Matt Petrali was born and raised mainly in Sacramento, CA. His love of two wheeled things started early, with fun and adventures on BMX and MX bikes. One could say that the moto-bug started even before he was born though. It was during the 20’s and 30’s that his great-great uncle Joe Petrali (“Smokey Joe”) made the Petrali name famous, taking win after win racing for the factory Harley team, among others, and setting records that are still amongst the tops of the books. Joe even had the distinction of holding AMA membership card #1!

   After getting his first streetbike in 1997 and riding in the local foothills and canyons for many years, Matt was introduced to “track days” by a friend. That first trip to Willow Springs proved to be the catalyst that started Matt on the path to racing. After a couple of years of increasingly dedicated track riding, he took the plunge, and on May 1, 2006 passed the AFM New Racer School to become the newest member of the racing community. 

   Matt started the 2006 season on an ex-Arclight Suzuki GSXR600, and spent the year learning the tracks and his bike. The year saw a steady improvement in lap times and abilities. In 2007 it was a continued learning process, with ever improving race results. Towards the end of ’07 saw a new bike added, a Twin Works built Suzuki SV650. Within the first weekend, Matt was nearly equaling his GSXR600 lap times! 2008 promises to be a great year, with more of a focus on the SV and the addition of racing with WERA West, along with the AFM. Along with other members of Code 4, Matt is part of the ZoomZoom trackday family, working the grid mainly and filling in wherever else he’s needed!

   Matt, a flooring contractor for many years, is now employed as a Signalman for the Union Pacific Railroad and living near the Roseville area. Away from the track he plays tennis at the local racquet club, hits the driving range, putts on his backyard green and spends time with two very layed back ex-racing Greyhounds.