Honda Red Bull Racing

Andrew Short

Ben Towley

Davi Millsaps

Ivan Tedesco

Andrew Short National #: 29 Height: 5' 11" Weight: 170 lb. Residence: Smithville, Texas Date of Birth: 11/28/1982 Place of Birth: Tulsa, Oklahoma First Started Riding: 1987, age 5 First Race: 1987, age 5 Current Race Bike(s): Honda CRF450R Marital Status: married, wife Jackie Mechanic(s): Jason Haines Training: road biking, motocross Hobbies: road biking Description: Frankly, most people figured Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short had two strikes against him before the 2007 season began. He was moving up from a lightweight Honda CRF250R to a power-laden CRF450R to enter the most competitive classes in the world, AMA Supercross and Motocross, and he was also on the rebound from knee surgery. Talk about a stacked deck! But fast-forward to the end of the Motocross season; Short found himself right in the hunt for the national championship. Although he narrowly missed capturing his first crown, finishing the season in third place overall, the 2007 season became an incredible triumph for the young Honda Red Rider. “So much of this is being with the Honda Red Bull Racing team,” said Short. “We have the best bikes and great technical support to develop settings that are close right off the bat. And we have Jeremy McGrath developing and testing and helping us get to a good setting so we can get the most out of our Honda CRF racebikes on every lap. “I knew 2007 was going to be a different year for me because I was moving up to a new class and I had the injury. It was pretty extensive—a six-month injury in terms of recovery time. I knew I’d join the Supercross series late and I’d come in a bit behind the curve compared to the other guys as far as my conditioning was concerned. But I had tons of support from Honda and everyone on the team, so I just tried to get in there and mix it up, see what that new class was all about and get as much seat time as possible before the outdoor nationals started.” Most people don’t understand that a racer’s recovery from injury is much more complex than simply healing physically. Short explained, “There’s nothing that replaces seat time at a race, even riding at a practice track. You can ride for months on end and get to the race, and you’re going to feel uncomfortable and the surroundings are going to be different. You can’t duplicate the butterflies or anything like that. So being off the bike was hard enough, and then not racing compounded the situation. It was tough, but that’s part of racing.” That’s vintage Andrew Short. He’s the kind of guy who simply puts his head down and goes to work, no complaints. But for racers at this level, nothing is truly simple. “Moving up a class was a whole big adjustment for me, especially with the injury,” he said. “It wasn’t so much about the bike; the Honda CRF450R is great. It was being with new riders, and the race itself was five laps longer and everything was different. I was pretty much out of my comfort zone, so it all seemed like chaos to me. But it all just became natural as the season wore on. “I think the biggest thing about moving up to the Motocross class was riding against the most experienced riders in the world. Before I was with the young kids who were going for broke. So the style of racing in the 450 class is different: Everyone’s more calculated. They don’t make nearly as many mistakes, and in raw speed they’re faster, but also their endurance from the green flag to the checkered flag is higher. And they’re not going to give under pressure. They’re not going to make mistakes when you get behind them or pass them, and they know what they’re doing. “I think Honda’s CRF450R as a stock bike is great, and it doesn’t take much to make it very competitive at the highest pro levels. The Honda Red Bull Racing team has had great riders in the past, and Erik Kehoe and Jeff Stanton can help you think your way through problems because they’ve got so much experience. And Jeremy McGrath does a lot of testing for our team, which is a huge help. He comes up with the initial setup that’s very close; by the time the Supercross season started, I had hardly changed anything. It was just me getting used to the bike and doing laps and getting back up to race speed. Once the outdoor season began I started to fine-tune it more for my style. “The whole 2007 season was a good learning experience, from getting on the Honda CRF450R for the first time, to the new riders I was up against, to the tracks and everything. I think as the season wore on we got better in all those aspects. Every week I kept getting a little better and I was learning. I’ve never been a real quick learner, but I definitely learn from my mistakes. I gained valuable seat time in a new class, and I think in 2008 with the Honda Red Bull Racing team I’ll be stronger as well.”

Victories/Accomplishments for Andrew Short:

Year Accomplishment 2007 16th AMA Supercross Series, 3rd AMA Motocross Series 2006 2nd AMA West Supercross Lites Series, 1st AMA East/West Supercross Lites Shootout, 4th AMA Motocross Lites Series 2005 22nd AMA 250 Supercross Series, 3rd AMA 125 West Supercross Series, 2nd AMA 125 National Motocross Series 2004 17th AMA 250 Supercross Series, 7th AMA 125 West Supercross Series, 34th AMA 125 National Motocross Series 2003 30th AMA 250 Supercross Series, 3rd AMA 125 West Supercross Series, 1st AMA 125 East/West Supercross Shootout, 11th AMA 125 National Motocross Series 2002 12th AMA 125 West Supercross Series