Andrew Short | New Ride & Nowhere To Go

@andrewshort29

We are all well aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross series and the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series, but little has been said of how it has affected motorcycle racing outside of the traditional motocross championships. We called up newly signed Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Andrew Short to discuss how the coronavirus has affected rally, as well as his new ride on the bLUcRU. With the exciting new partnership with Yamaha sprouting at the same time as the deadly infection, Andrew hasn’t been able to log many hours aboard the new machine and remains at his Texas farm with family, eagerly awaiting better times. During our interview, Shorty recalls being in Portugal on his way to Abu Dhabi for the first round of the world championships when COVID-19 had its first repercussions towards the rally racing world. At crazy times like this, one thing is for certain, there isn’t a more well-minded, humble racer to talk to than Andrew Short. 

First off, congrats on the new ride! How and when did things come about?

– Yeah! Dude, I’m stoked! A big opportunity for me and it came at a great time. Yamaha is dumping a lot of money and resources into off-road racing and rally. I’m kind-of coming into rally at the tail-end so hopefully, this will spring-forward and give me a good opportunity to do well in Dakar in the next year or two. It came about after Dakar this year. I had some conversation with Joe Parsons from Monster Energy, who has a big influence on the team, as the Monster Energy sponsorship is a worldwide deal with Yamaha racing. So, we made the introduction and that’s how it all kicked off. 

I know Yamaha has experience in rally and Dakar but has this specific team been racing or are they new for this year?

– No, they’ve been racing Dakar since maybe 2012 – 2013. Dude, for a while, they dominated before KTM did with Stephane Peterhansel. They’ve won the race numerous times but Dakar has changed considerably since then. Though, Yamaha has a huge history with Dakar, especially in France because it’s such a big race there and that’s where the promoter is from. The race used to start in France, so Yamaha Europe spearheads this whole program and this is their factory team.

Right, Yamaha dominated Dakar with Peterhansel in the ’90s….

– Exactly. Dude, this is where I feel like a stupid moto kid (laughs). I feel like I don’t appreciate the sport enough. True rally enthusiasts probably shake their heads at me, but I don’t even know the American history with the race. There are so many Americans that have been badass with Dakar and I don’t even know who they are. I’ve slowly learned who they are, but I don’t know the history of the race very well. Whereas, I know moto history a lot better just from growing up and watching videos as a kid. 

Rewinding a bit, you went into Dakar this last year having a realistic shot at the win but it all kinda went downhill on day two. What was your mindset after the mishaps and frustrations? 

– Dude, it was tough. For a moto analogy, Dakar is like Loretta Lynns in the sense that your whole year is based on just one race. You can crush it at all these other races, then get to Lorettas and break your collarbone in the first moto and your season is just a wash. With that analogy in mind, I had a really good year; I learned a lot on and off of the bike and just came a really long way. I really underestimated how tough rally and especially Dakar is when entering this whole off-road genre of racing. But, I came into this Dakar really well prepared and I had just won the last race leading up to Dakar, which is run by the same promoter so the race is run the same way. That win really validated my confidence going into Dakar but from the very beginning of the race, it just wasn’t meant to be. I had some crashes and some bike problems, and it just didn’t come together. It was really clear that I didn’t have an opportunity to win after day two and three, and once you are out of the win, it’s your job to basically make sure your team has success. My mentality of trying to win went out of the window and it was just about helping the team from that point on. If there was an opportunity to do good on a certain day I would go for it, but for example; I had a really good day going but I ended up giving Toby my wheel. It just didn’t work out and that’s rally. That’s what makes it fun honestly, the race was still full of great memories and adventures that I’ll never forget. 

How directly does this COVID-19 pandemic affect the rally schedule?

– Yeah, I think everything going on definitely affects the whole world and rally is a small part of that. I was on my way to Abu Dhabi for round one of the world championship when it got canceled. And I think all of the teams are pretty much shut down, I know Yamaha is and I’m pretty sure most of the others are with Austria not being allowed to work. I think everybody is just waiting and reflecting right now. You are a human first, athlete second, so you have to recognize that this is an issue going on and respect the world and have racing come second. In our schedule and calendar, we are fortunate that all the big races are towards the end of the year, and then Dakar in January. 

How often are you able to ride your race bike or at least a rally bike that is similar to the one you’ll race?

– On my previous team, I had a practice bike that was pretty close to what I raced on and they had a training bike in Morocco for testing. With Yamaha, I’ll have a practice bike at home once they can start shipping internationally again. Also, with the team that I’m on now, I’ll have the opportunity to train a lot more here at home in El Paso, Texas. Even head to Jimmy Lewis’s in Nevada, and we have been building road books for a place in Colorado, near the Utah border. So, I’m looking forward to doing a lot more training here at home and hopefully doing more with Ricky, like I was last year. Unfortunately, the training with Ricky tapered off towards the end of last year because of the ways our teams were structured, but now we have the opportunity to train more, being aligned with Monster Energy. I’m looking forward to that and being able to stay here more often. That is one of the benefits of this new deal and team, before I could train as much as I wanted but I had to be away from home and in Spain. 

Have you received a YZ450F to do some motos on yet?

– All of this went down right when I was joining the team, so I don’t have a rally bike here with me. Yamaha USA has been really cool with support and they were going to send me a moto bike, but then they got shut down as well. I actually went down to Kent Powersports, a dealership here in Texas that is owned by retired baseball player Jeff Kent, and bought some bikes. Jeff and his dad have always been really supportive, so I went down to the dealer and got an FX, which is kind of like the moto bike but it has a kickstand and 18-inch rear wheel, and then I also got a WR with the headlight. I have those two bikes right now, but Yamaha is big about not riding right now. They would rather us not take the chance of getting hurt and filling the hospitals. I haven’t been riding too much, but I’m stoked to get to know the product. It’s weird for me too, because with my previous program I never really looked at other manufacturers, so it’s cool to see Yamaha’s approach in the off-road genre. Yamaha has a lot of off-road specific machines and it’s really cool to see. I’m stoked to learn about everything and be a part of it! 

With these crazy times, you’re able to have some time with the family at the farm. Does the wife have you moving hay?

– Yeah (laughs). I haven’t left the house and I’m going a little crazy. My wife loves the farm and I love dirt bikes and being able to travel, so it’s been different for me. We’ve been doing a lot of stuff around the farm; fixing fence, taking care of the cows, and all that stuff. It’s been a lot different, but I really enjoy being with the kids and being with the wife more. We’re just trying to enjoy the positives with such a difficult and hard situation for everyone. I recognize my situation and I’m really thankful and blessed to be in the position I’m in. It’s been different for me just like it’s been different for everyone else, so I’m definitely looking forward to going racing and riding.