"I crashed out of fourth place in the first round in Spain, but I realised I had a good chance in the championship," Matthew says. "This is my best chance of getting any further in road racing, so I've told myself I've got to start winning."
Around 1100 youngsters applied to enter the series, and 165 were selected for track tests in Spain. So the fact that Matthew was chosen for one of the 22 places on the grid says plenty about how KTM tech guru Harald Bartol views his potential.
What's the difference between racing in the UK and on the Continent? "Here they go into the corners slower but come out fast," Matthew says. "At home they go in really fast but then they mess it up and come out slow."
Take note, you lads back there at Mallory and Croft: it's your exit velocity onto the straight that will win you races, not the hero braking. There's one other big difference for Matthew about re-adapting to Britain now. "The last time I raced there was at Cadwell, and I didn't feel really safe," he says. "I wasn't pushing it as hard as I could because on half the track there's barriers everywhere."
Matthew now wants to win a place in the MotoGP Academy in Spain next year, the route that gave Bradley Smith his entrée to 125cc GP racing with his current Repsol Honda team. So cheer for Matthew at the final
Red Bull round in Valencia on November 3: we're always complaining that Britain doesn't have enough young riders coming through, but here's a kid that's actually doing it.
Saturday am - What Should We Do About MotoGP's 'Crisis'? Maybe Nothing at All
Casey Stoner has again headed the morning free practice session as I write this from Estoril on Saturday morning, prompting everyone's big fear: is the Portuguese race going to be another boring MotoGP procession?
And if it is, what should we do - scrap the restrictions on tyre usage introduced last year, ban electronics, adopt a WSBK-type one-tyre rule, penalise the faster bikes, NASCAR-style, by adding weight to them?
There are infinite ways of trying to change MotoGP for the better, but perhaps the best one is to do…precisely nothing.
Look back at Estoril 2006 to see how fast things change in racing.
Valentino Rossi won pole, on a Michelin-shod Yamaha, from his team-mate
Colin Edwards.
Casey Stoner, today's demolisher of close racing, was fifth fastest. Best
Bridgestone runner?
John Hopkins in sixth on the Rizla Suzuki. Quickest Ducati? Sete Gibernau in eighth place.
