It is the 46th time Darren Smith and Garry O’Brien have had the opportunity to corner someone for their motor sport journey from the beginnings to where they are today.

Matt epitomises the grassroots racer. From Wangaratta in Victoria his first motor racing encounter was as a young kid where he met 1980 World Drivers Champion Alan Jones at Winton when he was with the B & H BMW team with Tony Longhurst.

Having a sit in the Group A, left hand drive M3 race car was where he set his goal in life – Matt told his grandparents as much at the time.

From there he stived to make it happen and while he didn’t get to the level of Jones in a Touring Car, he was able to chase his passion and is very grateful for the opportunities that enabled him to do so.

He started in karts with his dad while still playing football and cricket. It wasn’t until his mid-20s that motor racing would be his real focus and the other sports forgotten. He brought a Toyota MR2 which he did some sprints in.

Unfortunately, when the car went on the market so he could upgrade, it and the trailer were stolen from the side of his house. It was a heartbreaker and by the time it was found, the car and trailer had been cut up and sold off.

That didn’t deter him from bouncing back. He began competing in a one-make Nissan Pulsar series and became somewhat of a journeyman in grassroots endurance racing such as the Winton 300 and its contemporaries.

As a progression, he has competed in Production Cars, in the championship and also the annual Bathurst 6 Hour. Still, he has not deserted the grassroots aspects as he competes regularly across several events.

He has also become heavily involved and passionate about driver training as a professional driving instructor for many successful businesses such as Race Driver Coach, Tampered Motorsport, Trackschool and Raceaway Track Time.