page revision date: 28th August 2008
Graham Harris – Gentleman of Autograss
Graham Harris is a quiet, unassuming feller but put him in charge of a souped-up mini with No 44 on its side and you would find a changed character because for many years he was a very good racer with the Pembrokeshire Autograss Club.
Graham would laughingly say that he is a little too old for the racing game now (he is only a youthful 42!) but is still very heavily involved because he has been chairman of the PAC since 1996 and takes a key role in the local races, and as chairman of West Wales League as well.
“We have been very lucky,” says Graham, “because we have a superb venue at Hayes Farm, near Hodgeston, thanks to Jonathan and David Harries. We race there eight times every season and attract huge crowds, who come to see the thrills and spills of racing on the quarter-mile oval track. We have ten classes and there are youngsters from 12 to 16 showing off their amazing skills as well as the older more experienced men and women who compete all over Great Britain.”
As we spoke to Graham there were upwards of 30 club members of PAC competing in Northern Ireland in a round of the British Championships and there are other events around the country at venues like Yorkshire, West Midlands, Scunthorpe and a little nearer just outside Carmarthen.
“We are very much a family club and safety is a vital aspect of our sport – and as chairman I help make sure that the course is carefully constructed, as are the barriers running around the track. The cars are also carefully checked so that they run safely and it really is a key part of a meeting that we observe all Health and safety rules.”
Living proof of keeping it in the family 
Graham is living proof of a family involvement because dad, Graham senior, was chairman before him and is still a director of the sport’s governing body, which is known as SASA. Graham’s mum, Shirley, was treasurer of the club for a long time and both can proudly claim to be former British champs. His sister, Joan Bevans was also an excellent driver and her daughters, Michaela and Alice, are following in the family footsteps, with Michaela the first local girl to win a British title. Not content with that little lot, Graham’s wife Karen had a third and fourth place when she was taking part in autograss!
So it was natural that Graham should race as a nipper and although he never won the British crown he reached the final on ten occasions, with half of those in fifth place. He squeezed his 6 feet 2 inch frame into his beloved mini and looked after it with his dad. Graham chuckles as he tells us,
“We did so much work on it I am confident that if you gave me a mini in parts in cardboard boxes I could soon put it all together again!”
Rugby Days
As well as his autograss involvement, Graham was a good rugby player in his younger days, playing in the second and back rows for Pembroke Rugby Club until he was 32. His son Geraint is now playing for Pembroke’s under 12 team, also as a second row, and Graham is putting something back into the oval ball game as one of the coaches for the team, having taken his Level Two coaching badge and doubling up as team manager of the county team at that level.
30,000 crowds and 100mph!
As well as the regular programme of races, the PAC are ever-ready to host bigger events and last season saw them take on a British Round for ladies and juniors and next year play host to a British Round for men, which should attract upwards of 30,000 supporters to Pembrokeshire.
“Now that takes some organising,” he admits, “but it is worth it because the atmosphere is amazing. The cars make an immense sound because they rarely get out of second gear as they reach 70 mph and the big cars, the Class Seven Super Saloons and the Class Eight Specials, reach speeds of 100mph. There is also a ‘Wheelbender’ class where the cars race around the track in the opposite direction and that makes interesting viewing because they are set up to go the other way!”
Great advert
One only has to chat to Graham for a short while to see his genuine enjoyment of autograss in general and specific love of Pembrokeshire Autograss Club. He has been involved for a long time but retains his enthusiasm and if anyone is interested in knowing more about this form of car racing they should talk to Graham Harris for a while because he really is a cracking advert for this exciting motor sport.
