Short Consistent at Oakland Despite Adversity

Coach Seiji client and Red Bull/KTM Factory Racing team member #29 Andrew Short carded is fourth straight top 10 result with a 9th place finish in the SX class in the Oakland, CA round of the 2011 Monster Energy Supercross Series.

The threat of rain lingered all day but didn’t start falling until Short lined up for his heat race. Shorty blasted out of the gate, hitting all his shifts perfectly down the start straight to earn a 2nd place start. He piloted his 350 SX-F in third position for half of the race but submitted a few positions in the waning laps to end up 6th, easily tranferring to the main event.

Rain continued to fall in earnest, turning the Oakland Colesium venue into a treacherous mix of slippery turns, deep ruts and unpredictable whoops. Shorty’s start didn’t go as well as his heat race and he emerged a disappointing 18th place after the first turn. The veteran rider took to the challenge and soldiered on from a terrible position in horrible conditions thorughout the main event. His determination and fitness in the difficult conditions allowed him to make most of his passes after the halfway point of the race. With three laps to go, Short was in the top 10 with Ivan Tedesco just ahead in 9th. Lap 18 provided the opportunity needed for Short to pass Tedesco and pull ahead to earn a hard fought 9th place finish.

“I’m definitely disappointed in my end result tonight. I had a terrible start and it took me a while to get going. Once I was moving, I felt good and my fitness helped me close in on some riders at the end of the race. I am glad I was able to gain some valuable positions at the end but there are definitely some areas I need to improve on and I will continue to work hard and progress as much as I can,” remarked Short.

Coach Seiji would like to commend Andrew for his determination and hard work in the most challenging of conditions to earn his 9th place finish. Some athletes turn away from adversity and some turn adversity into successes. Andrew most definitely is the latter. Bring on A2!