“Dear God.”
Terry Harryman made those words his own.
Millions have watched that snapshot Manx International moment from 1983, when the Opel Manta 400 he and Ari Vatanen were hustling up a wet Tholt-y-Will got out of shape and slewed towards the concrete posts which sat either side of a cattle grid.
Vatanen collected the slide and the pair continued up the hill at unabated speed. It was close. Close enough for Harryman to add the brief commentary.
From then on, and for the remaining 45 stages, he was head down and delivering note after note with trademark precision and calm. After more than five hours’ flat-chat driving across the Isle of Man, he and Vatanen finished a close second to the similarly famous Finnish-Northern Irish partnership of Henri Toivonen and Fred Gallagher. They were split by just over a minute. Best of the rest? More than six minutes behind.
Such stories only serve to make Monday’s news of Terry Harryman’s passing all the more painful.
He was 87.
Terry formed an iconic partnership with Ari Vatanen (pictured in 1983)
Born in Bangor, County Down, Harryman began his co-driver career alongside Ronnie McCartney in 1962. Just two years later, the pair were winning the Circuit of Ireland in a Mini Cooper S. Twelve months on and Terry joined Paddy Hopkirk and celebrated back-to-back success on what was then one of the world’s most arduous Tarmac rallies.
A World Rally Championship debut came in 1974, when he and McCartney tackled the RAC Rally in a Mazda. Through these years, Harryman became a regular and much-loved competitor across Ireland. When he joined Malcolm Wilson for the 1978 Ulster, they led after the opening stage and went on to forge an incredible partnership.
For the next three seasons, the pair battled the Finns for the British title as well as sporadic WRC outings in Escorts famously liveried in Total and Rothmans colours.
At the top of the 1982 season, Harryman joined then defending world champion Vatanen for the Swedish Rally. The pair finished second and another partnership was shaped. A year later and Terry was on top of the world, winning the Safari with AV in a Manta 400. When Ari departed Opel bound for Peugeot Talbot Sport, Terry went with him.
Immediately, the combination of Terry, Ari and the 205 T16 was an irresistible force, concluding the 1984 season with successive wins on the 1000 Lakes, Sanremo and RAC. The winning continued into 1985, with that famous fightback win in Monte Carlo and a second Swedish win on four years.
Monte Carlo 1985 was one of his most famous victories
The world title looked to be heading in only one direction, until a series of mid-season non-finishes left them trailing team-mate Timo Salonen when they arrived in South America for Rally Argentina. A huge crash left Vatanen hospitalized and out for almost a year.
Terry remained in the Peugeot fold and co-drove Michèle Mouton to the German national title in 1986. There was also an emotional return alongside Vatanen, when the pair piloted a 205 T16 E2 on course car duties in Sanremo.
The onset of Group A brought a change of direction as Harryman joined Ford and Kalle Grundel. The highlight of the 1987 season was, however, a one-off outing with Ari, when the pair guided a Sierra RS Cosworth to a typically spectacular second place on the 1000 Lakes. There was a full season with Mark Lovel for 1988, but Harryman took a step back the following year.
It was in the early ’90s that Terry’s son Allan followed his father into the sport. Allan remains a frontline co-driver today.
Terry was persuaded back to the co-driver’s seat by the offer of working with Renault to co-drive Robbie Head through the 1995 season, in the Clio Williams. Back where he belonged, Harryman competed regularly for the next eight years, but also accepted the role of team manager for the Renault Dealer Team in the British championship.
Allan has since carried the family legacy on, competing in almost 300 rallies all over the world and making his father extremely proud.
Terry’s funeral will be held this Saturday, September 26, followed by a celebration of his wonderful life at S Clarke and Son Funeral Home in Bangor at 12pm. Flowers are not requested, but donations to Parkison’s UK are welcomed.
DirtFish sends its deepest condolences to Terry’s family and many friends around the world.
