Mike Harris (25 May 1939 – 8 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who later moved to South Africa. He took part in one World Championship

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Grand Prix, the

1962 South African Grand Prix The 1962 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa, was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 29 December 1962. It was the ninth and final race in both the 1962 World Championship o ...

, from which he retired.

Career

Harris was born in

Mufulira Mufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. Mufulira means "Place of Abundance and Peace". The town developed around the Mufulira Copper Mine in the 1930s. The town also serves as the administrative capital of Mufulira District. G ...

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

. There is a great amount of confusion existing about his racing years with respect to which country he represented, it being variably given as either

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, although he resided in none of the two countries at the time: in the early 1960s when he competed in auto racing, Northern Rhodesia where he lived was part of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...

, from which both Northern Rhodesia and

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

split again in 1963, the latter being known as just

throughout most of its history. He won the 1962 Rhodesian Championship with his

Cooper T53 The Cooper T53 is a Formula One car built by British motorsport team Cooper for the 1960 Formula One season. Jack Brabham drove it to his second World Championship that year, and with teammate Bruce McLaren gave Cooper its second Constructors' ...

, powered by an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

engine. On 2 December of that year he qualified third for the 1962 Rhodesian Grand Prix, and finished the race in the same position behind

Gary Hocking Gary Stuart Hocking Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (30 September 1937 – 21 December 1962) was a Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesian former professional motorcycle road racing, road and car racer. He ...

and Neville Lederle. He then travelled to South Africa and took part in the

1962 Rand Grand Prix The 5th Rand Grand Prix was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 15 December 1962 at Kyalami, South Africa. The race was run over 50 laps of the circuit, and was won by British driver Jim Clark, who led from start to finish in his Team ...

, qualifying 20th from an entry of 34 cars, but retiring from the race with a puncture. The following week he qualified 17th fastest for the

1962 Natal Grand Prix The 2nd Natal Grand Prix was a auto racing, motor race, run to South African Formula One-style rules, held on 22 December 1962 at Westmead Circuit, South Africa. The field was split into two heats, with a subsequent final. The heats consisted of ...

, but retired from his heat and so missed the final. After Christmas Harris was part of a stronger international field for the South African Grand Prix which would decide the 1962 World Championship. In the first practice session on Boxing Day he suffered an engine failure and he missed the following day's practice while he made repairs. During the final practice session on the third day, he suffered with the same issues again and posted the 15th fastest time, with only

Carel Godin de Beaufort Karel Pieter Antoni Jan Hubertus "Carel" Godin de Beaufort (10 April 1934 – 2 August 1964) was a Dutch racing driver and nobleman, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Maarsbergen to a noble family, Godin de Beaufort d ...

having a slower time. Having rebuilt the engine again before the race, Harris circulated towards the back of the field, running ahead of de Beaufort and Bruce Johnstone, and subsequently other drivers whose cars suffered problems. However, on lap 32 of the 82 lap race, Harris retired from tenth position with the same engine bearing failure that had plagued him in practice. Harris subsequently decreased his involvement in the sport and retired, at least partly due to the death of Gary Hocking at the Natal Grand Prix. He later ran

and

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

dealerships in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia from 1964) and Zimbabwe, before retiring to live in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa with his wife Patricia Harris. Harris died in Durban on 8 November 2021, aged 82.

Complete Formula One results

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Non-championship results

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References

Profile at grandprix.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Mike 1939 births 2021 deaths Zambian people of British descent Zambian people of English descent Zambian emigrants to South Africa Sportspeople from Mufulira South African Formula One drivers Rhodesian Formula One drivers