A flamboyant genius behind the wheel of a rally car and a ‘good bugger’ when not, Peter Raymond George Bourne aka Possum Bourne is rightfully one of the most legendary (and instantly recognisable) names in New Zealand motorsport history.
Born in April 1956 Bourne grew up on his parents farm in the Te Kauwhata area to the South of Auckland and near the small town of Pukekohe where he resided for much of his life. By all accounts even as a youngster he was besotted with cars, a passion that quite frankly he never lost.
Bourne left school at the age of fifteen and took up as an apprentice motor mechanic (something that would serve him well when he became a professional rally driver) and it was around then that he received his ‘Possum’ moniker after rolling his mum’s Humber 80 car avoiding a possum on the road while returning from a mechanic’s course in Auckland.
It could be said that he was a late bloomer to the sport, but Possum’s rallying passion was realised after co-driving with a friend and in 1979 (aged 23) he immediately got involved with the Pukekohe car club. He purchased his first race car, a Mk1 Ford Cortina with a V8 heart and took to the wheel gaining 3rd place (from a 48th seeding) in the first rally he entered.
Possum’s next car was an RX3 coupe in which he started to create a name for himself and by 1983 he had attracted the attention of Japanese car manufacturer Subaru (the brand he became synonymous with) who backed his New Zealand rally campaigns and subsequently rally events in Australia, Asia, Africa, the United States and Great Britain.
In the mid-80’s Possum turned professional and his career developed with car brand Subaru. Back then their cars were not the most powerful or sophisticated, however when the more competitive Legacy RS came along for the 1990 season and then the Impreza WRX from 1994 onward, Possum’s rally career simply catapulted.
He won the New Zealand title in 1991 and won the Asia Pacific Championship three times in 1993, 1994 and 2000, actually achieving the ‘2000’ success with his own Pukekohe based team. On top of that he was the record-holding seven times consecutive Australian champion (from 1996 to 2002).
Unfortunately, tragedy struck during these successes, when in 1993 and with Possum behind the wheel, his long-time co-driver, friend and business partner Rodger ‘ROJ’ Freeth was killed in an accident on the first day of the World Championship round in Australia. Although devastated to the point of near resignation by the death, Possum was urged on by Freeth’s family to continue. He went on to win the 1993 Asia Pacific Championship, dedicating it to his dead friend – from there Bourne displayed a ‘ROJ’ license plate on the front of his rally cars.
By the mid-1990’s Bourne had established himself as the most successful rally driver in the southern hemisphere and a respected driver on the world stage too. But despite his massive trophy cabinet his passion for the sport was bigger and that included his interaction with fans.
Rarely without a smile on his face, Possum would go out of his way to engage with fans, signing autographs and sharing stories and quips with those keen to listen (of which there were many).
On the 18th April 2003, while scoping the course for the ‘Race to the Sky’ event in Cardrona, Possum’s vehicle collided with another on the hazardous Waiorau Snow Farm Road. The head injuries he received at the crash proved fatal and Possum Bourne died twelve days later on 30th April 2003 in Dunedin hospital – his loss was devastating.
Inducted as an inaugural 1994 Member of New Zealand Motorsport’s Wall of Fame Possum Bourne’s own words (from an old TV clip) concluded his funeral.
“If you don’t get anything out of the bad then what the heck are you doing here, because the bad things make you realise how good the good things are.”
The TV clip ended with his unequivocal smile.