Harrison Voight interview
With Mark Bracke
Australian road racing has faced challenging times in recent years but thankfully there have been a few state and national level races that have kept the flickering fire alive.
Harrison Voight – Image by RBMotoLens
One aspect of recent drama that hasn’t waned is the dreams and aspirations of young drivers striving to achieve what fills their days every waking hour. And most likely while they sleep.
Down Under has a proud history of rider representation on the world stage and 2022 will see the largest turnout of prospective world champions not seen in a number of years. A testament to the dedication and commitment of everyone involved to ensure that the pathways to World Cup success have remained open, regardless of the restrictions and protocols of the new world we live in.
Harrison Voight
Right now, eight drivers are embarking on their first stint abroad, while others are returning to pursue their careers and build on what has been achieved.
Check out the list of who’s racing where this year.
- MotoGP – Jack Miller, Remy Gardner. Moto3: Joel Kelso.
- WSBK – WSSP: Oli Bayliss, Ben Currie. WSSP300: Harry Khouri.
- BOD – BOD: Jason O’Halloran, Josh Brookes, SSTK 1000; Billy McConnell, Davo Johnson (plus the straight road races), Brayden Elliot, Levi Day. SSP600: Seth Crump, Jacob Hatch (age 17) Tom Toparis.
- CEV—Harrison Voight, Jacob Roulstone, Varis Fleming. Moto2 class: Senna Agius.
- RBRC—Harrison Voight, Jacob Roulstone.
- ATC – Carter Thompson, Marianos Nikolis, Cameron Swain.
- Moto America – SSP600: Luke Power. SSP300: Joe Marinello.
- European Talent Cup – Angus Grenfell, Carter Thompson.
- CIV—Archie Thompson.
in advance of the season, mcnews.com.au will be looking at some of the riders – in no particular order – as they prepare to embark on their individual adventures and quests for success.
Harrison Voight #29 with the Red Bull Rookies
First
Harrison Voight
Life: Gold Coast (Queensland)
For 2022, Harry will continue with the SIC58 Squadra Corse Team in the CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship and will also return for another tilt at the Red Bull Rookies Cup (RBRC).
Hopefully it will be a year of more rewards compared to the character-building setbacks he endured in what can best be described as a season of recovery, toughness and resilience.
Harry’s year ended at the fourth round of the CEV in Portimao, Portugal. In the early laps he highsided over the coaster’s infamous crest, unseen by following riders, he was run over, fracturing his femur and fibula, with a compound fracture of his tibia to be safe. Real work that…
Harrison Voight at the CEV in 2020
Harry had started road racing after a fairly successful off-road career. While still competing for dirt track titles and bagging trophies, he added road racing to his resume, starting with the GP Juniors Australia competition in 2017 when he won the 85cc two-stroke class.
In 2018 dirt was still a major focus as he won the Australian Long Track and Dirt Track Championships and won the FIM Supermoto Junior Lites Championship at Newcastle. The icing on the cake this year was finishing second in the AMA Grand Nationals Junior Half Mile TT Short Track Championship at Illinois’ legendary Springfield Mile, where he recorded a win and two second places.
In 2019 he was invited to compete in the Asia Talent Cup where he finished 13th overall, his best result being a fourth place in the third round in Sepang, Malaysia.
As we know, Covid had a devastating impact on 2020 with only one round of the ATC taking place at the local circuit in Qatar where he finished third. Also, Harry was fortunate to be able to continue in the European Talent Cup and scored two third places
Harrison Voight – 2020 ATC Round 1 Qatar
For 2021 he was included in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and signed for the CEV Championships alongside fellow Australian Senna Agius with the SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda team.
The year started very well for Voight with a 12th place finish in the opening CEV race, but soon turned to shit. On the next lap he had an encounter with another rider and fell and broke his collarbone, forcing him to withdraw from both competitions for a few weeks.
Harry returned from his collarbone injury for the fourth round of the RBRC at the Sachsenring (Germany) and finished eighth in the second race. His best result of the year, so a big boost in confidence.
Then it was off to Portimao for the fourth round of the CEV title. This, of course, was the scene of the horrific accident mentioned above that fractured his leg so badly. It was a horrific incident and if the impact had been 30cm higher around the vitals who knows where the 15-year-old would have been.
Harry had now lost both titles, but through massive hard work and determination, he recovered remarkably quickly from these serious injuries.
Harrison Voight, started out as a dirt tracker but soon made his mark on the tarmac – Image Craig Mayne
He competed in the last round of the CEV in Valencia after receiving a medical opinion with strict instructions not to go too crazy. Easier said than done for a teenager, but Harry listened and finished 20th and 17th to finish the year before returning home, only to wade through quarantine and on a not-so-new bike at the final Round of the ASBK Supersport 600 at The Bend Motorsport Park.
At the moment his home is the Gold Coast, but it’s not all about relaxing and having fun.
Mark Bracks: You did very well getting back on track at the end of the year in Valencia after receiving a medical certificate.
Harrison Voight: “The first race on the last lap wasn’t ideal, but in the second race I was a little closer. I was only 19 seconds short. My best time from the first race of the season was just 12 seconds so it wasn’t a crazy time.”
Harrison Voight in The Bend with ASBK – image by RBMotoLens
Bracks: So after everything that happened last year, are you fully recovered?
Voight: “I just got my collarbone plated the week before Christmas, so I was just working on that as well. When I got pulled out at Valencia early last year it healed in a triangular shape and every time I tapped on it when I had a pretty decent crash it broke every time. Even when I fell in the bend I hit it and it hurt so bad. I went for a CT scan and found out I had to have it plated. The movement is fine. It’s going well. But I still have screws and rods in my leg that will stay there for a while.”
Bracks: What are your goals this year after a confrontational year last year?
Voight: I don’t know yet. I would like to start the season and see where we are because the competition is getting better and better every year, but I think we can do it.”
Bracken: What is your main focus? CEV or Red Bull Rookies?
Voight: “My focus is pretty even. Maybe a bit more Red Bull-ish, but they’re pretty much the same. I want to do very well in both to be prepared for the future.”
Harrison Voight #29
Bracks: So when are you leaving?
Voight: “I’ll be leaving at the end of March. During the season I work about 45 minutes from Barcelona. I’ve had a little downtime and am about to start training again. A bit of fitness work, but nothing crazy. I would like to get back on my bike. We’ll do the ASBK test at the end of the month and maybe I’ll do the first round, but we’re undecided on that.”
If the ‘ying’ and ‘yang’ can find a balance for Harry after such a traumatic 2021, we hope he can do what Joel Kelso did in CEV and follow in his footsteps. He’s proven he has both the talent and determination to bounce back from setbacks and prove he’s faster than ever.