Local Speed Heros: The Duke of Sooke.

This is a post that should've been written many moons ago. Blinded by the dazzle, it's here now. Corey Bergerud is the epitome of idea of Speed Hero. It's important when I see the right person to point them out, and there's no one more I can think of that gets it. Whatever it is, if your searching for an example best to look to Corey.

Corollas, all day, all up in your business: Old ones, REAL OLD. Corey's an avid collector of vintage Toyota tin. He's the go-to guy for first gen Corollas. It's endlessly the summer of '69 for Mr.Bergerud with a pair of 1969 Corollas. Both a fully restored Daily:

But also a '69 Drift car. Built in true Corey style, from left overs, engineered with pure function in mind!

Sadly the drift car was supplied by parts from the daily. After a small little rear end bump, ICBC wrote the car off! To continue driving, Corey transplanted the heart into a spare shell from his collection of first generation Corollas and built the his famous drift car.

A little bump in the road with ICBC hasn't stopped him. As we speak he continues to finish the rebuild!


Corey's a Talented fellow. 110% driving style. The car with it's Dual carbed 3TC, ae86 front coilovers, and welded diff weighs in a mere 1500lbs. No one drives like Corey, his balls to the wall approach, mixed with his ultra lightweight, short wheel base Corolla results in the most entertaining drifting to watch.

There is plenty of hairy, pushed to the limits moments, and yet he's never crashed. A dodge and weave and he's back at limiter wiggling about on the edge of success and catastrophe.

Part of the appeal is his sense of reality. Elbow grease a-plenty, Corey seems to always find a way to get things done. A problem solver with a good sense of what works and what doesn't, his professional engineering skills come into play as a backyard one. He's still the only person I've seen show up to the track via a crane.

Another quality deserving of a Speed Hero title is a general appreciation for all cars. Although a strong focus on Corollas. There's no one better to talk to about building interesting niché cars. His experience from raised Subaru's, shitty beetles, and British car nightmares are all entertaining. Even his trips are interesting, such as this Holden powered Landrover purchased to roam the Australian Outback urban crawl.

Off time is car related too, with birthday party hill climbs! This year was a penis flavored RX7.

Coined the "Duke of Sooke" his popularity has come from a car life of a fun, some how wild and yet understated, well organized style. So much so, the local drift events actually have a yearly 'Duke of Sooke' award.

Corey, your one of the raddest dudes I know. Keep it up. And just to rub it in: His dog looks like Wishbone.

Thanks Corey!