Introducing Harry
Harry is 18 years old and lives near Exeter. He has just begun the first year of the HND course in Motorsport Engineering at Bridgwater College, having just completed an Extended Diploma in Motorsport course at the same college. Harry is doing all that he can to build a future career in Motorsport. Harry has always been brought up around cars, since between his Dad and Grandad, they have over 60 years experience as vehicle technicians in the motor trade. During the eighties and nineties, Harry’s Dad competed in Schoolboy Motocross all over the UK. It therefore comes as no surprise that Harry, has inherited the England family motorsport bug!
Growing up, Harry spent a lot of time with his grandparents in Somerset, and one of his favourite things to do was to watch motorsport with his Grandad. Whenever possible, Harry, his Dad, and Grandad, would attend local motorsport events, and it was at one of these, the British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton in 2019 that Harry first realized that he wanted to race himself.
Many of the current crop of racing drivers, be that in Formula One, Sports Car or Saloon racing, began their racing careers via karting, often competing nationally from as young as 6-years old. As for many families, financially this was never an option for Harry growing up.
However, in 2021, Harry’s motor racing dream finally came true, when his family gave him his ultimate Christmas present of a half-day’s race tuition at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. Despite being a novice, and never having driven a race car before, Harry made good progress, so much so that he was immediately recommended to take his Association of Racing Driver Schools (ARDS) Junior Racing Drivers Licence, which he passed at the first attempt in August 2021, at just 14-years old. As a family, the England’s thought this was a wonderful achievement for Harry, but had little idea about what, if anything, he could do next, to try and further pursue his dream of a career in motorsport. Harry’s ARDS examiner said that Harry had all the key skills he looked for in a young driver, such as the ability to listen and quickly apply that learning, and genuine enthusiasm for racing. He also said that as a novice, with no prior karting experience, he was very surprised at how quickly Harry adapted to driving by naturally picking out the racing line, understanding the subtleties of braking and explaining issues with car handling. He thought that Harry had the natural instincts and raw talent to help him mature into a strong competitor and recommended that Harry go along and watch a round of the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) Fiesta Junior Championship, and so off went Harry, his Dad, and Grandad to a cold and damp Donnington Park in October 2021, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Mallory Park, September 2021
The BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship exists to give 14 to 17-year-old future racing drivers the opportunity to race on national circuits and gain the experience and exposure they need to take the next step in their racing careers. With many Fiesta Junior alumni now competing in Formula 3 and Formula Ford, the England family decided that this was the perfect platform for Harry to compete in and worked hard to pull out all the stops to get him on the BRSCC Fiesta Junior grid in April 2022. Over the winter of 2021-2022, with finances in place from family and friends, and several generous sponsors, Harry’s Dad, and his colleagues at Cofton Motors Starcross, set about building Harry a race car in which to compete during the 2022 season.
January 2022
On the 10 April 2022, at Brands Hatch in Kent, Harry found himself on his first ever starting grid, sitting alongside 15 other competitors, waiting for the lights to go green and the racing to begin. Harry drove brilliantly and finished his first ever race in sixth position overall, but first in class, having decided to be a trailblazer and be the first competitor to contest the championship in the new next-generation Mk 7 Zetec S model. This was clearly the start of things to come! Over the seven rounds of the 2022 BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, Harry amassed 324 points, won his class 11 times, and regularly finished in the top 10 of all competitors. His hard work, determination, and persistence saw him crowned the inaugural BRSCC Fiesta Junior Mk7 Class Champion in November 2022.
Harry loved being part of the healthy competition on the racetrack in his first ever season of motor racing. He especially enjoyed learning new skills, including car control, how to put successive quick laps together across race distances, and how to give effective feedback to his race engineers. He also loved developing the next-generation Mk7 Fiesta – especially helping to improve the overall performance of the car. He was thrilled to be crowned Mk7 Champion and was excited and confident about defending his championship in 2023. In the 2022 off-season, he also competed in the inaugural BRSCC 2022/2023 Winter e-Sports Championship to improve his understanding of the tracks he had yet to race. He also attended skid pan sessions at Thruxton circuit, to help improve his car handling when racing in the mix.
Although keen to defend his title in 2023 and aiming to consistently fight high up in the field, rather than contest the whole season, Harry chose to focus on his studies, gaining 9 GCSEs and securing a place on the prestigious Extended Diploma in Motorsport course at Bridgwater College. Harry is thoroughly enjoying his course, which is giving him both the mechanical understanding to assist his race car setup and maintenance and repair, but also the opportunity to learn more about the technical and administrative sides of the motorsport industry – a career he is keen to move into in the future.
On turning 16 in May 2023, Harry obtained his senior ARDS licence and decided to use the remainder of 2023 preparing to switch to racing in the 2024 Milltek Sport Honda Civic Cup with his new race team Pro Alloys Racing, of Melksham Harry is really excited about the challenge of a new formulae, especially having twice the horsepower that he is used to! He is also looking forward to having the opportunity to finally race locally this season, since one of the race weekends will be contested at Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. Harry will be contesting the next-generation FN2 Honda Civic Type-R model and was proud to unveil his new campaigner at the Milltek Sport Honda Civic Cup Media Day at Snetterton on 28 March this year.
The 2024 Milltek Sport Honda Civic Cup championship was a hard, but very enjoyable, year of development, and Harry was so pleased to finish the year 7th in the Paul Winfield Trophy championship. Whilst he was unlucky to experience several ongoing engine problems, resulting in non-finishes, he fought hard at every race, and did his best to take every possible learning opportunity.
Harry is so lucky that the Milltek Sport Honda Civic Cup community is very supportive, and would like to thank all those who have shared their knowledge, and supported Harry and his family in this new adventure.
In 2025, Harry is going to be contesting the Milltek Sport Honda Civic Cup championship as an independent. Harry is really excited about this new challenge, and will be putting into practice his race experience and learning about race-car setup from his Extended Diploma in Motorsport course. He is beyond proud to be able to draw upon the extensive experience of his Dad and Grandad in the motor industry, as they work together to run and maintain his race car. Harry is also thrilled to be supported by Dave Marshall and the DMR by KA Sales outfit. Dave has been at the forefront of developing the FN2 model for the Milltek Sport Honda Civic Cup championship, and Harry is looking forward to the strides he will be able to make in car set-up and race craft as he looks to knock on the door of the top ten.
During the off-season, Harry and his family worked hard to prepare his FN2 TypeR for the new season, with new engine build and bodywork. He is beyond grateful to Cofton Motors Starcross for helping him achieve this.
Harry is so grateful for the unwavering support of his family and his loyal partners: Blackthorn Racing, Cofton Motors Starcross, Partservice, SIM Demon, TR Autos, and Gerald Pearce. Harry knows that he is in a very privileged position to pursue his dreams and would never have been able to do so without their fantastic help. Harry is all too aware of the amazing opportunity afforded to him by his sponsors and looks forward to doing them all proud during the 2025 season.
By sharing the story of his unusual path to motorsport, Harry hopes that other young people will be inspired to follow their dreams and know that they can come true. Harry is also keen to pay forward the incredible support he receives and is very proud to support the phenomenal work of Children’s Hospice South West (and will be fund-raising for them at events throughout the season).
If you would be interested in following Harry’s progress throughout the season, please follow him across his social media channels.
March 2025
