Red Bull/KTM rider Andrew Short made a remarkable comeback after a first moto crash and a poor second moto start to finish 9th overall at his hometown race and the second AMA Pro Motocross Championship race of the season at Freestone Motocross Park.
Short got off to a 10th place start in the first moto and began to push his way forward when a first lap crash stopped his momentum. Short crashed around a tight right-hand corner falling right in the line of traffic. “I just remember getting hit by quite a few riders and it took me about 30 seconds or so before I was feeling good enough to get back on the bike. After about half a lap everything clicked again and I was able to get back to my race pace,” remarked Short about the incident.
When Short recovered he was about three-quarters of a lap down and sitting in approximately last place. After an impressive charge through the pack he passed more than half of the field to finish 15th the first moto.
In the second moto Short struggled off the start. He commented, “I had a really dry gate and wasn’t able to get the jump I needed to get out front on the start.” He came around the first corner around 21st position and went to work right away. By the end of the second lap he had already climbed up to 11th place. In the following laps he was able to pass multiple riders, two of which he got in the same section by cutting underneath and taking the inside line around the same tree turn he had crashed in the first moto. By the end of the moto he had climbed to 6th place. His 15-6 results gave him 9th overall.
“I am bummed that I crashed in the first moto and had a bad start in the second but overall I feel good about my ride today and am glad to come out and get a solid race under my belt. We had a bad first week at Hangtown so it feels good to come out of this race with a top ten finish,” stated Short.
In the 250 Motocross class, it was Short’s teammate Marvin Musquin who set the fastest lap time in practice. When the gate dropped for the first moto he nearly holeshot but got edged out at the last second by Justin Barcia. A few turns later, Barcia swapped out in front of Musquin leaving Musquin with nowhere to go. Musquin hit the rear tire of Barcia’s bike head on as Barica’s bike lifted off the ground resulting in a bad crash for both riders. Musquin was immediately hauled off in the medical cart for further evaluation. The results showed a broken thumb and an estimated recovery time of 8-9 weeks.
“I am very disappointed in this race. I felt very confident today and was really excited about this season and racing in the U.S. I just recovered from an ACL injury and can’t believe that I am hurt again. I am sad that it is not my fault and just a racing accident that I couldn’t avoid. I will do my best to recover to 100% as soon as possible so I can return to racing and put on a good race for the fans,” Musquin reported.
Please check the KTM website regularly for more updates on Musquin’s condition and further details about the Red Bull/KTM Factory Racing Team.
The next event will be the High Point Motocross National on June 11th.
Overall Results 450 Class –
1) Chad Reed – 1,1
2) Davi Millsaps – 4,2
3) Ryan Villopoto – 3,5
4) Brett Metcalfe – 9,3
5) Ricky Dietrich – 8,4
6) Jake Weimer – 6,7
7) Christian Craig – 5, 8
8) Ryan Dungey – 2, 25
9) Andrew Short – 15, 6
10) Nick Wey – 10,11
11) Michael Byrne – 14, 10
12) Tye Simmonds – 13, 12
13) Les Smith – 11,14
14) Vince Friese – 12, 16
15) Tommy Hahn – 7,39
Overall Results 250 Class –
1) Tyla Rattray – 2,1
2) Dean Wilson – 1,3
3) Kyle Cunningham – 3,4
4) Justin Barcia – 9,2
5) Eli Tomac – 5,6
6) Martin Davalos – 10,7
7) Matthew Lemoine – 8,11
8) Cole Seely – 14,8
9) Blake Baggett – 7,16
10) Gannon Audette – 12,12
11) Gareth Swanepoel – 4,28
12) Broc Tickle – 39,5
13) Lance Vincent – 16,10
14) Austin Howell – 18,9
15) Nico Izzi – 6,29
