richards and Geoff Willis and not in any way from Jacques Villeneuve.

[hamsmith]

WHO got Geoff Willis involved? I was under the understanding that JV had a big part in getting GW to move to BAR.

[F1Pete]

I knew JV was still in touch with his team. It doesn't surprise me at all knowing he is happy with what he sees. I would be happy to see all my hard work pay off!

While watching qualifying on tv, I thought I saw Frank Williams being wheeled out of the BAR garage by Jock. Frank was using Jock's cell phone...I assume he was talking to Jacques V trying to entice him back to Williams. Gotta love it, those cameras don't miss a thing!

[white968]

Originally posted by knowlesy
. Then DR got at the helm in December 2001 and that is where the hard work really began as he recruited Geoff Willis who in turn restructured the engineering department and got rid of all the "dead wood". DR also got a bit more out of Honda as well.
--Snip---
The hard work that has got BAR to where it is today is through David Richards and Geoff Willis and not in any way from Jacques Villeneuve.

I hate to tell you but Pollock hired Willis before he was let go. I do agree that the car is doing better because Willis is there, Honda got their stuff together and that DR got the chance to implement a real management structure. But I still think he treated JV unfairly.
Willis stated that a couple of the problems when he got there were the management structure and the fact that driver feedback was being ingored. Now the driver's aren't ignored and there is a reasonable structure. I don't know if Pollock would have been able to implement the same structure once Reynard/Oastler were gone but it is there now under DR.

Mark