After finishing third in 2012 and second in 2013, Harro sealed this year’s championship with one round to go. Ever the humble winner, Harro told the Chronicle he’d “done alright for an old bloke”. “I’m over the moon to have done it this time round,” he said. “I’m the slow and steady achiever, my car might not be the fastest but she’s reliable and consistent and when it comes to accumulating points that’s the way to go.”
The TT’s championshipsare held across six racing weekends at Winton. The weekend begins with qualifying on Saturday, followed by two races and continues with more racing on Sunday. At the end of each weekend, points are tallied and a winner is named. The cumulative points then determine the overall season champion.
At age 66, comfortably the oldest driver in the event, Harro proved persistence pays off. “I started the season in the ‘The Old Girl’ (a six cylinder Ford Falcon) and then upgraded to ‘The Beast’ (BMW Series 3, two-door coupe with a 5.7 litre Holden V8),” Harro said. “Each race is 8 to 10 laps of a 3km circuit and it takes a lot of concentration to keep it together and stay out of trouble. “It took a little while to adjust to ‘The Beast’, I used to be able to push the old car pretty hard but with this one when you hit the pedal it lets go. “Through the years I’ve learnt that it’s all about control and concentration and if you can maintain those two things the results will come.”
Harro won three weekends of the six race series and managed to place highly enough, often enough, to accumulate championship winning points. Although he had the title in the bag, he headed to Winton to enjoy the final round of the season with the added fun of competition from some of the Masters Series vehicles, finishing the year off on a high.
Harro will now head back to the garage for some off season work on the ‘The Beast’ but he’s certainly not courting retirement any time soon. “I’ve got a few mates in the RSL who say, ‘why are you still racing at your age?’ And I say ‘because I can’,” Harro said. “The way I see it, I’m still mentally and physically active, I’m still up to it and I still enjoy it – so why not. “And as the wife says, it keeps me out of trouble.”
