Harper keeps the pressure on

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior Programme has commenced its search for the next promising young talent in motorsport. The prize on offer to the 2020/2021 Porsche GB Junior is absolutely unrivalled in UK motorsport and includes £85,000 per annum towards their Carrera Cup GB racing budget. 

Identifying and nurturing young racing talent, the programme facilitates entry into the Porsche Motorsport pyramid, where drivers can progress to become Porsche factory drivers – two-thirds of the current roster of Porsche factory drivers are former Juniors. 

To see the pyramid in action, one needed look no further than Silverstone during the opening weekend of the 2019/2020 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, the 4 Hours of Silverstone, which took place from August 31 to September 1. 

Tightening the grip

On the same bill that saw the 515hp 2019 Porsche 911 RSR make its racing debut, 18-year-old Porsche GB 2018/2019 Junior Dan Harper, driving for the Joe Tandy Racing (JTR) team, further extended his championship lead. It was the perfect chance to shine as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single-marque GT racing championship in the UK – stepped onto the international stage in support of the WEC. 

As the current Porsche GB Junior tightens his grip on the 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship, he is also eyeing his next step up the Porsche career ladder – hoping to emulate the path of JTR team owner and ‘boss’, Porsche factory driver Nick Tandy. At Thruxton in August, Harper became the first driver to take two victories in a weekend since the introduction of a reverse-grid Race Two at the start of 2018 – so he looks to be very much on course. 

Jewel in the crown

On the Porsche Carrera Cup GB’s blue riband weekend, racing on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, Harper converted his fifth pole position of 2019 into a dominant victory in Round 11. It was his seventh win of the season, and enabled him to maintain an unbroken record of winning each weekend’s opening race. Championship rivals Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing) and Lewis Plato (Motorbase Performance) joined Harper on the podium, but neither had an answer for him in the race. 

Round 12 – the reverse-grid race – was another action-packed affair for the grid of 485hp ‘Type 991’ 911 GT3 Cup cars. At the start, George Gamble (Amigos Redline Racing), Plato, Harper and Webster joined a gripping fight for the lead – Harper and Plato making contact, causing the Junior to spin and fall down the order. Webster soon made a decisive pass on Gamble for the race lead, and there he would stay. Harper recovered to get back on terms with Plato. A dramatic battle resulted in further contact and another spin for Harper, relegating him to 10th position, a second extraordinary recovery drive seeing him finish the race ahead of Plato in fourth.

Harper’s grit and speed will not have gone unnoticed on the Porsche Motorsport pit wall, or by the 49,600 spectators who enjoyed the spectacle at Silverstone. 

Victorious debut

On Sunday afternoon, the new 2019 Porsche 911 RSR, which had been given its world premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, secured a stunning one-two finish on its racing debut. 

Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz crossed the finish line in the No. 91 car, just 3.802 seconds ahead of reigning world champions Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre in second place. Current Porsche GB Junior Harper and his 2020/2021 successor will dream of one day emulating that success.