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Team Matt’s Racing Pomona Report |
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Written by Rachel Weidman
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
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Matthew was fortunate to ride Chris Carr’s XR750 again this year at Pomona. I am starting with a big thanks to Kenny Tolbert and Chris, Matt treasures these opportunities to work with both of these great people. The Tolbert/Carr pits is fun & relaxing and they all work together like a well-oiled machine. I didn’t get to go to Pomona last year and decided I wouldn’t miss it for anything this year.
We flew out on Thursday evening to give us an extra day to get used to the 3 hour time change, as I knew it would be a very long day on Saturday. The California weather was beautiful and I got to meet Sandra Bullock!
We didn’t have our usual 3 practices, no throw away round, so Matt and Kenny had to try and get the bike dialed in and made several adjustments from the first practice to the second.
He qualified 10th and was still struggling a little before the heat race, which was the toughest of the day. Wiles, Halbert, Schnabel, Mees, and Matt were all in the third heat together and it ended up that these 5 riders were in the top 8 of the main! We had some added excitement with a couple restarts in our heat race. Matt lost several spots on the restart and worked his way forward passing Mees and then Schnabel. He caught Sammy and the two battled a couple laps with Sammy getting 2nd place and Matt a close 3rd.
He was disappointed to have missed another dash and now would have to start on the second row. He felt fast and had a crazy line that only he seemed to be using. He had the ability to pass a lot of people on the second restart, so he felt confident that his line would enable him to move forward in the main.
It was time for our Feature and the track was in rough shape. With all the crashes and injured riders throughout the day, I was hoping and praying they would just get the main event off safely. The feature was very exciting to watch and all the riders did a great job showing their professionalism towards each other. On the original start, Matt came from about 10th place off of turn 2 all the way to 4th in just a few laps. He had passed Bonsey and Sammy on the 3rd or 4th lap and as he went into turn 3 on the next lap, I could see someone fall behind him. The red lights came out and as the riders came around, I could see that both Sammy and Bonsey had crashed. The restart was kind of a blur and I had trouble finding Matthew for a whole lap! The next lap I saw him come off of turn two in fourth place with Carr in fifth. For the next several laps Matt battled with Coolbeth for third. The two passed back and forth many times and it made for a very exciting 5 or 6 laps. Smith, who was up front, broke, putting Matt in 3rd. He stayed there by himself for several laps trying to continue to ride his line, which was through most of the major holes. I was so excited thinking that he might get his first podium at Pomona, but he was having a hard time holding on and almost got off 3 or 4 times. Mees, Kopp, and Sammy ran him down and looked like their lines were much smoother. He seemed to catch Mees and Kopp at the end, but not close enough to do anything. He would have to settle for a sixth place, one spot better than last year. Everyone was in one piece, and the Twins title had been decided as well as the Overall. Congrats to Jared and Sammy on their championships and Henry on his first twins win.
Matthew has had a great year; consistently finishing in the top 4-8th place in all but one of the twins races and only missed one main with a bike failure. When I look at the names of the top ten riders in the Twins and Overall standings and see he is 8th and 10th, I am in awe. At just 18 years old, Matt is rapidly progressing into the top ranks, amongst his heroes, in the sport that he loves.
He looks forward to 2010 and is trying to put together a Twins ride or his own program for next year.
Once again we want to thank all our sponsors: Silkolene, Shoei, Screamin Eagle, Saddlemen, SuperTrapp, K&N, Tsubaki, EBC, Motion Pro, Tuff Plates, Moose Racing, Boughner Suspension, Chicken Hawk, Works Connection, Vortex, CP Pistons, White’s HD, Cometic & Weiss Racing
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 October 2009 )
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Newsflash
Pro Plates is pleased to announce an extremely limited edition of ten(10) 2009 Flattrack.com #1 Plates. These 10 plates are the same as the Flattrack.com #1 Plate that will be awarded to the winner of the 2009 Flattrack.com Overall Flattrack Championship.
These priceless #1 plates will go to the first 10 people that donate $500.00 or more each to the Overall Championship Point Fund at Flattrack.com.
This is the first time in history that fans donating to a fan-based point fund have had the opportunity to recieve a copy of the famed #1 Plate. The first ten $500.00 donors will be determined by the timing of their Pay Pal donations, or the postmark on their letters if the donations are sent by mail.
Traditionally, the only plates produced for past championships go to the Champion, with a limited few extras produced for the Champion to give to his sponsors or others of his choosing. This tradition will be followed, of course, to honor the Champion and those he wishes to thank for supporting his race efforts.
Don't waste too much time if you want to recieve one of these 10 exact replica #1 Plates!
Ten and ten only will be available for donors!!!! |
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