HTCAV Driver Profile – Harry Draper
Words: Chris Ralph
Photos: Draper family, Phil Wisewould
The idea of writing a story on Harrison ‘Harry’ Draper, the HTCAV’s young new champion, Rookie of The Year and Under 2 Litre Champion, seemed easier than trying to compact the decades of race history from the old and bold. He’s just a kid, right? He’s only just popped onto the scene, yes? How much could there be? But it didn’t take long for a story to evolve of a young man who must never be underestimated…
Training Wheels
Twenty-two isn’t young for a driver these days and like so many of today’s F1 stars, Harry has history. Unlike the F1 wunderkinder, however, his story doesn’t contain years of topline karting.
Young ’Arry was astride a dirt bike from the time he could walk, giving him a fine sense of balance and a strong liking for petrol fumes. With no shortage of paddocks at home in Ceres, just west of Geelong, and plenty of encouragement from his father Vic, Harry was a-ridin’ and a-slidin’ with school friends through his childhood at the Avalon Raceway motocross and enduro events.
Hereditary Disease
“I caught my bad car habit off the old man…,” says Harry and this intensified when Vic, brother Dave and brother-in-law Tony bought a Datsun 1600 in 2012 for track days at Winton. Harry was always with them, watching very closely and biding his time. This experience bonded him with Dattos. At 15, when he graduated to four wheels, it was an old Datsun Stanza with a locked diff that carried him sideways around the home dirt.
A Faster and Faster Family
Vic wanted to go faster and bought a Mitsubishi EVO 10 in 2014. Harry pointed to the neat Datto meaningfully – and that year, aged 16, he won the Junior Section of the BP Sprints at Winton: a hint of things to come.
With a wise head on his shoulders, Harry spent less time on the track and more on Year 12 in 2015/16 - but by 2017 he was raring to get back to the proper stuff.
Fortunately, Vic was now ready to go faster again, buying another EVO 10 and installing Harry in the older car. Now father and son could take to the track together in similar cars. In 2018, they finished first and second in class in the BP Sprints, with Harry in the 1.34s bracket and Dad just 0.3 seconds off the young charger.
The Next Step? Racing!
Harry’s (much) older cousin, HTCAV Marketing Director and ’68 Trans Am Mustang driver Chris Stern, didn’t have to lobby too hard to get him interested in historic touring car racing.
As it happened, a Datsun 1600 was for sale. It wasn’t just any Datto, but the triple Club Championship-winning car of redoubtable Tyrepower dealer Russell Pilven. This highly developed piece of kit had been for sale for a big quid for a few years, so the question for Harry was: how could he afford it, how would he look after it?
On the Tools – no Fool!
It’s at this point that one realizes there’s more than meets the eye to this young man.
“I’ve always been a bit of a saver,” Harry admits modestly. Obviously, by squirrelling away years of earnings from the family’s earthmoving business (where he still works today), Harry was in the ballpark to buy the fast Datsun.
Amazingly, he’d also done a mechanics course at TAFE, aged 17, and had built his own Datsun 1600 road car up from a bare shell, complete with an injected 2-litre motor.
With all the work on the paddock and road cars, this wasn’t some ‘turn up and drive’ situation for Harry – the teenager was fully qualified to take the plunge in every respect.
Five Meetings, Five Class Wins, Job’s Done
Getting the final prep done in the first half of 2019, Harry made his debut in the two JUST CARS Enduro rounds - Sandown in July (where he won the Under 3-Litre Cup at his first try) and two weeks later at Winton.
Then it was off to The Bend in October, and back to Historic Sandown and Island Magic in November, throwing away the P-plate and bagging enough points to make Club history as its youngest ever champion at just 23. It was a result met with cheers all round and it proved that the HTCAV really does offer something for everyone, no matter their age.
Diving in at the Deep End, Harry. Any Regrets?
“No! It’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done!” he says. He’s a millennial alright with that ghastly adjective – but ‘dis kid is OK’. He’s wise for his years and the kind of young man who gives a jaded old writer hope for the future of our country.
Keep an eye on this one - a real driving talent and capable all-rounder.
Anyone out there want to install a smart young hotshoe into a front-running car?
