Dan Harper

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Dan Harper
Harper in 2017
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Born (2000-12-08) 8 December 2000 (age 23)
Hillsborough, Northern Ireland
British GT Championship career
Debut season2023
Racing licence FIA Platinum
Car number91
Former teamsCentury Motorsport
Starts11
Wins2
Podiums4
Poles0
Fastest laps2
Best finish1st in 2023
Previous series
2016–17Ginetta Junior Championship
Championship titles
2023
2023
2019		British GT Championship
British GT Championship - Pro-Am
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
Awards
2023
2020–22
2018–19
2016
2016		BMW Factory Driver
BMW Junior Team
Porsche GB Junior
Ginetta Junior Rookie Champion
Ginetta Junior Scholar

Daniel "Dan" Harper (born 8 December 2000) is a racing driver from Northern Ireland. He is currently competing as a BMW Motorsport works driver and is the reigning British GT champion.[1][2]

Career[edit]

Starting his racing career aged six, Harper was a multiple champion in both quad bike and karting competition in his early years, before switching to junior rallying and winning three events in the Ireland Junior 1000 Rally Challenge in 2015.

Harper made the transition to circuit racing the following year after winning the Ginetta Junior Scholarship [3] and with it a fully-funded season in the Ginetta Junior Championship for 2016.

In his maiden campaign with Douglas Motorsport, he took two outright race victories and won the Rookie Cup title.[4] He returned for a second campaign and won seven races on his way to third in the final standings.

Harper then won his second manufacturer scholarship in three years, being named the 2018/19 Porsche GB Junior driver for the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.[5] In his first year, he won two races and posted more pole positions and fastest laps than any other driver.

He went on to enjoy a sensational 2019 campaign. He won the drivers’ title [6] with more wins (8), podium finishes (13), pole positions (6) and fastest laps (11) than anyone else, and became only the third driver ever in the series to win races on six consecutive weekends.

For 2020/21, Harper was signed by BMW Motorsport to compete as part of their BMW Junior Team.[7] In each season, he contested the Nürburgring Endurance Series and ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours of Nürburgring alongside team-mates Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen.

Starting the 2020 NES season in a BMW M240i, the BMW Junior Team took a maiden class win in only their third race. A step up to a BMW M4 GT4 soon after yielded a class podium in their first race and a fantastic class victory in their first attempt at the ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

For 2021, they moved up to the premier class in a BMW M6 GT3 with the experienced BMW Team RMG. A brilliant season saw them take two overall race wins and four podium finishes to finish as the overall Nürburgring Endurance Series vice-champions.

In 2022, Harper and the BMW Junior Team won a qualifier race ahead of the ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours of Nürburgring and took a podium finish during a two round stint in the Nürburgring Endurance Series with BMW Team RMG. They also contested a debut season in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with ROWE Racing, taking a best result of fourth in the 1000 km of Paul Ricard.

In 2023, Harper competed as a BMW works driver, entering the opening three rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series and the ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours of Nürburgring with BMW Team RMG, another full season in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with ROWE Racing, and a debut campaign in the British GT Championship with Century Motorsport. He was crowned the 2023 British GT champion alongside team-mate Darren Leung, after two race wins and four podium finishes.

Continuing as a BMW works driver in 2024, Harper is contesting a dual programme in the GT World Challenge Europe; entering the Endurance Cup with ROWE Racing and the Sprint Cup with Century Motorsport. He will also race with Century in British GT Championship as he defends his title alongside Michael Johnston, as well as enter the ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours of Nürburgring again with BMW Team RMG.

Harper is a full member of the British Racing Drivers' Club. He was previously part of the BRDC SuperStars programme [8] and Motorsport UK Academy's Team UK programme.

Racing record[edit]

Career summary[edit]

