Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Welcomes Andrew Short

GuyB
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10/1/2017 1:21am Edited Date/Time 10/1/2017 4:17pm

AMERICAN MOTOCROSS STAR SET TO SWITCH TO RALLY COMPETITION ABOARD HUSQVARNA’S FR 450 RALLY
Husqvarna Motorcycles are pleased to announce the signing of Andrew Short, with the American joining the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Rally team with immediate effect. Turning a new page in his illustrious career, the former US SX and MX racer is set to pilot Husqvarna’s FR 450 Rally machine throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

One of the most acclaimed riders in the recent history of US competition, Short wrapped up his 16-year-long career as a professional motocross and supercross racer with a total of nine wins and 49 podium results. A force to be reckoned with throughout his career, the Colorado native has finished among the top three in the AMA Pro Motocross championship no fewer than five times.

Heavily involved with the off-road motorcycle industry in many ways, Andrew possesses a wealth of experience as an official test and development rider – an activity that the American focused on after announcing his retirement from professional motocross competition at the end of the 2016 season. Since then Short has also been a spokesperson and mentor for the younger generation of motocross racers.

Never ceasing his active involvement with off-road riding, Andrew took the decision to switch to rally racing having taken part at this year’s Sonora Rally, round one of the 2017 Dakar Challenge. Enjoying an impressive first outing the highly-experienced racer wrapped up the four-stage-long event by claiming third overall in Mexico.

Short is set to make his racing debut aboard the Husqvarna FR 450 Rally machine at the 2017 OiLibya Morocco Rally on October 4 to 10. Looking to gain more experience in navigation and demanding rally stages, he is expected to be a strong asset for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team for the upcoming Dakar Rally in January.

Diego Clement – Head of Motorsport at Husqvarna Motorcycles: “We are really excited to have Andrew join the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Rally team. An accomplished racer with a very long and distinguished career in motocross and supercross racing, Andrew is now highly motivated to succeed in rally racing. Taking advantage of his wealth of experience and knowledge we strongly believe he will further strengthen our rally team. With his speed never in doubt, our goal is to provide him with all the necessary tools so that he can learn and further improve his navigational skills. Andrew will make his debut at this week’s OiLibya Rally in Morocco. It will be a perfect chance for him to gain some racing miles on the FR 450 Rally machine ahead of the Dakar Rally.”

Andrew Short – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing: “I’m really excited to be part of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. It’s an awesome opportunity to take a new step forward in my career as a racer. Rally racing is something I’ve always been interested in. I love riding and racing and to me it seems like rally is the ultimate adventure you can have on a dirt bike. After retiring as a pro motocross racer at the end of 2016 I started riding my bike in the mountains of Colorado and fell in love with it. I took some navigation training lessons and then had a blast at the Sonora Rally. The biggest challenge for me now is to get some more experience and improve my skills in navigation and that’s exactly what I’ll be focusing on this week in Morocco.”

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tobz
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10/1/2017 1:25am
Wow did not see that coming.
Motofinne
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10/1/2017 1:28am
Alpinestars gear and only Fly helmet, interesting.

The switch from Honda doesn't surprise me. Especially since he really wanted to do the rally racing seriously.
struth
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10/1/2017 1:30am
Sweet,great bloke...
seth505
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10/1/2017 1:37am
You meet the nicest people on a h........usky

The Shop

jaredkeller96
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10/1/2017 1:43am
Motofinne wrote:
Alpinestars gear and only Fly helmet, interesting.

The switch from Honda doesn't surprise me. Especially since he really wanted to do the rally racing seriously.
Ill get the scoop on that..most likely because Alpinestars offers an airbag system for dakar and fly only offers some adventure style gear which is not suitable for dakar I would guess??
10/1/2017 3:48am
Moving away from Fly is pretty shocking. Cool to see him still interested in bikes after a career like that.
Derpin' DJ
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10/1/2017 4:19am
That's sick. He's done alot of adventure riding this year. Cool to see him still keen to race in another discipline
10/1/2017 4:30am Edited Date/Time 10/1/2017 4:33am
I still don't understand this.
I was shocked to see it on instagram. I noticed he took a liking to off road riding and rally but if anything I would have thought he would have done it on a Honda. It almost feels traderous after all the great things he did with Honda. Even worse jt moving away from Fly, at their gear launch he mentioned all the years he's been with Fly Racing. Not a bash, just very very surprised he did that.
Ramrod
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10/1/2017 4:37am
tobz wrote:
Wow did not see that coming.
I second this motion
2thefront
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10/1/2017 5:17am
He still has the relationship with WPS, who is now the major distributor for Astars in the US. Probably just using him to feature that fact.
HenryA
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10/1/2017 5:40am
So from Honda to KTM to Honda and then back to Ktm(Husky?). Nice. Cool
Jt$
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10/1/2017 6:20am
That team has a gear sponsor that was non-negotiable to the deal. All good, Shorty is a part of the Fly family for life, hence the helmet.
ML512
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10/1/2017 6:21am
I still don't understand this. I was shocked to see it on instagram. I noticed he took a liking to off road riding and rally but...
I still don't understand this.
I was shocked to see it on instagram. I noticed he took a liking to off road riding and rally but if anything I would have thought he would have done it on a Honda. It almost feels traderous after all the great things he did with Honda. Even worse jt moving away from Fly, at their gear launch he mentioned all the years he's been with Fly Racing. Not a bash, just very very surprised he did that.
He hasn't moved away from Fly, the team has a gear sponsor but he's staying with Fly for helmets.

