Karl Harris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karl 'Bomber' Harris
Harris in 2008 with the factory Rob Mac Yamaha British Superbike
Nationality	British
Born	(1979-10-21)21 October 1979 Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Died	3 June 2014(2014-06-03) (aged 34) Isle of Man

Karl Harris (born October 21, 1979 – died June 3, 2014) was a famous British motorcycle racer. He was known for winning the British Supersport Championship three times. In 2010, he started racing in the British Superstock Championship. Sadly, Karl Harris died in a racing accident during the 2014 Isle of Man TT event.

Early Racing Days

Karl Harris began his racing journey in 1996. He quickly moved up through the junior racing groups. He raced in the European Superstock Championship and won the title on a Suzuki GSX-R750 bike. In 1999, he also took part in some races of the Supersport World Championship, with his best finish being 4th place.

In 2001, he came back to race in the UK. He rode a Suzuki in the British Supersport Championship and won the title that year. After that, he moved up to Superbike racing in 2002, again with Suzuki, but that year wasn't very successful for him. In 2003 and 2004, he raced in Supersport for HM Plant Honda and won the championship two more times.

British Superbike Championship

For the 2005 season, Karl Harris returned to the British Superbike (BSB) series with a Honda team. He finished 9th overall in the championship, and his best race result was a 3rd place.

Harris riding the Hydrex Honda during a 2009 British Superbikes race at Snetterton.

In 2006, he joined the main HRC Honda team. He achieved a 2nd place finish at Oulton Park, coming very close to winning, just behind Gregorio Lavilla. He had a crash at Snetterton which made him miss a race, but he wasn't badly hurt. That year, he also got his first pole position (starting from the very front) at Oulton Park. He almost won his first series race at Croft in the rain, but Leon Haslam passed him right at the end. While his teammate won the championship, Karl finished 5th overall.

In 2007, he switched to the Hydrex Honda team. His best result in the first part of the season was 6th place, again showing good speed at Oulton Park. He then got an exciting second-place finish at Oulton Park in August.

For 2008, he moved to Rob Mac Racing, riding a factory Yamaha bike. He crashed in the first race after another rider's bike hit him. He didn't finish many of the early races that year. He also made a special appearance in the World Supersport championship at Brands Hatch but crashed out while in 5th place.

Harris on the start-finish straight at Cadwell Park.

In 2009, Karl Harris joined Shaun Muir's Hydrex Bike Devil's Honda team. Some people thought he might even win the championship that year. However, he found it hard to do as well as people hoped. After two second-place finishes at Oulton Park, he struggled to keep up with the top riders. In September 2009, his contract with the Hydrex Honda team ended. He then raced for the Sorrymate.com SMT Honda team for the last two races but had a big crash at Oulton Park.

Harris riding for PR Racing in BSB at Brands Hatch in October 2013.

In 2010, he started racing in the British Superstock Championship on a GR Motorsport Aprilia. However, he left the team after three races where he didn't do very well.

In 2012, Karl Harris took over from another rider at PR Racing, riding a Quattro Plant Kawasaki bike. He raced in a few selected events and had some good results, including finishing 7th and 9th at Cadwell Park. These were some of the best finishes for his team that season. Karl continued with PR Racing for the rest of the year, racing at Assen, Silverstone, and Brands Hatch.

In 2013, Harris signed a new contract with PR Racing. This was his first full BSB season since 2009.

His Passing

Karl Harris died on June 3, 2014. This happened after an accident at Joey's Corner during the Superstock Race at the 2014 Isle of Man TT.

Career Highlights

Isle of Man TT Debut

In 2012, Karl Harris raced in the famous Isle of Man TT for the first time with the SMT Honda racing team. He finished 21st in the Superbike race and 28th in the Superstock race. He also rode very fast, going over 121 miles per hour on the course.

See also

In Spanish: Karl Harris para niños