While defending Australian Rally Champion, Possum Bourne, is happy to have number one on the side of his Impreza WRX STi all season, he''d rather not be first on the road when the 2003 season gets under way this weekend in Busselton, Western Australia.

The 2003 season will see permanent numbers carried by all the leading competitors, but the seven time national champion has also been seeded number one for the Respect Yourself Forest Rally, an event he has won for the past five years.

The roads in the West are always challenging with their ball-bearing gravel surface and the recent hot conditions have left the forestry roads in this south-east corner of Western Australia extremely dry and dusty. Bourne will serve as a road sweeper for his competitors to follow, never a desirable job.

Imprezas make up the first three on the start list. Victorian privateer Simon Evans is second out and Cody Crocker third. Fellow Subaru Rally Team Australia driver, Dean Herridge is eighth on the road.

Bourne is philosophical about being the trailblazer.

"While the sweeping is difficult, at least we won't have to put up with any dust," Bourne said.

"On both days we cover the same stages twice, so it is only the first time over the road that is hard, whereas the dust may be bad on each and every stage.

"They're the cards we've been dealt so we just have to make the most of it."
Bourne will campaign the car he took to fourth place in the Production World Rally Championship round in Sweden back in February.

Crocker will be behind the wheel of the same car he took to second outright in last year's championship, albeit with some changes to its set-up.

"The biggest change for us is a new suspension," Crocker said.

"We've gone to a Proflex system, but I've now got a pretty good understanding of how it works even though I only drove with it in the car for the first time this week.

"I can't wait to get out on the road this weekend. It's been a long time between rallies for me and I'm just keen to get going."

Dean Herridge is behind the wheel of Possum's 2002 title winning Impreza WRX STi.

The 26 year-old West Australian missed the opportunity to test the car in official testing this week, as it was still being transported across the Nullabor.

"It was a shame not to be able to get the car out in the forest so I could get comfortable with it, but that's just the way it worked out, unfortunately," Herridge said.

"I'll have the chance to take it for a drive at Shakedown on Friday so I'll try to make the most of that opportunity.

"At least I know it's got winning form. The car took the Forest Rally title last year and it was still early in its development. A lot of work has been done to improve the car since so I don't expect too many difficulties with it this weekend."

The Respect Yourself Forest Rally get under way with two laps of the tarmac Super Special Stage in Busselton on Friday night.

The action then transfers to the region around Nannup for the remainder of Heat One on Saturday with heat two on Sunday.

Rally fans can catch all the action on www.rally.subaru.com.au which is set to be launched at 3pm tomorrow afternoon, Thursday 27 March, Eastern Australia time.

The site will have split times for each car as they pass SOS points on stages, allowing rally fans to follow the progress of their favourite cars and compare it to all the opposition.

www.rally.subaru.com.au will also have the most up-to-date results available, as Subaru has reached agreement with the Australian Rally Commission to sponsor its timing services at each of the six rounds of the Super Series.

The new rally site, developed just in time for the start of the 2003 Series, will bring fans closer to the rally action than ever before.