Retired top-flight rally co-driver Terry Harryman hopes his recognition at a civic reception in his home town of Bangor will help inspire the next generation of motorsport enthusiasts to pursue their dreams.
Family and friends from Northern Ireland’s motorsport fraternity attended the event where Harryman became the latest person to be inducted into Ards and North Down Borough Council’s Hall of Fame.
He joins fellow sporting greats from the area, including British Open winner and four-time Major golf champion Rory McIlroy, ex-British racing driver John Watson and former Formula One star Eddie Irvine.
Harryman rose to fame through his partnership with former World Rally Championship title holder Ari Vatanen.
The pair scored victories on Safari Rally in Kenya, Finland’s Rally of the 1000 Lakes, Rally San Remo in Italy, the snow-covered roads of Rally Sweden and, closer to home, the RAC Rally.
Their biggest triumph came at the jewel in rallying’s crown – Rallye Monte-Carlo aboard a Group B Peugeot 205 T16.
There were setbacks along the way, the biggest coming at Rally Argentina in 1985 when an accident left both Vatanen and Harryman in hospital with serious injuries.
The Ulsterman got off relatively lightly with a broken back, shoulder, ribs and knee as a result of the car hitting a mud hole, flat out in fifth gear at 118mph, before it was launched into a series of violent rolls that left Vatanen with a fractured lumbar vertebra and broken tibia.
Both would go on to make a full recovery and joined forces for the final time in 1987, completing Rally Finland second overall.
Before joining forces with the Finn, Harryman enjoyed considerable success domestically, winning the Galway International and Donegal International rallies and chalking up a hat-trick of Circuit of Ireland Rally victories.
He was also a frequent visitor to the podium at competitions in both the UK and Ireland.
The 85-year-old has called the notes for many of the sport’s biggest names over the years, including the late Paddy Hopkirk and M-Sport founder and Managing Director Malcolm Wilson OBE.
In the case of France’s Michele Mouton, they conquered the German Championship with Peugeot’s help in 1986.
After a career that spanned over six decades, Harryman finally hung up his helmet and race overalls, but not before co-driving a Race Truck in the Dakar Rally and appearing at the Syrian International Rally alongside Mohammed Hamsho in a Subaru Impreza World Rally Car.
In the years that followed, Harryman held the position of Team Manager for the Renault Dealer Team and set up various successful motorsport ventures such as the Mobil 1 Rally Challenge.
“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is wonderful recognition from what has been my home town since 1968,” said Harryman.
“Hopefully, I have helped to bring rallying to a wider audience, and if one young person sees my career as an inspiration and follows the sport, then it will have been a success.
“Northern Ireland has a great history in the sport of rallying, so hopefully, this will continue. I am very proud of where I live and is even more now as my life – and dedication – to the sport, which I only got into through my interest in maps, has been recognised by the town and county as a whole.”
Paying his own personal tribute to Harryman, the Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, added: “Terry was one of the most sought-after rally co-drivers in the world, and during his illustrious career, he became one of rallying’s pacenote-making pioneers.”