He then proceeded to pound himself into  mainstream motocross consciousness with a series of top results in international- and world championship races. There have been a tray full of highlights before this season, but arguably, Steve Turner Racing's top man had his sweetest moment thus far in the season at the fourth round of the Maxxis British Championship at the very English-sounding Milton Malsor.

The village, within stone's throw of Northampton, is known for its scenic beauty, but on this day, the main focus shifted not to historic buildings, but to Milton Park, a beautifully prepared track lying in wait for the hostilities to commence

Coming into the event, Matiss was in third position in the championship standings, with his toughest opposition coming from GP star Kevin Strijbos and Shaun Simpson. It was also these two riders that headed him in the qualifying session, but a remarkable switch occurred before the Superpole session. Matiss took the top honours in this session by 5/100ths of a second ahead of Strijbos, and this was the last that anyone smelt of him for the remainder of the day.

To say that Matiss pulled out the wand of devastation would be an understatement. He quite simply did not have to suffer the indignity of viewing another rider ahead of him for the next two races. He blasted off the line to clear holeshots in both the heat races, and was never headed, collecting the welcome of the checkered flag on both occasions.

In the Superfinal race, Shaun Simpson decided that was quite enough of that , and dragged the holeshot his way. Matiss was third, with lanky Dutchman Marc De Reuver holding an initial second place. The Latvian was in no mood for trifling, however, and he had his four pound hammer with him, with the emphasis on pound. He was in the kind of mood that prompts tyrants to invade neigbouring countries, and within one lap, De Reuver had a face full of #91 ahead of him. Simpson was a harder nut to crack, for he had scurried off like a startled rabbit and worked himself into a 6 second lead. The hunter was relentless, though, and by lap 8, the scenario was the same old, same old again, with the #91 KTM heading the way.

There was no hiding Matiss' unbridled joy as the flagman called him home from a perfect 75 point day. Not only had he claimed victory in the most emphatic fashion imaginable, but his main championship rival Kevin Strijbos had experienced one of those days that does not bear thinking about. Much against the odds, then, Matiss also took possession of the red number plate which marks him as the championship leader.

Even the world's phlegmatic master could not suppress his happiness and excitement at how the day had turned out: "This was a good track for me, I didn’t really like the layout but I like the deep ruts and I felt so good. I can’t believe I am leading the Championship. This was good preparation for next weekend’s GP in France and I’m looking forward to that now.”