Toowoomba sisters keep speed on track with salt racing

Safety is a priority for two Toowoomba sisters aiming to set a speed record at the Lake Gairdner salt flats.

GREEN MACHINE: Sisters, Emily (left) and Kylie Gray said driver safety always came first, a message supported by Toowoomba's Road Policing Unit Senior Constable Duncan Miller. Picture: Nev Madsen

Two Toowoomba sisters are gearing up for a day of salt lake racing next month, with their sights set on a new speed record.

Emily, 14, and Kylie Gray, 11, will be heading down to Lake Gairdner in South Australia next week with their homemade speed machine, named Childs Play.

Introduced to the world of motorsport at a young age, both sisters are excited to get behind the wheel of their new vehicle and race for the first time.

“We’re not sure how fast it can go yet, the record we are trying to beat is 75 miles per hour, ” Emily said.

“We’re very excited, we can’t wait, sometimes there’s a little bit of nerves thinking about what it will be like, but we love speed.”

The two sisters had help from their father in building the car, which has been fitted with numerous safety features.

“I would say around 50 per cent of the car is safety,” Emily said.

“Dad spent most of the time not building the car, but building the safety aspects of the car,” Kylie added.

“There’s nothing to hit for one, you won’t flip the car, it will just spin around in circles, if there is a fire you press a button and it sprays the driver and the engine – so it’s pretty much the safest way to drive a car.”

Although the girls have a love of speed, they both agree it’s best kept on the track, a message supported by the Queensland Police.

“We’re trying to promote keeping racing off the streets – there is a time and a place for speed,” Toowoomba Road Policing Unit Senior Constable Duncan Miller said.

“What we want to see is people don’t do it on the roads, but on the track where the environment is safe and controlled.”