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SUBARU OWNER PORTRAIT
One thing that becomes apparent when you own a Subaru is the intense brand loyalty of most Subaru owners. Some owners follow or compete in motorsports and are attracted to the quality engineering and performance. A friend who falls into that category is Jeff Templeton, who has a passion for Subaru, rally, and all competitive motorsports.M
Jeff is a member of the St. Louis region of the SCCA and a dedicated Subaru owner. I met Jeff several years ago, when he started autocrossing his Impreza RS. It was clear then that Jeff was a talented driver. While Jeff was a regular participant in our SOLO series, his real passion was performance rally.
Jeff was active in the St. Louis Region’s efforts to organize the 100 Acre Wood performance rally, logging many miles helping lay out stages. He also helped spearhead the development of the region’s rallycross program. Then last year, Jeff decided to try performance rally firsthand.
He converted his RS into a performance rally car. Jeff’s RS was not just his daily driver, it was and still is his only car. While some of the preparations, such as the installation of the roll cage, were done professionally, a great deal of the work took place in the parking lot behind the building where Jeff lives.
The car was completed just in time for the 2006 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. Despite being a novice and under-prepared compared to other competitors, Jeff with co-driver Heath Nunnemacher finished a respectable second place. His next rally was Rally de Paris on November 25 in Texas. Jeff, along with his new co-driver John Huebbe, started slowly but then posted some impressive stage times. The two finished the rally with a first-place PGT finish. After the effects of the rally were repaired, the RS once again became Jeff’s daily driver – at least until the 2007 version of the 100 Acre Wood.
Bryan Sechrist
University City, MO
Note from John Huebbe: Jeff finished in first place for the regional rally at 100
Acre Wood. He won the 2006 PGT Rally America Regional Championship.
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