The Grand Tour

Someone Else Was Partly Responsible For James May Getting Fired From AutoCar

By now, I’m sure we all know that James May got fired from AutoCar for doing possibly the best thing he could have done at the time – putting a hidden message within the Road Test Yearbook. If you don’t know or want to re-live the moment, click HERE to read our original article on it.

However, it turns out that there may have been another person on the inside which James May to the heat for. This person is Andrew Frankel, an esteemed contributor for AutoCar who has just passed his 30th year with the outlet.

He writes in a column the following:

“I have many memories of the last 30 years but rather too many that can’t be published while I still require a living from this business. But I can tell you James May got sacked because he chose to take the rap alone for a stunt involving many conspirators, none more guilty than me; and one of my early freelance editing jobs was to massacre Chris Harris’s fledgling road tests. Remarkably, both remain friends to this day.”

So it turns out James May may have no been solely responsible for the cockup that eventually resulted in his firing and that more than two people may have been involved. This column by Frankel also sheds light on a connection between James May and Chris Harris, presenter of the rebooted Top Gear. It surely is a small world and just goes to show that there really is no feud between the presenters of The Grand Tour and Top Gear. They are all friends behind the blanket of the media.

 

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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