PORSCHE’S LATEST STAR
How dan harper has impressed in first carr era cup season. by Stephen lickorish
Monza. It’s not exactly the easiest place for a driver’s third ever weekend in senior car racing in a competitive series. But clearly no-one told Dan Harper that.
Back in May, the Porsche GB Junior driver qualified on pole at the iconic circuit. An impressive achievement for any 17-year-old but ever more so considering some of his Porsche Carrera Cup GB rivals had previously raced at Monza when rising up the single-seater ranks.
And not only was Harper on pole, the JTR driver was on pole by two tenths. The six other Pros were only separated by four tenths combined.
“When I crossed the line and the team said I had pole I couldn’t believe it!” recalls Harper. “It felt like an amazing lap but it was my first time at Monza and I didn’t really expect it. Tio [Ellinas] and Dino [Zamparelli]who were already the title contenders had raced at Monza so I didn’t think I would have the speed to beat them.”
The race itself didn’t go quite so well for the Northern Irishman. He lost the lead to Lewis Plato and then clattered into him at the first chicane, leading to Harper being disqualified.
“It was a mistake on my behalf but it was all part of learning,” says Harper. “It’s a mistake I made but I won’t make it again – although it’s frustrating, it’s a lesson learned.”
But, despite that, Harper had laid down a marker and showed just how quick he is.
Harper’s route to that Monza race was a bit of an unusual one. He originally started competing in quad bikes before moving into karting – and then rallying. He was a frontrunner in the Irish Junior 1000 Championship in 2015.
“My Dad owns his own rally team in Ireland with WRC cars competing in series like the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship so I would spend my weekends as a kid at rallies,” Harper explains. “While I was karting we never really thought about racing, I thought I would go into rallying. At the end of the year I did the Ginetta Junior Scholarship as a birthday present and I ended up winning it! I just fell in love with the wheel-to-wheel action and from then on I focused on racing.”
And he was immediately on the pace then too. It took him just five Ginetta Junior races before he claimed his first win and he went on to win the rookie title and finish fifth in the overall standings. That set him up for a full title bid in 2017 but he missed out in the end, despite taking seven wins during the season.
Next on Harper’s agenda was Porsche GB’S Junior shootout – but Harper felt like he was at a disadvantage compared to his rivals.
“Going into the shootout my only car racing experience was two years in Ginetta Junior on road tyres,” he says. “I’d never had a go on new slick tyres so it was a matter of learning as much as possible in a short period of time.”
Despite being up against strong opposition, including British Formula 4 champion Jamie Caroline and Ginetta GT4 Supercup frontrunner George Gamble, he absolutely blitzed the assessments and was crowned an easy winner of the two-year scholarship.
But the first few races of this season weren’t so easy for Harper. He endured some bad luck, a clash with Gamble caused a puncture at Brands Hatch and a stone damaged his radiator at Donington Park. The Monza pole was therefore doubly important.
“It was quite frustrating, especially at Brands Hatch,” says Harper. “I was on for a podium in my first race, I was running in third but got a puncture and ended up down in 13th. I scored a couple of points but it was really frustrating because of what it could’ve been and that made the second race really difficult.”
Harper’s first win then came at Oulton Park and he picked up another at Knockhill to end the year fifth in the points. But with three poles, he achieved the most of any driver and that’s what really turned heads.
JTR team boss and Porsche factory driver Nick Tandy reckons Harper has the potential to go on and become a works racer with a manufacturer.
“He showed this year in the second half of the year he was probably the fastest or one of the fastest drivers on the grid,” says Tandy. “To go from Ginetta Junior straight on to a 911 and to get on top of it as quick as he did is quite incredible.
“He’s got the right attitude, he listens, he learns and watches everyone else on the grid. He’s a nice guy and a great, hard racer and that’s what we look for as a team and what I look for as a mentor.”
Harper, who also finished the season with the most fastest laps, picks out the Knockhill weekend as being a particular highlight as it showed what he is truly capable of.
“Knockhill was the strongest weekend of my career,” he says. “Right from practice on Wednesday, I was quickest again on Friday, qualified on pole on Saturday and finished first and second in the races. It was almost perfect. That’s one thing to aim for next year, a perfect weekend.”
Harper will be back with JTR again next season and there’s another clear target on his mind: emulating former scholar Charlie Eastwood by winning the title.
“I’ve got to take what I’ve learned and take that pace into next year and my goal is definitely to try and win the title,” he says.
Tandy reckons, regardless of who else signs up for 2019, that Harper will be one of the championship favourites. And given how much Harper has already impressed in his short career, you wouldn’t bet against ‘Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion’ becoming his latest accolade next year. ■