Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1235205
MOTOCROSSER-TURNED-RALLY-RACER ANDREW SHORT P48 Interview At the end of that 2017 season, you ended up signing with Rockstar Husqvarna to race rallies. How did that come about? How it all came together was strange because it happened really quickly. In a matter of a couple days I was on a plane going to Morocco for the final round of the world championship. The rider I was going to take over for had a big injury down in Chile at a race. He ended up being my team manager later. His name is Pela Renet. So, I ended up taking over his position, and then I was kind of thrown into the deep end. The decision was quick because my contract was up with Honda, and I was at this kind of crossroads of my life where rally sounded like a great life ex- perience. I loved racing. I loved adventure. Something I couldn't pass up. I really was interested in it and jumped all in, headfirst right into a steep learning curve of trying to figure out rally racing. You basically signed in October and then you raced Dakar less than three months later. How steep was that learning curve for you? Had you even ridden a rally bike before you signed that agreement? I did some rally stuff before that, but it was purely just as a hobby. I did one race in Sonora, Mexico for a holiday and vacation. It was kind of a sticky thing even with Honda at the time, just because I was going to miss a supercross and not be there for the guys. But I really wanted to go down to Mexico and see what rally was all about. It was one event that I did. Then from that point on, it was a hobby that I really liked. I had ridden the Honda rally bike a little bit with some of the Japa- nese that were there for supercross and motocross testing. Sometimes I would go up to the high desert when I had some free time and ride that bike, as well. So, I had ridden the bikes, but I had no experi- ence, and I had no idea truly what rally racing was all about. So, it was a lot more difficult than I expected. When you had that short window, was there anybody that helped you train for the navigation part of it and things like that? Yeah. There were two people that were really influential. The first person was Jordi Viladoms, who runs the KTM and Husky program for rally. I learned a lot from him. His knowledge for rally and the (Left) Short says he enjoys the unique challenges that come with rally racing. (Right) Short's new adventure is with the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team.