Terry Harryman, rally-winning co-driver to Ari Vatanen, dies at 87
Terry Harryman, the Northern Ireland co-driver who won six World Rally Championship rounds alongside Ari Vatanen, has died aged 87.
News of his death was first reported by DirtFish on 21 September 2026. Obituaries from BBC Sport and the championship itself followed on 22 September.
Harryman was a navigator, the crew member in the passenger seat who reads pace notes — a coded description of every corner, crest and hazard — while the driver commits flat out. He did it at the top level for decades.
His most famous partnership was with Finn Ari Vatanen. Together they scored six wins and nine podiums in the World Rally Championship, per official records cited by BBC Sport.
Their first win together came at the 1983 Safari Rally Kenya in an Opel. It was a gruelling event. It made their names.
Then came Peugeot. After switching to the Peugeot 205, they won in Italy, Finland and Great Britain in 1984. The car was small, turbocharged and ferociously fast. The pairing suited it.
They started 1985 even stronger. Wins at Monte Carlo and in Sweden put Vatanen and Harryman in title contention. Then came Argentina.
A heavy accident at the 1985 Rally Argentina injured both men and ended their championship charge. Neither contested the title that year. Vatanen was sidelined for months.
Harryman’s career stretched far beyond those two seasons. He won the Circuit of Ireland in 1962 alongside Ronnie McCartney, then won it again three years later with Paddy Hopkirk. He guided Michele Mouton to the German Rally Championship title in 1986. He won Dutch and Irish titles with Mark Lovell. He also competed as a navigator at the Dakar Rally.
In all, his rallying career lasted five decades. He retired in 2003.
Those who rode with him remembered his calm. At the 1983 Manx Rally, Vatanen clipped a wall and almost crashed. Harryman said “dear, God” — then carried straight on with the notes. No panic. Just the next corner.
Tributes have come from fellow Northern Ireland competitors, including Kris Meeke, Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong. His son Allan is also a co-driver, competing in the WRC and in rallies around the world.
For fans, this means the loss of a link between eras. Harryman started on local Irish events in the 1960s and navigated through rallying’s wild Group B years in the 1980s. The voices in the cockpit rarely get the headlines. His did the job, and did it well enough to be remembered.
