Mike Harris (racing driver)

Mike Harris (born 25 May 1939 in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia) is a South African former racing driver. He took part in one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, the 1962 South African Grand Prix, from which he retired.

Mike Harris
Born (1939-05-25) 25 May 1939
Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality South African
Active years1962
Teamsprivateer Cooper
Entries1
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1962 South African Grand Prix
Last entry1962 South African Grand Prix

Career

Harris won the 1962 Rhodesian Championship with his Cooper T53, powered by an Alfa Romeo engine.[1] On 2 December of that year he qualified third for the 1962 Rhodesian Grand Prix, and finished the race in the same position behind Gary Hocking and Neville Lederle.[2] He then travelled to South Africa and took part in the 1962 Rand Grand Prix, qualifying 20th from an entry of 34 cars, but retiring from the race with a puncture.[3] The following week he qualified 17th fastest for the 1962 Natal Grand Prix, but retired from his heat and so missed the final.[4]

After Christmas Harris was part of a stronger international field for the South African Grand Prix which would decide the 1962 World Championship. In the first practice session on Boxing Day he suffered an engine failure and he missed the following day's practice while he made repairs. During the final practice session on the third day, he suffered with the same issues again and posted the 15th fastest time, with only Carel Godin de Beaufort having a slower time. Having rebuilt the engine again before the race, Harris circulated towards the back of the field, running ahead of de Beaufort and Bruce Johnstone, and subsequently other drivers whose cars suffered problems. However, on lap 32 of the 82 lap race, Harris retired from tenth position with the same engine bearing failure that had plagued him in practice.[5]

Harris subsequently decreased his involvement in the sport and retired, at least partly due to the death of Gary Hocking at the Natal Grand Prix. He later ran Alfa Romeo and Toyota dealerships in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia from 1964) and Zimbabwe, before retiring to live in Durban, South Africa.[1][6]

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Points
1962 Mike Harris Cooper T53 Alfa Romeo Straight-4 NED MON BEL FRA GBR GER ITA USA RSA
Ret		 NC 0

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1962 Mike Harris Cooper T53 Alfa Romeo Straight-4 CAP BRX LOM LAV GLV PAU AIN INT NAP MAL CLP RMS SOL KAN MED DAN OUL MEX RAN
Ret		 NAT
Ret

References

  1. "Mike Harris biography". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  2. "1962 Rhodesian Grand Prix". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. "V Rand Grand Prix". Silhouet. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. "II Natal Grand Prix". Silhouet. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  5. Tee, Michael (February 1963). "1962 South African Grand Prix race report: Graham the champion". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  6. "Mike Harris bio". Old Racing Cars. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.