He credits the guidance of College Mechanical Engineering teacher Gavin Love in gaining early skills to work on his car and Materials Technology teacher Sam Leary for opening the door to a career in the building industry. Oscar recalls enjoying all his subjects and acknowledges his many opportunities. “I can’t think of a subject that I disliked. I guess, obviously, I like working with my hands,” he says. “Engineering, with Gavin Love, was my favourite, but I also enjoyed doing woodwork with Sam Leary. At the end of my schooling, I was tossing up whether I wanted to be a welder or a builder. It was really 50/50 at that point. However, I opted for a building apprenticeship and, 100 per cent, College opened the doors to the path I wanted to take. “I also appreciated studying Japanese with Steve Everingham. He was a great guy. My teachers were so supportive but also knew when to put the pressure on. Personally, gaining Merit at all levels of NCEA was a great achievement and my dad was over the moon.” In tandem with his Year 13 studies, Oscar was also firing up his sprint car racing career. “I had started racing when I was about nine, driving quarter midgets sized for kids,” he recalls. “So, I raced 200cc midgets until I was 15. In a way, you build your own midget. You buy all the parts and put the car together – in my case, alongside my father. He is a huge racing fan. I got my love of the sport from Dad, who raced
Super Saloons and then sprint cars. It is a generation thing as my grandfather, John Harcourt, raced in the OSCA series. After quarter midgets, I had a few years off to maintain my focus on school and, in my final year, moved on to sprint cars, which was quite a big jump. At 900hp and with the aerodynamics of the car, they really fly on the track.” Today, Oscar races on tracks around the South Island – from Nelson to Invercargill. Next year, he hopes to also target the North Island circuit. Amid the thrills, there has also been some dramatic aerial action following a crash. “I can compete in up to 25 races over the summer season,” he says. “In 2022, I won the overall club points in Christchurch and, this year, I won a feature race at Ruapuna. You do a time trial and then the time determines the heats you are in. Then the top six race for the top spots, and then there is a big feature race. I have done well over the years. Initially, it was Dad’s passion and I just tagged along. Now, we both love to be involved. I enjoy the sprint form of racing best. It is like a 100m athletics race compared with the marathon of Supercars. A national sprint car championship title is my dream.” Now in the third year of his building apprenticeship with Christchurch- based Wrightway Construction, Oscar plans to be fully qualified by the start of next year. “It has been very good working for Wrightway Construction. I have learnt a lot in the trade, along
with the importance of problem solving as a lot of the jobs relate to EQC work. You learn to be an all- rounder on the building sites. Long term, I would like to run my own show. My biggest goal is to buy my own house and then renovate it to the best house in the street and then sell it and move on. I am also weighing up a stint overseas to broaden my skills. “As I think back on my time at Christ’s College, I would tell my Year 9 self to go into the school with an open mind and just go for it. Don’t be scared and don’t hold back. I think it is good that College encourages you to try everything because, in everyday life, you must do stuff you don’t want to do. For example, I wasn’t a musical person, but in House singing, everyone had to get involved and that was a good thing and made me more confident. “Even the little things have helped me a lot, such as the strict College rules regarding being on time. Now, I am always punctual and hate being late. I aim to arrive 10 minutes early. Thanks to College, it’s ingrained.”
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