A TRIBUTE TO POSSUM BOURNE 1957—2003 young driver Cody Crocker was brought into the team as a permanent member to drive a new Group N WRX in the ARC and Rally Australia and NZ. The WRC WRX was replaced by another Prodrive built (but this time leased) P2000 WRC, which was the latest improved version. Again in 2000 he won the Asia Pacific Championship. This car became Possum’s favourite all time rally car. His original WRC car was kept, and was converted into a lightweight, high horsepower car that he drove to victory in the 2001 Race To The Sky Hillclimb, which was one of his favourite events. For the 2002 season the rules were changed, replacing the spectacular but expensive WRC cars with the Group N production car class. Possum was initially against the change but to his credit he went with the new rules and contested the series driving a new MY 01/02 WRX. He went onto win the Championship to claim his 7th straight ARC series, which is a record. This success lead to him competing in this year’s World Rally Championship in the Group N class, with support from Subaru Australia and Japan and all his usual sponsors. He finished in 5th place in Sweden, but unfortunately retired in NZ with engine problems driving the latest MY 03 WRX. In the late 1990’s Subaru Japan presented Possum with a special black STi edition WRX for his services for rallying Subarus. It was stolen but later found with only minor damage. In 2002 he celebrated 20 years rallying Subarus. Also many of his sponsors had supported him for years, including Pirelli tyres, which have done so for 10 years. As a Club we first met Possum in the early 90’s at Rally Queensland driving the RS Turbo. While waiting at the yellow clock board to come into time control on the Club’s stage, Forest Drive, he would usually get swamped with posters, caps, shirts and car bits (such as inner guards that had fallen off in the creek crossing just after the start on an early run), to sign his autograph. It was never a problem to him when he probably should have been studying his pace notes like some of the other drivers. He knew that this was mostly the only opportunity that officials like us had on stages out in the forest. Also while he was Queensland we invited him on 3 occasions to be a guest speaker at special rally nights, the first being in 1996 at our then meeting spot at the Polish Club in Milton, the second was in 1998 at Subaru City Breakfast Creek, and the
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