KEY POINTS:
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the late Colin McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer achieving a world first for Subaru on the Rally of New Zealand.
In what was the final outing for a works Legacy RS, they won the World Championship event held from August 5-8.
After a four-day battle, the battered Legacy finished 27 seconds in front of Francois Delecour. Subaru has since won 47 WRC events and taken three driver championships - McRae in 1995, Richard Burns 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003.
The team also won the manufacturer's title in 1996 and 1997.
The Rally of New Zealand 15 years ago was a turning point for Subaru and McRae - the first WRC win for both. McRae was killed last year in a helicopter accident. near his home.
Subaru had been competing in the WRC for more than a decade before that first win, initially with a team run from Japan, which had snared some podium places with the underpowered Leone models.
Possum Bourne was third in New Zealand in 1987.
From 1990 English company Prodrive was contracted by Subaru Japan to run the WRC campaign with the Legacy RS model.
With the experience gained with the Legacy RS, many of the components were transferred to the lighter and more nimble Impreza.
