This story first appeared in the December edition of Motorsport Australia members magazine, Speed Read. 

Harri Jones would be someone on cloud nine right now.
 
After a stellar year behind the wheel, having won the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship, the 23-year-old talented steerer was invited to participate in the esteemed Porsche Global Shootout in Spain.
 
There he went up against 11 of the best young Porsche drivers from around the world for a spot driving for Porsche overseas.
 
Spending the last month touring the Middle East and Europe, Jones has only just returned home in readiness for his next move.
 
Speed Read caught up with Jones to discuss the rare experience.
 
Speed Read: It’s been a big year for you, but the last month proved even bigger, didn’t it?

Harri Jones: Yeah, it’s been a massive month since the Gold Coast 500. Straight after we won the title, we had a two-day break before going to Bahrain to start testing with Lechner Racing in the BWT Junior Car.
 
I was then lucky enough to compete in the first round of Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East, where I took out a podium.
 
It was also a good chance for me to get some experience on a F1 style circuit and learn from established drivers, engineers and coaches, as well as have some good competition from Harry King, before going for the Junior shootout.
 
SR: While that would have been nice, your main focus was the Porsche Global Junior Shootout; talk us through what would have been a challenging three days.

HJ: It was an amazing experience. The first day was full of off-track activities testing mental, physical and media attributes, as well as meeting the team and getting familiar with the car. It was a big day and all twelve drivers slept well that night, but it was something super different and cool.
 
On the second day, we got familiar with the track and got a chance to do a few laps in the car before doing a qualifying and race sim on the final day – sort of like a mock race day.
 
Honestly, I put it all on the table. It’s hard to know exactly how everyone else did, but I left nothing to chance and I am confident I did well.
 
Going to Jerez was incredible and the circuit was amazing. All the cars were brand new too, so it was a really eye-opening experience to see how well the factory is run and how important the shootout is for Porsche.
 
SR: Results aside, how did you find the opportunity to join 11 other drivers in this prestigious event? 

HJ: I definitely learned a lot while I was over there – especially in Bahrain. To be up against Harry King, who is an established driver in Supercup and to be in his realm, looking at his data and his footage really helped me.
 
It was also cool to meet the other juniors and rub shoulders with some of the best young drivers from around the world – hearing about their motorsport journey and how they came to be where they can be now – it was just really cool.
 
It was a massive experience but such a good one. Even now that I am back in Australia and just reflecting on it – it was awesome.
 
SR: It sounds like it was a busy month

HJ: It was 100 per cent the best month of my career.
 
From winning the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Championship in front of friends and family on the Gold Coast, to travelling overseas two days later to undergo this amazing experience.
 
It felt a bit like a month of celebration full of learning and developing in my career.
 
SR: Winning the Shootout would be amazing, wouldn’t it?

HJ: Absolutely. I would love to win for multiple reasons. It’s not just financial help that is amazing, it’s also the junior program itself. It’s made in such a way that it could really fast track my own development and it could turn me into a proper factory driver.
 
It would be a dream come true if I was to win.
 
SR: So what is the plan for Harri Jones then – regardless of the result?

HJ: If we win the shootout, we will be on the Supercup grid and in the German Carrera Cup, but if we don’t win, there are still plenty of good options.
 
We will push hard to do the Carrera Cup journey, but we also have other options which are all really exciting, so we will have to wait and see.