Young Gun Ryan Matter Set To Make First AMA Pro Racing Appearance In New Jersey Young Gun Ryan Matter has turned 16, and he’s headed for the pros. Riding an ex-Team Hammer/M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 provided by RunGP Racing Apparel and Racing Supplies out of San Diego, California, the up-and-coming standout is scheduled to make his AMA Pro Racing debut in the SuperSport class in the series finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Sept. 2-4. “I’m not nervous yet, I’m more excited than anything,” Matter says. “I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to do, but I want to find out before next season. I tested it (the new Suzuki) at Buttonwillow. It has so much power compared to what I’ve been riding. It’s very cool that they stepped up and bought this bike and I get to ride it at New Jersey. It’s really big.” Matter has long been a rider to be reckoned with on the West Coast. This season, he is leading the WERA West B Superstock class and is second in the C Superbike and C Superstock classes, and he is also leading the points in the Formula Middleweight and Middleweight Shootout classes at the Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycle Association. It will be a reunion of sorts, as Matter has in the past faced off against other young racers with growing reputations in the AMA Pro Racing ranks. Matter has shared the track in the past with Benny Solis Jr. and Elena Myers. Gianni Almeida, Director of Marketing and Sales at RunGP, which also is the Pirelli race tire vendor at CVMA, has worked with Matter for the past several months. After an impressive start to the season, RunGP decided to step up their support of the youngster so that he could get a jumpstart to his 2012 season by testing the waters at the final AMA Pro race of 2011 in New Jersey. “We met Ryan at CVMA and we actually engineered his first win on the big bike, the Middleweight Shootout he’s only been on a 600 since last November,” Gianni says. “We ended up spending all weekend with this kid. And the answer to every question we ask is, ‘I want to race.’ On race weekend, in between races, in his leathers, he’s running wheels and tires for me to other customers. He wants to help. And he gets good grades in school. I went to find him one Saturday night at the track, and I found him at 10:30 in the trailer doing his homework! He’s the whole package.” And Gianni is equally excited about the level of equipment RunGP is providing for Matter. “Team Hammer/M4 built it, so it’s the baddest mother on the planet,” Gianni says. RunGP also is a trackside vendor in the Southwest and Southern California, selling Pirelli tires and a vast array of products that racers and trackday addicts require. RunGP is proud to make the addition of Ryan Matter as a RunGP supported rider in the AMA Pro ranks along with their continued sponsorship of Chris Peris and the Evan Steel Iron Horse Performance BMW in AMA Superbike. For more information, contact Almeida at 602.460.6693 or visit us on the web at www.rungp.com . The AMA Pro Racing Championship Weekend, presented by Team Pro-Motion at NJMP, is scheduled for Sept. 2-4, 2011. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call (856) 327-7217 or visit www.NJMP.com .