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PORSCHE FINDS FAMILIAR NAME IN HARBURG

By Timothy Neal

Lachlan Harburg will make his step up into the Porsche national series with McElrea Racing at the Queensland Raceway for this weekend’s Speed Series.

It will be a familiar name for most Porsche followers, and one that harks back to the pioneering days of the Australia Porsche Cup in the early 1990’s.

Lachlan is the son of long time Porsche campaigner Peter Harburg, a founding competitor from those early days of Porsche racing in Australia, who would race in the category for over a decade; Peter also participated in the Le Mans legend race in 2014, a vintage sports car race held in conjunction with the great event.

Lachlan in the meantime will make his debut in the 911 GT3 Cup Car in the contest for Class B honours in the Porshe Sprint Challenge, having learnt his craft in the 997 generation machinery in state level racing.

“Having the privilege of making my debut in a National-level Porsche Racing Series means an awful lot to me,” said Harburg proudly. 

“I grew up running around Australian Racing Circuits in the 1990s when my Dad was competing in the Porsche Cup, which laid the foundation for Carrera Cup as we know it today. 

Lachaln Harburg, a familiar name for long-time Porshe fans, gears up for his National Debut

“Needless to say, Porsche Motorsport has been in the blood since the very early days, and I honestly can’t ever see myself racing anything else.”

It’s a surreal feeling for Harburg as competing at a national level was always going to be his destiny, so finally getting the chance to compete in such a stellar field of racers will leave him in a contemplative mood, before he switched his mind to the task at hand.

“I’m under no illusion as to how competitive this field is, so this weekend is being treated purely as a steep learning curve for me and our very humble operation,” Harburg added. 

“I’ve been working with Harri Jones (Carrera Cup Australia Championship leader) in recent months which has been hugely beneficial for finding lap time, as well as understanding a more comprehensive approach to driving a race car.  

“To be able to integrate my passion of Motorsport into my Automotive Businesses of The Autohouse (Car Storage) and The Cover Shop (Automotive Cover Specialist) is a massive win, as the Motorsport market is a vital one for both of our operations. I’m absolutely pumped to roll out with a very healthy field of Porsches on Friday morning.”

After practice and qualifying on Friday, Saturday will see two 14 lap sprint races, followed by Sunday’s 45 minute enduro.

All the action can be seen live on Stan Sport from 11am-5pm both days.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action.