MOUNT Gambier speedway driver Ryan Harry had quite the finish to his junior sedans career on the weekend, when he finished his night at Ballarat’s Redline Raceway with his car on its roof.
It was Harry’s first time racing at the venue and after mixed results in the first two races, the third heat saw him clipped from inside a few laps in.
The result was a write-off for the car, as his 1981 Datsun Sunny was thrown into the air and rolled twice before it finished up on its roof.
To add to the thrill, it was the 17-year-old’s first roll over, but he said it was not as bad as he had thought it would be.
However, it was a disappointing end to his time in the junior sedans class.
“I was a bit disappointed to crash, especially just before trying to sell the car,” Harry said.
“That’s what I was more disappointed about really.
“It is not really fixable I don’t think, it is pretty bad.”
Harry said while in the air he just prepared for impact, as he had no control and was simply along for the ride.
“I kind of just braced while I was in the air,” he said.
“Once I hit the ground I landed on my roof and I just sat there for a couple of seconds, took a couple of deep breaths and slowly got out.
“It was all over pretty quickly.”
Prior to that night Harry said his season had been good, with some success in Victoria, which included qualifying for the A main in the state title.
“The season was really good, especially for a rear-wheel-drive,” he said.
“We made the Vic title and put it straight in the A main.
“We also had a couple of real good results in the Victorian series rounds.”
Unfortunately Harry had a DNF due to a flat tyre in the final for the Victorian title, but he was pleased to qualify where he did, after three thirds, a fourth and a fifth in his heats.
“I qualified 16th in the A main out of 48 cars,” he said.
“I was really happy with that.”
Harry comes from a motorsport-oriented family and has been racing in the Datsun for about five years now.
“My Pa used to race so I would go out to the speedway and help out doing jobs out there,” he said.
“After a while I realised that is what I wanted to do, I wanted to race.
“We didn’t really go out just to win races, it was more just to have fun and learn new skills.”
He said it is good to go out and do something different and meet the people involved in the sport.
When asked what was next for the young driver, Harry said he would have a break for now, before deciding which class he would pursue next.
“I will try to sell what is left of the car and hopefully go on to another class after that,” he said.
“It has always been a dream to run Formula 500’s.”
