Simon’s interest in rallying started way back in the 1970s, when his father competed in various local and international events, in a range of cars from Triumphs to Escorts. During the 1980s he watched and followed all the events and then in the 1990s became involved via Rally New Zealand. Finally in 1999, Simon purchased a very tired 1984 Subaru RX Turbo and began to do rallysprints. His first rally was the 2001 Greg Todd Memorial event in Maramarua, where he finished pretty much dead last. He persevered with that car and multiple engine calamities until 2004 when he brought his present car – a 1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA. It won two championships in 2005/2006 and since then Simon is now involved with Rally New Zealand as a director and is also part of the NZRC team organising the New Zealand Rally Championships.
Simon Bell - 1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA
Simon’s interest in rallying started way back in the 1970s, when his father competed in various local and international events, in a range of cars from Triumphs to Escorts. During the 1980s he watched and followed all the events and then in the 1990s became involved via Rally New Zealand. Finally in 1999, Simon purchased a very tired 1984 Subaru RX Turbo and began to do rallysprints. His first rally was the 2001 Greg Todd Memorial event in Maramarua, where he finished pretty much dead last. He persevered with that car and multiple engine calamities until 2004 when he brought his present car – a 1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA. It won two championships in 2005/2006 and since then Simon is now involved with Rally New Zealand as a director and is also part of the NZRC team organising the New Zealand Rally Championships.
1989 Subaru Legacy RSRA:
This car was imported into NZ by Subaru NZ as a road car, as it was a rare Legacy RSRA. It got stolen and then recovered and then turned into a rally car. Dylan Turner ran the car from 1999 to 2002, then it was run by Barry Sexton for a few events and then Simon purchased it in 2004. It has won the Top Half Series Pre92 class in 2005/2006 and since then has been used for one or two events a year. Simon had a big accident at Rally Whangarei in 2010 and the car has had a big birthday, with all new paint and new running gear. Its as close as Simon can get it to a 555 Prodrive Legacy – its yellow and a heck of a lot of fun to drive.
[Images thanks to Jason Byrne.]