This year we’re mainly focused on the GT World Challenge, after a year and a half of driving on the Nordschleife in the NLS. The first year was cut short with COVID, and this year we did the ones prior to the 24-hour race.
Everybody looking to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours will most likely do the NLS beforehand, just for practice and preparation for the big one. But of course, we had to focus even more on it because of the new M4 GT3. My first experience of the car was October last year. We had a day testing each at BMW’s test track in France, and then the next time I got in the car was NLS1. So, we really didn’t get so much time in the car before the race started.
Between NLS1 and the qualifying races for the 24 we changed a lot of things, we made some quite big changes, and meanwhile in the background BMW was still developing because it’s such a new car. Our focus was just driving time and getting used to it. And by the time the 24 came we were in a very good place with the car.
I’ve done quite a bit of development driving this season. At Portimao we raced with the new GT4. We’ve done quite a lot of just private testing. I went to Miramas in France, with the GT4 to test, [fellow BMW junior] Neil Verhagen tested in Germany and then there are other drivers that are testing in Spain – with 12-15 drivers they need to spread the work around.
I was the third driver in the GT4 car. At that point there are still so many things that can go wrong with the car system-wise, and they’re still deciding on which suspension company they’re going to use and things like that. So, we were giving our feedback on the positives and negatives of each thing that they were testing.
I really enjoyed it and I hope to do a lot more of it in the future. I think I’ve done probably 20 days of development testing this year. It’s a different kind of pressure, but you still need to be absolutely spot-on. Otherwise, they’ll not keep you very long.
It was the right option to let us focus fully on the GT World Challenge, my team-mates [Verhagen and Max Hesse] and I all really wanted to get out there and learn some new grand prix tracks and do different series. I’d say it’s the toughest GT series out there, the grid is very, very strong. Huge grids as well – at Spa I think there was 60-something cars, and over half of them were fully factory supported cars looking to win, so it was very, very tough.
Briton Harper is one third of BMW’s Junior Team along with Germany’s Max Hesse and American Neil Verhagen
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
In general, the season has gone very well for us as the Junior team. We finished number one BMW in three out of the five rounds. We were unfortunate at Spa with the puncture in the last hour that cost us a podium, but we showed good potential.
I think our main letdown now is qualifying performance. Compared to some of the other cars we just cannot get the outright lap time, but over a race we always gain places. At Spa, we started 20th and we finished fifth. At Paul Ricard, we started 22nd and we finished fourth. Race pace and tyre management is the strong point of the car. What they’re working on is real performance running and testing, and I think whenever we get that sorted, then we will have a very, very good package.
My aim for the future is to be in the LMDh car. We’ve already had our first drive, which was really cool
The BRDC SuperStars programme has also helped me with my development. Since I’ve been on the programme I’ve been living in Germany, so it wasn’t easy to get to all the events, but it’s been very beneficial. I talk with Andy Meyrick on the phone, and they’ve helped with tuition on sponsorship proposals and negotiation, so it’s helped me with my growth as a professional driver.
My aim for the future is to be in the LMDh car. We’ve already had our first drive, which was really cool. Hopefully, we can get more testing with the car throughout next year. They’ve announced that they will compete in the World Endurance Championship in 2024, as well as IMSA. So, I think for 2024, it’s definitely where I want to be. If we can have another good year in 2023 and get more time with that car, then we have a good chance.
Harper has enjoyed learning the ropes in GTWCE this year and hopes to race BMW’s LMDh car in 2024
Photo by: SRO