Matty prepares to hit the track with Team BRIT

Photo: Darren Cook, Scruffy Bear Pictures

Matty Street

Rochdale kart driver and entrepreneur, Matty Street is gearing up for his first race of the year with an inspirational motorsport team.

The 24-year-old, who lives with autism, is just weeks away from his first race of the year with Team BRIT, now that Coronavirus restrictions have been lifted.

Team BRIT aims to be the first all-disabled team to race in Le Mans, France, and supports people with physical and psychological challenges in accessing motorsport through its racing academy.

Having raced with the team for part of the season in 2019, Matty will now be one of the team’s four rookies racing in the Britcar Trophy Category in a BMW 116. Experienced racers Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan will race in the team’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 in the Endurance Category.

Matty was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and Asperger’s (a form of autism) when he was at school. He found school extremely difficult and was predicted poor grades. He struggled with socialising in his early teenage years and had very little self-belief.

At the age of 12 he discovered karting, which had a huge effect on him and helped him manage the challenges that Asperger’s can cause. He won a £30k scholarship to go racing at the age of 14 which opened doors to the expensive world of motorsport.

When he first took his GCSEs, just before he began his racing career, he failed them all. When he re-took the exams, he passed everything, as his teachers began to relate his work to motorsport which helped him understand and retain information. 

He studied motorsport engineering then went on to secure a degree. He worked at Rochdale TeamKarting circuit while studying and became executive manager at the age of 19. In July 2017 he raised enough investment to buy out the business and become CEO. It is now the UK’s highest rated karting track and has won an award for being Autism Friendly.

During lockdown, Matty has kept incredibly busy maintaining his karting business, setting up new initiatives and working with Team ‘Racing with Autism’ this year, sponsored by Team BRIT. The team supports young kart drivers with autism in entering competitive races.

Matty said: “No one could have planned for what we would have to face this year, and I’ve had a lot of challenges, not only relating to racing, but also to sustaining my karting businesses which was hit badly by lockdown. 

“The support I’ve received from the local community, the racing community and beyond has been incredible, and now, I want to get back into the racing zone, joining my teammates and showing the world what we can do.

“Through TeamKarting, we’ve played a big role in promoting autism awareness and I am just thrilled to be on the same path with Team BRIT. The more people we can inspire to get involved and try something new and exciting, the better.”

Matty’s first race will be on Sunday 2 August at Brands Hatch in Kent.