Honored Heroes

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We honor a hero. Possum Bourne. The rally world lost a hero yesterday. Peter Bourne (Nickname; Possum)
died at the age of 47 from brain injuries suffered in a car accident on April 18th. This accident was not while competing –

The Race to the Sky this weekend is an event Possum and his Team always look forward to and is the 2nd largest Motorsport event in New Zealand following Propecia Rally NZ. Event Director Grant Aitken said a convoy of competitors driving road cars were inspecting the road under controlled conditions with official lead and a tail cars monitoring speed. Possum was travelling down the road in a Subaru Forester and was on the correct side of the road and wearing a seat belt at the time. It would appear that dusty conditions may have contributed to the collision between Possum and the driver of the last car in the convoy. Mike Barltrop suffered a broken leg while his passenger was uninjured.”
– http://www.possumbourne.co.nz

A great spokesman for our sport – Possum was the first rally hero I had. Early in 1999 when I discovered the Subaru Impreza, I came across several sites containing pictures of Bourne in action. They hosted an online chat with Possum where people could ask him questions. I never forgot a simple answer he gave to a complicated question about crowded stages, and spectators.
“Spectators are like trees – you just don’t want to hit’em.” This kind of quick wit, and his friendly demeanor, drew me to him. Possum was a hero to me, and many others in the rally community. He will be missed.


Peter ‘Possum’ Bourne 4-13-56 ~ 4-30-03