The option wasn't there for him to do a full-time Rally gig with Honda...
10/1/2017 6:25am
Wow... Definitely never saw this one coming. Goes to show how strong his passion still is for wanting to be on two wheels. I'm sure he'd been approached about running a team or being a brand ambassador... but the dude clearly still wants to ride. Which is freakin awesome. Love this! Go Shorty!
Johnny Depp
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10/1/2017 7:25am
Met him at Smithville at a local club ride right in his hometown. He's just a regular guy hanging out with strangers no problem while he chased his boy around on a 50. Mentioned that he had asked Honda for a 450 back when the '17s were just being released and they told him he'd have to wait. He thought that was odd, and then realized they didn't understand him, he wanted a CRF450X, the old style "trail" bike. It seems as soon as he got to Honda he started to focus on off road and hung out with Johnny Campbell to learn more.
LungButter
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10/1/2017 12:48pm
I dig this...A LOT!!!
Barrzy256
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10/1/2017 3:21pm
Any chance we could get some coverage of the Rally races he does here on vital?
Sully
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10/1/2017 4:04pm
Announcing his signing on Sunday, and having his first race scheduled for Wednesday? Damn, I wonder how long he's been riding the Husky?
ML512
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10/1/2017 4:16pm
Sully wrote:
Announcing his signing on Sunday, and having his first race scheduled for Wednesday? Damn, I wonder how long he's been riding the Husky?
Not that long. His last day testing for Honda was barely two weeks ago and he was doing the Colorado 600 before that. He's been pretty busy for the last few months for Honda period.
ML512
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10/1/2017 4:17pm Edited Date/Time 10/1/2017 4:17pm
Barrzy256 wrote:
Any chance we could get some coverage of the Rally races he does here on vital?
Whatever PRs we get and coverage sent over we'll post, but I don't foresee us getting any exclusive Rally coverage.
newmann
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10/1/2017 5:02pm
Funny how when a guy never burns any bridges, the opportunities never seem to stop rolling in. Go Shorty!
10/1/2017 10:45pm
He whas testing in Spain last week getting the bike on point for the race. if the race Tracking is life I'll post it on here.
10/2/2017 12:30am Edited Date/Time 10/2/2017 12:33am
Almost as weird as Emig becoming brand ambassador, I never would have predicted this. Maybe Husky will hire Bones Bacon to be their suspension guy next..lol. Either way, good for Andrew and hope he has fun with it.
Helder
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10/2/2017 12:58am
newmann wrote:
Funny how when a guy never burns any bridges, the opportunities never seem to stop rolling in. Go Shorty!
We need a like button....
rangot
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10/2/2017 7:23am
I don't like this move, juts because rally is too dangerous and i don't want Andrew to get hurt. Shorty landed this ride because my friend Pela Renet crashed very bad in Chile and has now a long road to recovery ahead of him, and the crash wasn't even his fault. Pela said to me that at the speed they're going, it's like playing Russian roulette...
kkawboy14
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10/2/2017 7:45am
Finally some real news that the Vital irregulars didn't know Smile
Johnny Depp
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10/6/2017 9:42am
rangot wrote:
I don't like this move, juts because rally is too dangerous and i don't want Andrew to get hurt. Shorty landed this ride because my friend...
I don't like this move, juts because rally is too dangerous and i don't want Andrew to get hurt. Shorty landed this ride because my friend Pela Renet crashed very bad in Chile and has now a long road to recovery ahead of him, and the crash wasn't even his fault. Pela said to me that at the speed they're going, it's like playing Russian roulette...
Rally racing has to be the most deadly of all the forms of dirt bike racing, not as bad as the Isle of Man but still high risk. Sorry to hear about Pela, and hope he has a good recovery.

I'm sure Andrew is aware of the risks, Casselli isn't that long gone.

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