You either love skid events or hate them, but in the case of journalism work experience student Felix Harding, he is hooked.
Photo by
Phoenix Aerial Focus
With its twin throttle body air intake setup sitting mighty and high, Ricky Daw’s 1970s Toyota KE30 Corolla boasts a whopping 330 horsepower.
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Ricky purchased the car in 2016 and started adding to it in 2017, resulting in full completion in 2020. However, this is not an average Toyota Corolla. This one was built for one thing and one thing only: burnouts.
He first brought it to life by swapping the original 1.2-litre inline four-cylinder engine for a Holden LS1 — a 5.7-litre V8, which he later converted to run on methanol fuel. He gave it a whole new front end, new suspension, a welded differential and much more. The final touch was the number plates, spelling ‘ON EDGE’.
Riding in the passenger seat of Ricky’s Corolla was one of the best moments of Felix Harding’s life.
Photo by
Phoenix Aerial Focus
Ricky can’t give the car all the credit though, as he really does know how to drive it and push it to its limits. Just seconds after the old Toyota makes its way on to the burnout pad, there is a deafening sound of pure greatness, and the whole place fills with tyre smoke. The car also shoots huge flames out of the ‘party pipes’ exhaust system.
When I opened my Christmas present last year, I found a ‘burnout voucher’ to be Ricky’s passenger at a burnout event. This was one of the most exciting things to happen in my entire life, but I also had quite a large feeling of fear.
Ricky Daw knows how to skid his Corolla expertly.
Photo by
Phoenix Aerial Focus
Around five months later, I found myself putting on a helmet and fire suit and climbing inside the Corolla.
Every time we moved up a spot in the line to enter the burnout pad, my excitement and fear increased.
At last, the car in front of us exited the blacktop, and we were ready to enter the spotlight. The official gave us the thumbs up, and my heart dropped.
ON EDGE is a well-known skid car in the burnout scene.
Photo by
S8Ten Photography
The screaming LS1 reached 7000 RPM, and smoke started pouring out from the tyres. Ricky swung the car to the right and did a double 360 ‘tip in’.
I was having so much fun.
He slowly went back up the entry chute, and this time executed a ‘reverse entry’.
He did a few donuts, and suddenly the officials were waving red flags, and there were firefighters running on to the pad.
The Corolla caught fire on the skid pan.
Photo by
S8Ten Photography
We were on fire. After the fire was out, the car did one more donut and we left the burnout area. I couldn’t stop smiling if I wanted to.
I will never forget this experience.
Felix Harding is a Greater Shepparton Secondary College student who recently completed work experience with The News.
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