BLO’EM returns to the pad: Matt Watts brings the iconic Corolla back to burnouts

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The Teesdale local will roll into the Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational in BLO’EM, his gold-and-black 1976 Corolla sedan, a car with a history that stretches back to his late mate Nick Rigby.

It’s been a while between skids for Matt. After a busy start to the year with a wedding, young kids and a new shed to get sorted, he reckons he’s been quieter on the burnout scene than at any point in the past decade.

“I’ve actually had a pretty quiet year,” Matt says. “The quietest I’ve been in probably 10, 15 years, honestly.”

But with the Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational bringing 50 of the country’s best burnout cars together at Victorian Motorsports Park, the itch to get back out there has well and truly returned.

“I’m getting pretty itchy feet now to get back out in the car,” he says.

And BLO’EM is no ordinary comeback car.

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The Corolla was previously known as MELT’EM, the burnout car owned by Matt’s friend Nick Rigby. Matt had nearly bought it from Nick a couple of times over the years, but the timing never quite worked out.

Then, a few years ago, the opportunity came around again.

“I got a phone call saying that Nick’s old car was for sale, so I jumped on it,” Matt says.

The car had been a competitive burnout machine in its day, but years of use and neglect had left it rough around the edges. Matt knew there was plenty to do, but the history made it worth the effort.

“It was quite sentimental,” he says. “Obviously, it was Nick’s old car before he passed away. And I wanted to bring the car back to the good times, but also put my twist on it.”

That meant a serious rebuild — and a seriously quick turnaround.

Matt completely rebuilt the Corolla in just three months, ready to unveil it at MotorEx a couple years back. The body was brought back into shape, the wiring redone, and a new engine, gearbox and driveline fitted.

“It wasn’t quite a nut-and-bolt restoration, but we did quite a lot to it,” he says.

The result is a car that tips its hat to MELT’EM’s past while wearing Matt’s own identity. The gold-over-black paint is the same colour as his other cars, including his Torana and previous Corolla.

“I’ve tried to sort of tip the hat to how it used to look in its day while putting my own twist on it.”

Under the bonnet is a 5.3-litre methanol setup, while the Corolla’s tubbed body sits over Simmons 15x12s at the rear and 15x6s up front. Inside, it’s all business, with race seats, a custom dash and a rollcage. The engine bay has been tidied up with custom work and hidden wiring, too.

It’s a little Corolla with a big job ahead — and Matt knows the Invitational field won’t make it easy.

The Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational is an invite-only showdown, with 50 high-calibre burnout cars selected from around the country. This year’s event lands at the newly transformed Victorian Motorsports Park on Saturday 21 November, with drivers chasing a $20,000 winner-takes-all prize and qualifying tickets for Summernats Pro Burnouts.

For Matt, even making the Top 10 Final would be a big result.

“It’s really, really high-level competition,” he says. “There’s definitely no ducks amongst the guys.”

He’s also realistic about where his combination sits against some of the heavy hitters.

“At the top level, my combo is probably a little bit outgunned on what some of the guys run these days,” he says.

“But the way I look at it is, if I drive well, if I do everything right, I should do everything that I can to score points in the right spots and keep the boys on their toes. You sort of never know.”

That’s the beauty of burnouts. It’s not just about the biggest engine or the most outrageous setup — how you drive, how the car behaves and what you do on the pad all count.

And with the Invitational being one of the first major burnout events at the revamped VMP, there’s another unknown to throw into the mix.

Matt says a new surface can change the way a car rotates and behaves, meaning drivers will need to be switched on from the first hit.

“You’ve really got to have your wits about you on the day,” he says.

With two qualifying rounds and a Top 10 Final, there’ll be plenty of opportunity to put on a show — but also plenty of pressure to get it right.

The event is also a big deal for Matt on a personal level. He’s long wanted to see more top-level burnout competition return to Victoria, with plenty of the sport’s big names coming from the state but often travelling interstate to compete.

“To get something back in the state is pretty special to me,” he says. “It’s pretty cool that we can go to an event within a couple of hours at home rather than having to travel two, three days to get to something.”

“And the fact that the new VMP has spent a lot of money there, it’s exciting to know that there is a little bit of investment in our sport going on in this state.”

Matt’s been around the burnout scene for years. He started out on dirt bikes before his mechanic apprenticeship at 16 pushed his interests towards cars. His first car was an LJ Torana, and after seeing blown cars at Summernats, he decided to fit a supercharger to his own six-cylinder.

That street-car project soon turned into a burnout weapon.

He competed around the country, won Summernats’ six-cylinder class three times and even made it into Burnout Masters — now Pro Burnouts — with the little blown Holden.

“I sort of did things with that car that no one expected that I would,” he says. “Being a little six-cylinder Holden with a blower on it, I was sort of punching outside its weight range for a long time.”

That same hands-on approach has carried through to BLO’EM. Matt works shift work at an oil refinery and does most of the car work himself, using his days off to get stuck into the shed.

And while the trophies are always nice, he says the people and the experiences are just as important.

“Some of my best friends today are people I’ve met through the scene and people I’ve met on the road and at comps,” he says.

“It’s a pretty special little community that we’ve got.”

He’s had weekends where he’s travelled two days to a competition only to break something on the first skid. But even then, the trip is rarely a write-off.

“You don’t let it beat your spirits because you know you’re going to have a good time that night with the boys,” he says.

Matt’s not putting a big result on the line as the measure of a successful weekend. After a year spent juggling family, work and a new shed, getting BLO’EM back out on the pad is a win in itself.

“For me, the car and the results aren’t everything. Sometimes it’s the journey that takes us on that’s just as important.”

But make no mistake, he’ll be giving it a proper crack. The Corolla’s had a good once over, a few changes, a methanol-fed five-three and a whole lot of history behind it. Now it’s time to find out what it can do against the best in the country.

And if the gold-and-black little Toyota ends up in the Top 10, or even grabs that Summernats Pro Burnouts ticket, all the better.

For now, Matt’s got one job: get BLO’EM sideways and give the old MELT’EM story another chapter.

Castlemaine Rod Shop Invitational #3 takes over Victorian Motorsports Park on Saturday 21 November 2026. General Release tickets are on sale now and will move quickly! Get ‘em before they’re gone.

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