Chasing Harri

Formative years

Born into a racing family on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Harri Jones had speed in his veins early on. As a kid, he competed in downhill mountain biking before the injury toll mounted and a switch to racing cars came at the age of 15.

While most young drivers at this point would have years of karting experience to their credit, Jones’s unconventional pathway saw him leap into the world of Formula Ford open wheelers and eventually Australian Formula 3 – the ‘Wings and Slicks’ category famous globally for its ability to produce talented drivers.

Jones claimed the Australian championship in 2018, aged 19, before making perhaps another slightly unconventional shift; switching the prospect of an international open-wheel career for something with a roof: Porsche racing beckoned.

Porsche success

Joining title-winning team McElrea Racing, Jones’s first foray into Porsche competition came in the 2019 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series. Showcasing his consistency and thoughtfulness, Jones finished on the podium in the first 15 consecutive races – winning three of them – that season. That strike rate remains a series record, and one good enough to see him claim the title on debut.

Next was Carrera Cup, where he finished third in the pandemic-shortened 2021 season and claimed his first race victory at Mount Panorama in the series’ decider.

His run to a maiden title came a year later, remarkable consistency across the first three rounds building a significant championship lead before the year reached the halfway mark. Despite a relentless attack from Aaron Love before mid-year, Jones held on to prevail and claim his maiden Carrera Cup title.

That success propelled him to Europe, where a 2023 campaign in both the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany proved he had what it took to challenge for international success. However, home called.

Homecoming

Though his international career was a success, Jones wanted more in Australia and so returned home for 2024, signing with Porsche Centre Melbourne to contest Carrera Cup Australia once again. At the same time, he and his family established their own team to field cars in Sprint Challenge while Harri also pursued the dream of a full-time drive in the Supercars Championship.

What followed was one of the most dominant years in Carrera Cup history; a stunning first half of the season with raw speed, incredible qualifying form and race pace demonstrating that the Harri Jones that returned from Europe was an evolved version of the one that left. By Adelaide’s season finale, he had become just the second driver to win multiple Carrera Cup titles in Australia.

Unexpected events late last year meant Jones had to scramble to get his 2025 title campaign plans back on track. Just six weeks before the start of the season, Jones Motorsport expanded rapidly to ensure it could handle the pressure of a year-long title defence.

2025

Of course, Jones’s quest for a third Carrera Cup title started in style in Sydney, just as this issue of Christophorus was going to press. Despite the mad scramble to even be there, let alone be competitive, Harri and his own team scored pole and won all three races in perfect style.

Furthermore, the announcement that he would team up with Supercars squad Team 18 for the endurance races at the end of the year only added to the remarkable story of Harri Jones. And it’s a story that certainly has many more exciting chapters to tell.