Getting suited up before the rider intros at round 16 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series at the Springfield Mile II on September 4, Matt Weidman and his family-run team get ready for the action to heat up for the rider of the #20 White's Harley-Davidson/SNIP/Shoei/Silkolene-sponsored and XR750-mounted machine. Dad Guy, who acts as Matt's tuner and head wrench, and Mom Rachel, who has played a big role in supporting Matt on and off the track, look ahead to what could be their last Springfield event together as a team.
The '08 AMA Pro Flat Track Rookie of the Year, who currently sits in the 8th spot of the overall point standings after finishing 6th at Brainerd and 7th last Saturday at Calistoga, made it official over the weekend that he is looking for a new team in the 2012 season, as Mom and Dad are ready to hang it up after 15 years of racing alongside their son, Matt. As a family and as a team, the Weidman folks are the essential glue that has helped make the AMA Grand National Championship Series the all-around family environment that it is. There his going to be one big empty spot in the pit area without Guy and Rachel at the races in Matt's corner, as they will be most assuredly missed at the races.
In his fourth full season as an Expert in the AMA Grand National Championship Series racing, the fine young man from New York State has again shown time and time again why he belongs on a top team, with a season best finish of 2nd place at the Lima Half-Mile in late June, after finishing 3rd in the 2010 edition at Lima. A handful of strong top 5/top 6 finishes in both the Twins and Singles Series throughout the season have seen him stay in the top 10 since round 6 at the Springfield Mile I in late May. After finishing 9th in the overall standings in the 2010 season, Matt now sits just 2 points out of the 7th spot behind Johnny Lewis. And last Saturday night at Calistoga, Matt led his first full lap of competition in a National main at the half-mile event when he led the first lap of the 25-lap race.
So if anyone is looking for a hard charger and one of the finest young men in racing for their team looking ahead to the 2012 season and beyond in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series, then you need look no further than to Westerlo, New York's Matt Weidman, as he has the looks, smile, talk and walk to put it into the show and take your team to the top in The Rolling Thunder Show. And maybe if you get real lucky, Mom and Dad will drop by occassionally for team support!
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| Matt Weidman shares his race report from Brainerd, and announces changes in store for 2012! Matt Weidman Race Report Brainerd,Minnesota October 1, 2011 Written by Matt Weidman I wasn’t sure what this track was going to be like, but I was looking forward to it. I met up with my sponsors: John and Mike Fiorio, who own Fiorio Investments. They first saw me race last year at the Minnesota mile and have been helping me out this year. The first qualifying round I felt great and was third fastest. I always do well when the track is tacky. I’ve never been afraid to twist the throttle and the more traction, the faster I can go. However, my worst track is a slippery groove and by the qualifier that counted, I was going backwards quickly. We changed some things on the bike for the last round and I ended up 17th overall, which put me on the front row for my heat race. I got off the line okay and passed up to second behind Smith. I was all over his rear tire, but just couldn’t get by without stuffing him-I chose second place. I set the fastest lap of the day in my heat race and knew I was going good enough to podium this one. The track was watered for the heats and I was running a very high line and carried great corner speed. The Dash was the most exciting race of the night and I was swapping the lead with Mees for the first couple laps, when Smith fell and brought out the red. I didn’t get a holeshot on the restart, but quickly passed into the lead and battled for three laps with Coolbeth. He passed me off two and I snuck back by and we drag raced to the checkers, he got me by .012 seconds at the line! I decided not to change my gearing for the main, I felt that with the cold weather the moisture would stay in the track. I was wrong. I lined up for the main and on the site lap knew I was in trouble. My line was gone; it was a groove almost to the top and the very top was dried out. I got a great start and was third by lap two. I stayed with the leaders, Mees, Johnson and Coolbeth for several laps, but got worse as the laps went on. I fell back to 5th and then 6th on the last lap. Honestly, I hate to go backwards; I am always the guy clawing my way from the back to the front, but I had such a hard time in qualifying when the track was a slick groove, that I was happy to salvage 6th place. I could hear my bike bog off the turns, especially when I was alongside Kenny and without the ability to stay high and carry my corner speed, I just couldn’t pull the gearing we had on. I am on my way to California for the last two rounds. I really would like to win one of these for my dad who deserves a victory lap. This will be my last year riding with dad as mechanic, I am looking for a new team/ride for 2012. Mom and Dad want to retire from racing; after 15 years of it, they are ready to be spectators for a while! Thanks again to all of my sponsors: White's HD, SNIP, Shoei, Silkolene, K&N, EBC, Motion Pro, Tsubaki, Fiorio Investments,Tuff Plates, Weiss Racing, Moose Racing, Millenium Technologies, WEBCAM, R&D Spring, Wiseco Pistons, Hot Shoes by George, SuperTrapp, CP Pistons, Lewis Henry Auto. |
You can keep up with Matt at his official website here:
http://www.mattweidman.com/
....or via his Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt-Weidman-Professional-Flat-Track-Racer/341317118126
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