Andrew Short San Diego SX Update
#29 BTO/KTM pilot Andrew Short has been struggling to come out of a hole since his big Anaheim 3 crash that took him out of the race. The crash combined with the usual hecitc season opening rush, media comittments and what seems like a yearly industry wide flu/cold epidemic had Andrew in a fatigued state as of late. This made riding with intenisty hard these last few rounds and activities during the week were limited. Although his starts were defnitely on point during the past 3 races, the results left much to be desired; 8th at Oakland and 12th at Anaheim 3 were produced with riding in the mains that didn’t sit or feel well with Andrew. We are happy to report though that the week before the San Diego Supercoss things were on the upswing as careful energy management started to pay off and he phsycially felt the best since his big get off.
The new venue at the Petco stadium in San Diego was awesome, the weather absolutely perfect and there was a great vibe due to it being Military Appreciation Day. Shorty even got to run some red, white and blue lighted wheels during opening ceremonies and wear matching Fly Racing gear to show appreciation to the troops.
Andrew was excited to finally feel better entering the weekend and practices started reasonably well. The track surface deteriorated as practices went on and keeping laps clean became more an more of a struggle. Shorty eventually qualified 12th, not great but he felt better than the last two rounds and maintained a positive attitude.
Andrew pulled off yet another holeshot in his heat race and held on to finish 3rd to transfer directly to the main. Andrew got a 2nd placed start behind Ken Roczen in the main event and admittedly struggled in the later stages of the event with continuing to hit the rhythm sections with speed. The track surface became increasingly tricky and slippery and Andrew rode as hard as he could to finish up 8th. He was content that phsycially he is feeling better and headed the right direction but not satisfied with his riding and results in the main.
We have started the next week of preparation and Shorty continues to improve physcially so we are both stoked that he is getting out of the hole. This is a big week for all of us as we move the program back to Texas, which for Andrew means moving his entire family back to the farm. We are both excited to go back to the real home state but we are going to miss this stellar SoCal weather for sure!
Thanks for tuning in and see you in Dallas!