Simon Harrison

Simon Harrison
Harrison competing at Donington Park during the 2004 European Touring Car Championship season
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Born (1969-09-06) 6 September 1969 (age 55)
Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
British Touring Car Championship
Years active1995, 2000–2001
TeamsPeugeot
GR Motorsport
HTML
Starts51
Wins3 (1 in class)
Poles1 (12 in class)
Fastest laps1 (6 in class)
Best finish22nd in 1995
Championship titles
1994, 1999
2001		National Saloon Car Championship
BTCC - Production Class

Simon Mark Harrison (born 6 September 1969 in Northampton) is a British racing driver. He won two National Saloon Car Championships in 1994 and 1999, as well as the Production Class of the British Touring Car Championship in 2001.

Harrison's 23 year racing career started with winning his local karting championship at his first attempt.[1][2]

Harrison is best known for his time as a Peugeot factory driver in the 1995 British Touring Car Championship driving a 405 Mi16. This was after first season in saloon cars, winning the National Saloon Car Championship as part of the Team Castrol Honda scholarship squad. Prior to this, Harrison successfully raced in single seaters and was nominated for the McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award.

Karting career

  • 1982 Regional karting champion.
  • 1985 Winner of karting's Golden Steering Wheel Award.
  • 1986 Sixth in the Junior British Championships.

Single seater career

  • 1987 Winner of the Jim Russell Racing Driver's School 30th Anniversary Scholarship.
  • 1988 Winner the First Time Racing Driver's Scholarship.
  • 1989 Formula First Championship, third place.
  • 1990 Formula Ford Championship, fifth place.
  • 1991 Formula Ford Championship, third place.
  • 1993 Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship, third place.[3]

Unable to secure financial backing to move into Formula 3 racing, Harrison instead tried out for the Team Castol Honda scholarship, a manufacturer-backed program to recruit racing talent. Harrison secured a place in the three-car team, won the first round of the championship and subsequently led the championship from start to finish.

Saloon car career

  • 1994 National Saloon Car Championship with Team Castrol Honda. Championship win, six race wins, eight pole positions, four lap records.
  • 1995 British Touring Car Championship for Total Team Peugeot
  • 1996 Touring car test and reserve driver for Honda Europe.
  • 1998 Spa 24 Hours for Honda.
  • 1999 National Saloon Car Championship driving a Honda Integra Type-R for GR Motorsport. Championship win, five race wins, six pole positions, four lap records.
  • 2000 National Saloon Car Championship driving a Ford Focus for GR Motorsport, fourth place.
  • 2001 British Touring Car Championship Production Class driving a Peugeot 306 GTi6. Championship win, 8 race wins, 8 pole positions, 3 lap records.
  • 2002 Macau Grand Prix driving a Honda Integra Type-R, setting a new lap record.
  • 2004 European Touring Car Championship driving a Honda Civic Type-R for GR Motorsport.
  • 2005 World Touring Car Championship driving a Honda Accord Euro R for JAS Motorsport. Raced in last round at Macau.

Personal life

At the end of the 2005 season, Harrison retired from racing to concentrate on motor sport filming. He is now the Managing Director of Kingdom Creative, a specialist motor manufacturer and motor sport filming company.[citation needed]

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1998 Belgium Team Honda Sport Belgium United Kingdom James Kaye
United Kingdom Stephen Day 		Honda Integra Type R SP 470 8th 8th

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded – 1996–2002 all races, 2003–present just in first race, 1987–1989 and 2000–2003 in class) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – 1987–1989 and 2000–present all races, 1987–1989 and 2000–2003 in class) * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap (1 point awarded – 2001 just in feature races, 2003–present all races, 2001 for leading in class)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Overall
DC 		Pts Class
1995 Total Team Peugeot Peugeot 405 Mi16 DON
1
14 		DON
2
17 		BRH
1
15 		BRH
2
11 		THR
1
10 		THR
2
9 		SIL
1
12 		SIL
2
16 		OUL
1
7 		OUL
2
12 		BRH
1
11 		BRH
2
13 		DON
1
Ret 		DON
1
Ret 		SIL
15 		KNO
1
Ret 		KNO
2
Ret 		BRH
1
Ret 		BRH
2
DNS 		SNE
1
19 		SNE
2
11 		OUL
1
9 		OUL
2
Ret 		SIL
1
Ret 		SIL
2
DNS 		22nd 9
2000 GR Motorsport Ford Focus B BRH
1 		BRH
2 		DON
1 		DON
2 		THR
1 		THR
2 		KNO
1 		KNO
2 		OUL
1 		OUL
2 		SIL
1 		SIL
2 		CRO
1 		CRO
2 		SNE
1 		SNE
2 		DON
1 		DON
2 		BRH
1 		BRH
2 		OUL
1
Ret 		OUL
2
Ret 		SIL
1 		SIL
2 		0 NC
2001 HTML Peugeot 306 GTi P BHI
1
1† 		BHI
2
Ret* 		THR
1
5 		THR
2
Ret 		OUL
1
1 		OUL
2
7 		SIL
1
1 		SIL
2
10* 		MON
1
9 		MON
2
8 		DON
1
17 		DON
2
Ret 		KNO
1
5 		KNO
2
7 		SNE
1
8 		SNE
2
10 		CRO
1
18 		CRO
2
12 		OUL
1
6 		OUL
2
8* 		SIL
1
6 		SIL
2
10 		DON
1
Ret 		DON
2
7* 		BRH
1
14 		BRH
2
10 		227 1st

† Event with 2 races staged for the different classes.

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

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

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Pts
2005 JAS Motorsport Honda Accord Euro R ITA
1
 ITA
2
 FRA
1
 FRA
2
 GBR
1
 GBR
2
 SMR
1
 SMR
2
 MEX
1
 MEX
2
 BEL
1
 BEL
2
 GER
1
 GER
2
 TUR
1
 TUR
2
 ESP
1
 ESP
2
 MAC
1
20† 		MAC
2
DNS 		- 0

References

  1. ^ "Simon Harrison". newsle.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Simon Harrison". motorsportworld.tv. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Simon Harrison". brdc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2013.