From Breakdown to Crown – Aussie Junior Sedan Champion’s Journey
It’s the kind of story that could only happen in motorsport: Harrison Beres, Australia’s new Junior Sedan Champion, turned what could have been a disaster into an epic victory. From breaking down on the side of the road in the heart of Queensland to celebrating in front of a cheering crowd, Harrison’s win at the Australian Junior Sedan Title was anything but ordinary. And his plans for next season? Well, it looks like the best is yet to come.
The build-up to Kingaroy was hectic. Harrison and his family were already juggling the excitement of buying a new enclosed trailer, getting their fresh Mirage, ‘Mary’, ready for battle, and the looming fear of racing without it and perhaps dropping back to the faithful Excel, ‘Bluebell’. To make things worse, there was a moment before departure when they considered pulling out of the event altogether. Why? Because the car they planned to race almost exploded the week before at Esperance!
But the Beres family powered on. January 3rd, 2025, rolled around, and they were off: everything was going smoothly… until about 50km out of St George.
Cue the chaos: the car broke down, oil everywhere, and no one seemed willing to help. Eventually Dad Steve got a lift to the next town and began ringing every towing business in town, but everyone couldn’t be bothered or was too busy. A truckie said “Just get the trailer out of there and torch the car yourself then claim insurance because by morning it will all be torched anyway!”, but Harrison’s dad wasn’t having any of it.
Enter Lee from Maryborough Towing, a true hero, who originally passed the breakdown and assumed they were just have a rest, to heading back out, collecting the stricken machinery and towing them all the way to Kingaroy Speedway, cancelling other jobs along the way. Without Lee, Harrison says they’d probably still be sitting on the side of the road in outback Queensland!
Thursday was practice day at Kingaroy, and Harrison wasn’t sure what to expect. But after some final track prep and finally cutting a few laps, he was grinning ear to ear. Kingaroy Speedway had always been on his bucket list, and now he was finally there, flat out on the track, getting quicker with every lap. Once his first session was finished, Harrison just went straight back around and joined the queue to go out again. Now that he had gotten an idea of the track he could go faster and that’s what he did.
He just went a little quicker and as he says, the track was mint. Harrison came in and made the choice to change one tyre which would be the only thing they would change all weekend. After waiting ages and his Dad standing in front of a car so he didn’t keep getting pushed back in the line, he just made it out for the last session and straight away went to third quick and that’s where he would end up, with WA 1, 2, 3 in practice.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. After a stormy welcome dinner, the Beres family headed back to their accommodation, only to come over a hill and get stuck in a pool of water: the poor hire car had water flooding inside and was completely stuck! The local rescue crew drove right past them, but thankfully, Lesley from the local fish & chip shop came to their rescue. She drove Harrison’s dad back to the track to get tools, and after some creative towing, they were able to stash the hire car and camp out in the trailer for the night. It was a “you can’t make this up” kind of night, but one that left Harrison determined to win the Title.
Thankfully, Tania Barron and the Kingaroy team stepped up, loaning Harrison a ute to grab all their stuff from their accommodation and set up to live out of the race trailer for the rest of the weekend, not mention Brett Barron loaning them a tilt tray to go and retrieve the stricken hire car and dump it back at the hire car place.
By race day, the team had endured enough setbacks to make anyone question their luck, but the racing gods were finally on their side. The day started with a heavy rain delay, and the first heat was pure carnage, with the first night of the Title cancelled due to the rain returning. But Harrison wasn’t discouraged. Coming back for a one day show and starting in eighth for his first heat, he fought his way to second by the final lap. In heat two, he worked his way to third, and in the final heat, after another rain delay where Harrison just sat in the trailer and ate Nutri Grain and chocolate, he grabbed the win, securing a spot on the front row for the all-important final.
The final itself was a test of patience and nerves. After five aborted starts, the green flag finally dropped, and Harrison made his move. Tucked behind his main rival and fellow West Aussie Jake Leaman, Harrison kept the pressure on. With just five laps to go, Jake got stuck behind some lapped cars, and Harrison pounced, stealing the lead by a mere 0.062 seconds. However, as they entered turns 3 and 4, contact as the lead duo made their way through lapped traffic saw Harrison spinning and the yellow flags came out.
“I thought I was going to the rear,” Harrison said. “But the yellows were for another car who came to a stop just prior to our incident, and somehow, I was the leader!”
With the final five laps ahead of him, Harrison knew this was his shot. When the green flag dropped again, he never looked back, putting in the drive of his life and holding off a fierce challenge from Jake to cross the line and claim the title.
The moment Harrison grabbed the checkered flag was surreal. After years of dreaming of holding that iconic flag, he finally did it and he wasn’t about to take it for granted. He celebrated with a victory lap, grabbing the chequered flag (“something I’ve always wanted to to hold because its so tall at Kingaroy!”) and then attempting to do some burnouts (Ï’ve always wanted to back it up in reverse to the wall so I did that but it stalled which is pretty funny) then throwing in some reverse donuts just for good measure. “You can’t go wrong with reverse donuts so I just pulled up, put Mary in reverse and just tipped her in doing big, reverse donuts which were beautiful! It was pure joy,” Harrison said, laughing. “I couldn’t believe it, everything had come together.”
“In Dad’s opinion, it doesn’t mean anything because it’s just juniors but he’s just jealous he never won one!” exclaims Harrison. “To me, it’s much more than just a big trophy and a number on your car. It’s all the blood, sweat and tears that has gone into the journey, both on and off the track. From just starting off in an Excel, running around the back to mid-pack to being stranded on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere wondering if you’re even going to make it to the event because you can’t get a tow! It’s pretty cool to say to people that you’re an Australian champion…it still seems surreal.”
Afterward, it was all about the team—his proud mum and dad, who had supported him through thick and thin, the crew at Kingaroy Speedway who had helped them when things went wrong, and of course, the friends and family back home in WA. To celebrate, he simply went for a walk with his good mate Jesse Hamon before finally crashing in the trailer: it had been a big few days!
But Harrison’s journey doesn’t stop there. In fact, it’s just getting started.
With his Junior Sedan career winding down, Harrison has big plans for the 2025/26 season. “It’s my last year in Juniors, so I just want to enjoy every race,” he says. “I’ll be defending A1 at Esperance, of course, and it’ll be tough because there’s such a talented field out there. But I’m ready for the challenge.”
Harrison also has his eye on some major events, including the WA State Title at Manjimup, one of his favourite tracks, and a possible return to the eastern states for another crack at some other big events.
“I want to get around WA, support my mates up north, and make the most of these last few months in Juniors.”
And the future? Well, Harrison and his dad are already thinking about building a senior car. “Kings Royal, here we come!” he says with a grin.
Of course, Harrison’s victory wouldn’t have been possible without the support of some incredible people. Huge thanks to Eyerite Signs for making his car look schmiko, Paul Bowman for all his engine advice, Lee from Maryborough Towing for being a legend, and Lesley from Batter & Crumz for helping the team in their hour of need. And a big shout out to the Kingaroy Speedway Committee, Tania Barron and the crew, for being absolute legends.
But most importantly, Harrison gives thanks to his mum and dad, especially his dad for building “a weapon of a car” and for being the best crew chief around.
From breakdowns in the outback to lifting the A1 trophy, Harrison Beres’ Australian Junior Sedan Title win is one for the books. In fact, the whole season was, capped off with Harrison being awarded the Junior Competitor of the Year Award at the recent Speedway Australia Awards. As he looks to defend his crown and explore new horizons, there’s no doubt the future is bright for this young speedway star. The best part? He’s just getting started!
