has been riding for half his life, against his mother’s best
wishes.
“I was never allowed to own one (motorcycle),” Matt
laughs. “My mother was a nurse and she thought I’d end
up injuring myself.”
He continues to laugh, “As soon as I was working at the
age of 18, I went out and bought a bike that I kept hidden
in the back shed. I’d sneak out on weekends and ride
with my mates.”
His racing experience might be limited but his riding
experience is extensive, we swing back to the ECO Race
and that phone call.
“I received a call from Lyndon (Poskitt) in early
November … we had a good chat,” Matt explains that the
two got along right away. Poskitt is famous for his Races
To Places YouTube series, a racer of note and a successful
team owner.
“He said he would love it if I joined,” Matt went on. “I
took a few days to think about it as rally racing is quite
expensive and the race was under two months away.”
Matt grins as he explains he didn’t need too long to
think about it despite not being race prepared, he’s
adventurous and doesn’t mind taking risks, “why not take
on one of the toughest races in the world?”
Tough? The ECO Race is held at the same time as the
Dakar yet, unlike the Dakar, the ECO isn’t as corporate
and still follows a similar route to the original Dakar
races; Europe to the Senegalese capital on the west coast
of the African continent.
“I cancelled my flights home to Australia and re-routed
to France where the race began on January 5th and that
was it.”
The 2020 ECO race was a highlight in Matt’s short
racing career, in fact, it’s hard to dispute that it wouldn’t
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