- Possum Bourne
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Possum Bourne
Peter Raymond George "Possum" Bourne (13 April 1956 – 30 April 2003) was a champion New Zealand rally car driver. He died under non-competitive circumstances while driving on a public road that was to be the track for an upcoming race.
Contents
Awards
Peter "Possum" Bourne (Rally Queensland 1998)He was a three time winner of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the Australian Rally Championship seven times consecutively, amongst many other titles.[1]
Years won Event 1992 Australian Rally Championship (Group N) 1993-1994, 2000 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 1996-2002 Australian Rally Championship 1989, 1991, 2000 Ashley Forest Rally Sprint 2001 Queenstown Race to the Sky 2002 Hokkaido Rally Japan 2002 Rally New Zealand (Group N) Family
Bourne lived in Pukekohe, Auckland, near his workshop. He lived with his wife, Peggy Bourne, and three children, Taylor, Spencer, and Jazlin. Bourne earned his nickname, "Possum", the night he crashed his mother's Humber 80, while trying to avoid a possum in the middle of the road.
His autobiography, Bourne to Rally was completed just days before his untimely death. A bronze memorial statue of Possum, unveiled a year after his death, now stands overlooking the event he loved the most. In 2005, Peggy Bourne entered Race to the Sky, despite having had no formal rally driving experience, as a tribute to her late husband.
Car of choice
Bourne was best known for his exploits behind the wheel of Subaru cars, initially the RX (the turbocharged version of the Leone), then the Legacy (rebadged as the Liberty for the Australian market because of a perceived clash with charity organisation Legacy Australia).
But it would be the Impreza WRX that he would become most associated with, driving for the Prodrive Subaru World Rally Team in Rally New Zealand, Australia and also in Indonesia, partnered by Kenneth Eriksson in the mid 1990s, before going on to win multiple Australian titles with his own team.
Subaru Japan even awarded him a black limited edition STi version of the Impreza for personal use.
Roj
Possum's best friend and co-driver, Dr. Rodger "Roj" Freeth, died in a freak crash during the 1993 Rally Australia, and the crash almost ended Possum's career. After a lot of soul-searching, and encouragement from the Freeth family he returned to the driver's seat aiming to honour Freeth's legacy. From the time of Freeth's death, Bourne displayed a "ROJ" license plate on the front of his rally cars.
Death
Bourne received serious head injuries in a non-competitive car crash on 18 April 2003, and died in Dunedin Public Hospital on 30 April 2003 after life support was withdrawn.[2] He was driving the Race to the Sky track, on the Waiorau Snow Farm Road which is normally a public road, for the event held in Cardrona, near Wanaka, New Zealand.[1] Driving his Subaru Forester, he collided head on with a Jeep Cherokee[disambiguation needed
] driven by rally driver Mike Barltrop who claimed that Possum was speeding. This Treachorous rd has over 100 corners at least 15 hairpins, hence its suitability for rally driving. Mr Barlthrop was later arrested on a dangerous driving charge.[3] After pleading guilty to aggravated careless use causing death, Barltrop was sentenced in the Invercargill District Court to 300 hours community work, disqualified from driving for 18 months, and ordered to pay $10,000 reparations, divided between the intensive care unit of Dunedin Public Hospital and the Possum Bourne Education trust.[2]At the time of his death, Possum had just re-entered the world stage, driving a production-class Subaru Impreza in the PWRC.
Career results
Season Series Position Car Team 1983 World Rally Championship 28th Subaru RX 1984 World Rally Championship 43rd Subaru RX 1985 World Rally Championship 51st Subaru RX 1986 World Rally Championship 49th Subaru RX 1987 World Rally Championship 23rd Subaru RX 1988 World Rally Championship 72nd Subaru RX 1989 World Rally Championship 49th Subaru RX 1990 World Rally Championship 14th Subaru Legacy 1991 New Zealand Rally Championship 1st Subaru Legacy 1992 World Rally Championship 34th Subaru Legacy 1992 Australian Rally Championship 3rd Subaru Liberty RS Possum Bourne Motorsport 1993 World Rally Championship 31st Subaru Legacy 1993 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 1st Subaru Legacy Possum Bourne Motorsport 1993 Australian Rally Championship 3rd Subaru Liberty RS Possum Bourne Motorsport 1994 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 1st Subaru Legacy Possum Bourne Motorsport 1995 World Rally Championship 14th Subaru Impreza WRX 1996 World Rally Championship 26th Subaru Impreza WRX 1996 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRX Possum Bourne Motorsport 1997 World Rally Championship 15th Subaru Impreza WRX 1997 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRX Possum Bourne Motorsport 1998 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRX Possum Bourne Motorsport 1999 World Rally Championship 15th Subaru Impreza WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport 1999 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport 2000 World Rally Championship 21st Subaru Impreza WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport 2000 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport 2000 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport 2001 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport 2002 Australian Rally Championship 1st Subaru Impreza WRX STi Possum Bourne Motorsport 2003 Production World Rally Championship 14th Subaru Impreza WRX STi Possum Bourne Motorsport References
- ^ a b "Kiwi rally hero dies". BBC Sport. 29 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/world_rally/2982103.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
- ^ a b Devereux, Monique (12 November 2004). "Rally driver sentenced for Possum Bourne's death". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/feature/story.cfm?c_id=285&objectid=3609652. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- ^ "Possum Bourne crash arrest - Eastern Police news release". New Zealand Police. 11 September 2003. http://www.police.govt.nz/district/eastern/release/1071.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
External links
- Obituary - from The Age
- Obituary - AFP
- Possum Bourne Motorsport
- News story about who was to blame
- Interview with Barltrop
- Mike Barltrop arrested
Sporting positions Preceded by
Neal BatesWinner of the Australian Rally Championship
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002Succeeded by
Cody CrockerCategories:- 1956 births
- 2003 deaths
- New Zealand rally drivers
- World Rally Championship drivers
- Road accident deaths in New Zealand
- People from Auckland
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