Daniel is Ulster champ 3 times in one season

Daniel is Ulster champ 3 times in one season

13 November 2013

TWELVE year-old Daniel Harper, from Annahilt, has made sporting history in 2013.

The young speedster pulled off an amazing hat-trick by winning the Ulster Quad Championship, the Ulster Kart Championship and the Northern Ireland Karting Championship in one season.

Added to this a victory in the Irish Kart Grand Prix, giving him the coveted GP plate and the CDMC karting championship, and the Year 9 Dromore High School pupil has clearly a bright future in motorsport.

Using an LT80 Quad, Daniel dominated the Ulster Quad series, being unbeaten in 18 races and sewing up the championship with one round to go.

“It was an excellent year, with no mechanical issues, or incidents and very enjoyable,” he said. Next year I will be moving up a class to the 200cc Blasters, so that will be a new challenge to look forward to.”

After missing the first round of the Ulster Kart Championship due to a rare clash with quad racing, he stepped into his Mini Max kart for round two and proceeded to win all four races that weekend.

It was a great start to a season where he battled hard with Jack McGaughey, Samuel and William Harron, Jack Young and Conor McPolin, amongst others. It was Daniel, however, who took the championship and had some remarkable victories, especially in wet conditions.

Having started karting in 2010, Daniel has had a rapid rise, finishing fifth in the series on his debut season and taking the 2012 Winter Series outright, leading up to this magnificent year.

On the quads, Daniel started racing at the age of six and with the exception of his first season has won a championship every year.

He won the Ulster series and Co. Down series in 2012, but to have won Ulster Championships in two very different disciplines in the same season is unique.

“It wasn’t so bad switching between the karts and quads from week to week,” he remarked. “In fact racing the kart taught me the importance of holding a line and the race-craft learnt at the quads has stood by me.

It’s no surprise that Daniel comes from a motor-sporting family. His father, Stan, engineered some of Ireland’s top rally cars, while his mother, Paddie, was a leading co-driver.

Older sister Alex races quads, and finished an impressive fourth in her class this season in both Ulster and club championships.

“I have a lot of people to thank, my mum and dad, my grandparents, Andrew Lyons and Bob Patterson for supplying engines and technical help, McQuaid personal training and of course, all the organisers of the events.”

The family background is in rallying, as even granddad Raymond Reid competed in that sport, but Daniel a big fan of Sebastian Vettel. He has his sights set on the world of racing at present, and has aspirations in the sport.

He added: “I would love to get into Formula Ford racing when I’m old enough, then try to progress in racing and would love to make it all the way into Formula 1.”

At present it’s practice time in between his studies for the upcoming Ulster Winter Kart series and practice for the big move onto the fully-geared 200cc Quad for 2014.

Keep an eye out for this young Annahilt charger in the future.