Even as a young boy, he knew that his calling is in motorsport. And over the years, his dream became reality. Matthias “Matthes” Beckwermert is now not only in demand as a racing driver, but also for film productions, advertising appearances, and, of course, as a speaker for special events. “Matt About Cars” is his popular Instagram channel, and we recently had the opportunity to ask him our well known 5 questions during the Goodwood Revival.
Where does your passion for motorsports come from?
The fascination of speed and the love for engineering have always been on my mind since I can remember. After watching every possible race on television as kid, even staying up late for the US motorsport, my dad finally gave in to take me to a DTM race. I still remember the day I was staring at the beautiful Gulf liveried McLaren F1 GTRs at the Nurburgring in 1996. When I was invited by a mechanic who saw me standing there for a long time to come into the pit garage and take a closer look. That was the moment I said to my dad: One day I want to be a racing driver myself.
Well, I can tell you, it was a long long way from that 13-year-old boy’s dream to turn it into a goal, a plan and, with some detours, finally into reality.
What were your favourite moments in Goodwood?
Goodwood is the place to be for every car and motorbike enthusiast. I guess most of you would agree. For me there is so many amazing moments that I find it hard to categorise. But let me try.
The first time is always something to remember. After years of watching the Goodwood Revival via stream I organised our first visit in 2018. We were 6 friends taking an old Mini, an old Mercedes and my old Porsche for the road trip to Chichester. We dressed up in period, left early morning towards the parking lot and couldn’t believe our eyes what beautiful cars we parked ours beside. And it just continued with these experiences through all the passionate and friendly people we met, the amazing races we saw, the vibes from all the side activities and the seamless organisation that really makes you feel that you have travelled back to the good old times. It was a weekend to remember.
In 2023 I took my mom and my sister for a holiday trip to the UK when my mom suggested to make a short stop at Goodwood on our way to the coast. I showed them around and shared the fascination I have for this place. I shared a photo on Instagram. A few weeks later I met Daniel Neus the CEO of Kremer Racing who had seen this photo. He told me that they were invited to bring the Kremer Porsche 935 K3 in the iconic “Jägermeister“ livery to the Porsche 75-year celebration at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I offered to help out if they would need me. So, weeks later I found myself going up the hill in that 700-horsepower monster right in between all the Porsche Museum cars driven by the factory drivers and Le Mans legends. It was a dream come true!
The same year I crashed out of the Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing after a brake failure. When the owner Hans Kleissl of HK Engineering called me just before this year’s Goodwood Revival to team up with him for the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy I could not believe what he offered me. From no experience on this racetrack to going through Lavant corners in the wet door to door with 9 time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in a Ferrari 250 GT SWB – it just felt unreal! The memories I made on that weekend with the whole team will last a lifetime for me. The whole atmosphere, the concentration, the weather conditions, the living legends – it was the best racing weekend I ever had!
We heard you were involved in the Hollywood movie „Rush“?
Oh yes, that was another funny story of how the little boy, as I still see myself, made it to a Hollywood movie.
In a time when I was booked by Action Concept, the film and stunt company in Germany that was involved in famous movie and TV productions nationally and internationally, I got a call if I was available for a longer project involving race cars on the Nürburgring and some other racetracks in the UK. I hesitated first but as I got access to more details in the process I knew I had to take the chance.
So, we ended up in a fantastic production that had so much attention to detail through director Ron Howard and his team who had proven with movies like “Apollo 13“, “The DaVinci Code“ and “Backdraft“ that the result of “Rush“ would be something to really look forward to.
My job as a precision driver was to drive various cars in a field of up to 18 original cars plus replica cars on tracks like Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Donington and the Nürburgring Nordschleife. While the other cars were driven by their owners, other precision drivers or even racing legends like Jochen Mass who drove his McLaren from 1976 when he was James Hunts teammate.
I slipped into the roles of Mario Andretti, Carlos Pace, John Watson, J.P. Jarrier, Clay Regazoni or even Niki Lauda depending on the scenes that were to be filmed throughout the production.
All the starting scenes were filmed in Blackbushe, an Airfield near London where they set up the pit box buildings and invited spectators to be dressed according to the Grand Prix of Japan or Brazil. It was impressive to see how everyone and everything worked together seamlessly. The result is a movie that tells the story of Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the most authentic way. And I am proud I have been a little part of it.
What is your connection to the Nürburgring?
Oh, there is many. It was the very first racetrack I have ever been to as a kid.
It is the one I had my first race at in a BMW 325i. It is the one where I did my first 24 h race in a Porsche Cayman. It is the one I had my first serious crash in a Porsche GT4. It is the one where I secured my first class win in a Porsche GT3 Cup Car. It is the one where we did the lap record with the AMG ONE. It is the one where a Nissan GT3 flew over my head at “Flugplatz“. And it is the race track out of more than 70 in the world I have been to, that I have seen the most laps around.
The Green Hell for me, as for so many others out there has a very special fascination.
The challenging track layout, the elevation change, the multiclass racing, the unpredictable and changing weather conditions, the racing through the dark night and of course the passionate fans around the track make it such a special experience like nowhere else in the world. For me it became home after all these years. And I can tell you – it never gets boring.
We see you on stage as a host and as a speaker – what expertise do you bring in here?
Well, beside my dream as a teenager to become a racing driver, I had to follow some more realistic goals which I found in starting to work as a salesman with Mercedes-Benz. After six years I started a side business working as a driving instructor and coach. Another four years later I turned this into my main business and got self-employed with an agency involved in Sales- & Product-Training, Coaching on and off track, Driver’s Training, Consulting and hosting events and productions for YouTube and social media.
My whole working life revolves around the star of Mercedes-Benz and AMG. The first 10 years employed directly by MB, and another 15 years now as a contractor.
Beside this I work with other brands and agencies in the industry which gives me the chance to have different perspectives and grow a great network.
In motorsports I have spent most of my time with the team FOUR MOTORS and “Smudo” the lead singer of “Die Fantastischen Vier” who started the team more than 20 years ago with former DTM driver Thomas von Löwis. From the first day they focused on sustainability in racing. Today this topic is more important than ever and I am proud to help developing sustainable fuels, natural fibre body parts and re-refined oils that we are racing in those Porsche’s in the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS). Sustainability in motorsport is also a topic which is absolutely en vogue today that I get booked for as a speaker. And I think it is one of the most important topics to talk about now and in the future.