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2016 Ginetta Junior Championship Douglas Motorsport 25 2 0 3 7 390 5th
2017 Ginetta Junior Championship Douglas Motorsport 26 7 6 6 15 625 3rd
2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain JTR 16 2 3 7 6 84 5th
2019 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain JTR 16 8 6 11 13 159 1st
Porsche Supercup 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2020 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP8T Walkenhorst Motorsport 1 1 1 0 1 N/A 1st
Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP8T FK Performance Motorsport 3 0 0 0 1 11.25 4th
2021 Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9 Pro BMW Junior Team 7 2 0 0 4 39.22 2nd
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 BMW Junior Team Shell 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup BMW Junior Team with ROWE Racing 5 0 0 0 0 36 11th
Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9 Pro BMW Junior Team 2 0 0 0 1 0 NC†
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 BMW Junior Team Shell 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2023 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup ROWE Racing 5 0 0 0 1 33 10th
GT Winter Series Schubert Motorsport 2 1 1 1 1 33 10th
Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9 Pro BMW Junior Team 2 0 0 0 1 * *
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
British GT Championship - GT3 Century Motorsport 9 2 0 2 4 176 1st
GT Cup Championship - Group GT3 2 1 1 1 2 0 NC†
2023-24 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Project 1 5 0 0 0 0 11 21st
2024 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup ROWE Racing
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Century Motorsport
British GT Championship - GT3 2 0 0 0 0 2* 11th*
Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 BMW M Team RMG

* Season still in progress.

Complete Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain results[edit]

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos. Points
2018 JTR BRH
1
13 		BRH
2
7 		DON
1
3 		DON
2
7 		MNZ
1
RET 		MNZ
2
8 		OUL
1
4 		OUL
2
1 		SNE
1
2 		SNE
2
4 		KNO
1
1 		KNO
2
2 		SIL
1
5 		SIL
2
2 		BGP
1
9 		BGP
2
4 		5th 84
2019 JTR BRH
1
1 		BRH
2
3 		DON
1
1 		DON
2
3 		CRO
1
1 		CRO
2
(6) 		OUL
1
1 		OUL
2
4 		THR
1
1 		THR
2
1 		SIL
1
1 		SIL
2
4 		SIL
1
7 		SIL
2
4 		BGP
1
4 		BGP
2
1 		1st 159

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup results[edit]

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points
2022 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 Pro IMO
15 		LEC
4 		SPA
6H
11 		SPA
12H
2 		SPA
24H
5 		HOC
9 		CAT
13 		11th 36
2023 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 Pro MNZ
2 		LEC
6 		SPA
6H
4 		SPA
12H
53 		SPA
24H
Ret 		NÜR
11 		CAT
12 		10th 33
2024 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 Pro LEC
1 		SPA
6H
 SPA
12H
 SPA
24H
 NÜR
 MNZ
 JED
 1st* 25*

Complete British GT Championship results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
2023 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 GT3 OUL
1
6 		OUL
2
6 		SIL
1
1 		DON
1
5 		SNE
1
2 		SNE
2
5 		ALG
1
5 		BRH
1
1 		DON
1
2 		1st 176
2024 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 GT3 OUL
1
9 		OUL
2
13 		SIL
1
 DON
1
 SPA
1
 SNE
1
 SNE
2
 DON
1
 BRH
1
 11th* 2*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 Pos. Points
2023–24 Team Project 1 GT BMW M4 GT3 BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6 SEP
1
18 		SEP
2
10 		DUB
7 		ABU
1
8 		ABU
2
15 		21st 11

Awards[edit]

Year Nominated work Category Result
2019 Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards Young Player Of The Year Won
2019 Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs' (ANICC) Awards ANICC Northern Ireland Motorsport Award Won
2019 British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Awards The Henry Surtees Award Won
2019 Autosport Awards National Racing Driver of the Year Nominated
2023 Motorsport News Awards National Racing Driver of the Year Nominated
2023 Autosport Awards National Racing Driver of the Year Nominated
2023 British GT Championship Allan Simonsen Award (Driver of the Year) Won

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gray, Andy (1 January 2023). "Dan Harper: Factory BMW deal a 'dream' for Northern Ireland driver". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ Craig, Jason (23 March 2024). "Dan Harper: I can't wait for another year of battling in biggest races with BMW". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ Paice, Simon. "Dan Harper Wins Ginetta Junior Scholarship For 2016". The Checkered Flag.
  4. ^ Paice, Simon. "Rookie Champion Harper: It's Been An Incredible Season". The Checkered Flag.
  5. ^ Pettit, Vince. "Daniel Harper Announced As Porsche GB 2018/19 Junior". The Checkered Flag.
  6. ^ Paice, Simon. "Daniel Harper Wins 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Title". Next Level Motorsport.
  7. ^ Gray, Andy. "Dan Harper: NI Teenager Leads BMW's Junior Team Return". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ BRDC. "BRDC Superstars Announce Class Of 2020". BRDC.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by Porsche Carrera Cup GB
Champion
2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by British GT Championship
Champion
2023
With: Darren Leung 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by British GT Championship
Pro-Am Champion
2023
With: Darren Leung 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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