BMW M Motorsport works driver Dan Harper and team-mates Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson charged to a dominant Bronze class victory in the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s Suzuka 1000km this past weekend (11-13 September).
Harper headed to Japan to contest the prestigious event for the second time, competing alongside his regular FIA World Endurance Championship team-mates McIntosh and Thompson with Team WRT. They would be part of a very competitive 14 car entry in the Bronze category.
The talented trio set a good pace from the off in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO, lapping inside the top three in class in testing and night practice on Friday. That set them up for a positive run in qualifying, as each driver tackled a 15-minute session to calculate for their final time.
Harper produced an excellent performance in his segment, lapping third fastest overall. Combined with his team-mate’s efforts, the #69 BMW was classified sixth overall and second in Bronze on the timing sheets, however a five-place grid penalty picked up in practice meant an 11th place start.
The race was contested over six-and-a-half hours on Sunday. An early tyre change problem resulted in an extra pitstop than planned and cost them positions on track, but McIntosh and Thompson got into a good rhythm as they traded the opening stints and started to regain lost ground.
With just under three hours left on the clock, Thompson grabbed the class lead for the first time. He handed over to Harper for the final two hours and the Northern Irishman set a scintillating pace, charging clear of the other class contenders at a rapid rate.
Harper built their advantage to over a minute and a half at one stage, which meant they were able to comfortably complete a late drive-through penalty and remain out front. The 25-year-old took the chequered flag in an impressive seventh place overall, only beaten by full PRO class entries.
Dan Harper: “We’re absolutely delighted to come away with the class win in the Suzuka 1000km. It’s a really prestigious event and the entry was very competitive, so to come away victorious is a great feeling.
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves, as we had an issue in the first pitstop putting the wrong tyre in the wrong place. A freak moment that cost us time, but everyone was faultless from there on out and we worked our way back into contention.
“Tony and Parker really dug deep in their stints to make the progress and get us into the lead. My job was to keep it clean and bring it home, which I’m delighted to have done.”
Harper will be back in Japan for his next race event, as he once again competes alongside Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson and Team WRT in the next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Fuji (25-27 September).
