Harald 'Hari' Proczyk

Hari Proczyk is an Austrian racing driver who participated in many touring car and sports car competitions since starting his career more than twenty years ago.

He was many times among the front-runners but never won a championship title until 2018 when he triumphed in the ADAC TCR Germany.

Harald 'Hari' Proczyk

Variety of competitions early in a career

Born in November 1975 in Knittelfeld, Harald 'Hari' Proczyk started a racing career in 1995, entering the Formula Ford 1600 Championship. In 1998, he moved to German Citroen Saxo Cup, finishing second among junior drivers. In 1999, he made two starts in the German Touring Car Challenge (DTC) in a Citroen Xsara and seven starts in the Formula Formula König with Red Bull Junior Team.

In 2000, Proczyk returned to Citroen Saxo Cup, finishing second in the overall standings. In 2010, he again participated in two competitions, finishing 11th in the German Ford Puma Cup and 16th in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.

Racing with Fords until 2006

Proczyk stayed in the Ford Puma Cup for one more season, finishing ninth in the points in 2002. Since 2003, he participated in the Ford Fiesta ST Cup, staying in that one-make competition for four seasons.

He was among the front-runners all the time, finishing third in 2003, second in 2004 and 2005, fourth in 2006. In 2006, Proczyk also joined Steibel Motorsport and Sebastian Grunert in the Renault Clio Cup Germany, ending a season in the third place.

Four seasons in a Mini Challenge

It was a time for something new in 2007, so Proczyk moved to the Mini Challenge series. Driving the #7 Mini Cooper for Team ProSieben, he was second in the points in his first season. In 2008, he was second again. In May 2008, Proczyk made a debut at Nurburgring 24 Hours race, driving a Mini Cooper S for Schirra Motoring, finishing 12th in the SP3T class.

In 2009, Proczyk joined was driving the #38 Mini for Schirra Motoring, finishing seventh in the Mini Challenge. His last season in that series was 2010 when he was again second in the points.

Hari Proczyk (right) in 2011, his first full season in the ADAC GT Masters

Two ADAC GT Masters season in a Mercedes

In 2011, Proczyk made a step forward in his career, joining Heico Motorsport to drive the #32 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters. His co-driver was another Austrian racer Dominik Baumann. Scoring four podiums, they were fifth in the final standings.

Next year, Proczyk and Baumann were driving the #8 Mercedes for Heico Motorsport. They were on a podium just once, in season's finale at Hockenheimring, to finish ninth in the final classification.

Third in the European GT3 Championship with Lamborghini

While driving Mercedes in the ADAC GT Masters, Proczyk returned to Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2011, driving a Mini for Schirra Motoring. He nearly missed a podium in the SP3T class, finishing fourth. His third N24h attempt with Mini followed in 2012, but he didn't finish the race.

In 2012, Proczyk had a double GT racing programme, driving Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ for Rhino's Leipert Motorsport in the FIA GT3 European Championship. He and David Mengesdorf scored one victory (Algarve) and eight podiums to finish third in the overall standings. Proczyk also took part in one round of the British GT Championship, sharing Leipert Motorsport's Lamborghini with Marco Attard.

Hari Proczyk joined Grasser Racing Team in 2013

Second place in the 2013 FIA GT Series

For 2013, Proczyk joined GRT Grasser Racing Team to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 in the FIA GT Series (today it's Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup) and in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Sharing the #25 Lamborghini with Dominik Baumann and Gerhard Tweraser (one race), Proczyk scored three wins and ended a season second in the FIA GT Series Pro-Am classification.

In the Blancpain Endurance Series, he participated in three races in the #78 Lamborghini, sharing a car with Gerhard Tweraser and Gottfried Grasser. Proczyk also had a one-off appearance with Lamborghini in the ADAC GT Masters, in the Austrian round at Red Bull Ring.

Third place in the Blancpain Sprint Series

In 2014, the FIA GT Series has been renamed to Blancpain Sprint Series. Proczyk stayed with GRT Grasser Racing Team, sharing the #28 Lamborghini Gallardo with Jeroen Bleekemolen.

They were race winners four times, staying in a title fight until the last round at Baku street circuit, but they scored no points and finished third in the final standings. In 2014, Proczyk also had one guest appearance in the ADAC GT Masters.

Hari Proczyk in 2015

Running for his own team since 2015

In the 2015 ADAC GT Masters season, Proczyk was running his own team HP Racing. The car was the #42 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. His co-drivers were Andreas Simonsen (four rounds) and Bernd Schneider (four rounds). Scoring three podiums, he finished fifth in the points.

In 2015, Proczyk was more successful in the 24H Series, winning the 24 Hours of Barcelona and adding two more podiums, at 24h Paul Ricard and 12h Zandvoort.

At Nurburgring 24 Hours, he was driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup MR for Manthey Racing, not finishing the race. He returned to Nurburgring with the same car in 2016 and 2017, not finishing the race on both occasions. He was also a part of Manthey Racing crew at 2017 Daytona 24 Hours, recording one more DNF.

Hari Proczyk has won three races in the first two seasons in the ADAC TCR Germany

Close to the top in two ADAC TCR seasons

In 2016, Proczyk switched his focus back to touring car racing, entering the ADAC GTC Germany series with his own team. He was driving the #22 Seat Leon Cup Racer, scoring two wins and five podiums to finish second in the championship, behind Josh Files. Proczyk also participated in the Austrian round of the TCR International Series, driving a Honda Civic for WestCoast Racing at Salzburgring. He retired in both races.

In the 2017 German TCR season, Proczyk stayed in the #22 car, spending six rounds in a Seat Leon TCR and switching to Opel Astra TCR in the season's finale at Hockenheimring, where he won one race. It was his only win of the season and he finished fourth in the points.

Proczyk is celebrating German TCR title with his team

Finally a champion in 2018

In 2018, Proczyk finally reached the top. He continued to drive the #22 Opel Astra TCR for his own team. He opened the season with a victory at Oschersleben, then won again in the third round at Red Bull Ring and scored his third win in the first race of season's finale at Hockenheimring. A podium in the last race secured him the championship title, with seven-point advantage over Luca Engstler.

Outside touring car racing, Proczyk made one-off appearance in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Manthey Racing at Daytona 24 Hours.

In 2019, he was driving the #1 Hyundai i30 N TCR in the ADAC TCR Germany, winning two races and finishing second in the points. He was also on the podium at 24 Hours of Nurburgring, finishing third in the TCR class.

Photos: adac-motorsport.de, speed-magazin.de,