Matt Field
Matt Field OBE is a British career diplomat serving as Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Czech Republic since January 2023.[1] He previously held the position of Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from August 2018 to June 2022.[1] Field joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2003, undertaking diplomatic postings at British embassies in Kabul, Moscow, and Warsaw, as well as at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York.[1] In London, he has focused on policy areas including South Asia, Russia, and Eastern Europe.[1] Known for his public engagement, Field has participated in events commemorating key historical moments in Czech history, such as lighting the first candle at the November 17 memorial on Národní třída in Prague.[2]Early life
Childhood and racing beginnings
Matt Field was born around 1990 and raised in San Jose, California, where his early exposure to motorsports was heavily influenced by his father's lifelong involvement in off-road racing.[3][4] Growing up in this environment, Field developed an initial interest in competitive driving through family activities centered on off-road disciplines.[5] Field began racing at age four, competing on quads and ATVs, which marked his entry into hands-on motorsport experience.[3][6] By age eight, he progressed to quarter midget racing, honing fundamental skills on local tracks in the San Jose area.[5][7] This self-directed progression continued into his early teens, when he started co-driving in his father's off-road truck, participating in events that yielded over thirty wins and four championships for the family team before Field obtained a driver's license.[8][9] These formative experiences emphasized practical, track-based learning over formal training, building Field's foundational aptitude for vehicle control in challenging conditions.[3]Amateur career
Initial competitions and progression
Field began his competitive drifting career in grassroots events shortly after turning 15, initially practicing street drifting in Northern California before entering organized amateur competitions.[5] These early experiences built on his foundational skills from off-road racing and quarter-midget events, emphasizing vehicle control and endurance in uncontrolled environments. By age 19, around 2009, he secured a Formula Drift license, one of the youngest drivers to achieve this milestone, marking his rapid progression from informal tandem battles to sanctioned amateur circuits.[3] In regional series such as Sonoma Drift, Field competed in events like the 2011 Winter Jam, where he demonstrated technical maneuvers including backwards entries, refining his aggressive style through consistent participation in gymkhana-style and tandem drifting formats.[10] These grassroots competitions, often held at tracks like Sonoma Raceway, involved direct lead-follow battles that tested proximity control and clip points, fostering the no-quit persistence evident in his later professional tenacity—attributes honed without the safety nets of pro-level judging. Participation logs from such series highlight his early wins in novice classes, establishing a track record of advancing through brackets via sheer determination and iterative improvements in line execution.[3] This phase culminated in preparatory amateur runs that bridged to professional entry, with Field leveraging borrowed parts and self-modified vehicles in local events around 2010 to simulate pro pressures, ultimately positioning him for Formula Drift debut.[11] His progression reflected causal emphasis on repetitive exposure to high-angle slides and recovery techniques, prioritizing empirical handling data over theoretical training.Professional drifting career
Formula Drift entry and early seasons
Field entered the Formula Drift professional championship in 2010 after earning his series license at age 19, making him one of the youngest licensed competitors at the time.[3][4] He qualified through grassroots and regional drifting events, transitioning from amateur competitions with modified Nissan vehicles, initially competing in a tuned Nissan 240SX S13.[12] His debut season resulted in a 33rd overall finish, hampered by adaptation challenges to the pro-level format emphasizing lead/follow battles and precise clip point hits.[4] In the 2011 season, Field's first full pro campaign, he drove the S13 across six events, achieving an average result of 20.2 and a best of 13th place at the Streets of Long Beach round, where qualifying positioned him for top-32 advancement but tandem battles exposed inconsistencies in angle maintenance and proximity scoring.[13] Early outings, including qualifying runs at Las Vegas, highlighted mechanical strains from high-commitment entries, though official series data recorded no event podiums that year.[14] By 2012 and 2013, Field upgraded to a Nissan S14.5 for his third season, aiming for better durability amid persistent issues like component failures under aggressive load.[12] These years saw middling overall standings around 19th to 20th, with gradual improvement in qualifying averages, but mechanical unreliability often curtailed top-16 progressions. His breakthrough came with a first podium—second place at Texas Motor Speedway in 2013—marking enhanced consistency in lead runs and clip adherence without delving into stylistic details.[15][16] The 2014 and 2015 seasons reflected further adaptation, with Field posting a season-best fourth at Long Beach in 2015 (average result 10.6 across seven events), focusing on reliability tweaks to sustain longer tandem exchanges.[17] Official records from these periods underscore a shift toward repeatable scoring in lead/follow dynamics, bridging his entry-level struggles to competitive contention, though no final podiums were secured until later refinements.[18]Major achievements and season highlights
Field's breakthrough in professional drifting came in 2016, when he achieved consecutive event victories at Irwindale Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, marking his first wins in the Formula Drift Pro Championship.[16] In the 2023 season opener at Streets of Long Beach, Field claimed victory by defeating Rome Charpentier in the final after progressing through the Top 32, Top 16, and Great 8 brackets, securing first place with consistent lead and chase performances.[19][20] During the 2025 Formula Drift Pro Championship, Field won Round 6 at Evergreen Speedway in Seattle on August 10, besting James Deane in a competitive final characterized by close proximity and physical tandem drifting.[21] He advanced to the Top 16 in each event, including podium finishes that propelled him to second place overall with 210 points after Round 8 on October 18.[22] Across his 14-year professional career spanning over 110 events, Field has recorded 20 Top 8 finishes, frequently attaining elevated clip point totals—often exceeding 80 in lead runs—through precise aggressive entries that maximize proximity and angle scoring.[23][24]Championship standings and records
Matt Field's Formula Drift PRO Championship career features consistent contention for top honors, with runner-up finishes in the 2021, 2022, and 2025 seasons, alongside 3rd place in 2023.[21][25] These results reflect a pattern of Top 3 placements in recent years, distinguishing him from peers with more variable point totals influenced by mechanical consistency over judging variances.[26] In the 2025 season, Field accumulated points to finish 2nd overall behind James Deane, securing 1 event win and 2 podiums across 7 rounds, with an average finishing position of 5.4.[25][27] His career totals in Formula Drift USA include 5 wins, 17 podiums, 21 Top 8 finishes, and 43 Top 16 advancements over 113 events, yielding a 4% win rate and 13% podium rate.[26]| Season | Final Position | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2nd | Podium contention throughout[21] |
| 2022 | 2nd | Consistent points scorer[21] |
| 2023 | 3rd | 1 win, multiple Top 4s[28][26] |
| 2025 | 2nd | 1 win, 2 podiums[25][27] |