What, if anything, is wrong with KTM’s Andrew Short? Guest starring Moser this week!
What, if anything, is wrong with KTM’s Andrew Short? Guest starring Moser this week!
What’s wrong with Andrew Short?
Swicore- I’ll start by putting it as simply as I can. Disenchanted.
Starting with the most obvious issue is of course the 100cc deficit. Now I’ve said since the beginning that there would be no better pilot for the 350 in professional racing than Shorty because he’ll never make excuses. He’ll just work his ass off, try harder and harder until he’s either reached his goal, gotten injured trying or, in the current situation, become totally disenchanted; (in my opinion of course- is it really necessary to state that?)
As SX wore on, Andrew figured out that riding the 350 with 450’s indoors was possible but he couldn’t ride it the way he had become accustomed to riding SX on a 450. He made the adjustments and toward the end of the year he looked much better and his results improved.
Now we are outdoors though where that extra 100cc’s is tapped into far more. I believe Shorty has reached the point where he can no longer convince himself the bikes lower weight, better turning, less girthy characteristics make up for the power loss. When you can no longer make yourself buy into the propaganda which, by the skin of your teeth, got you “close-ish” to where you had been the previous 5 years of your career, discontent takes hold in a negative way. By this point, you’re simply counting the days to the end of the series. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still fighting his ass off every minute of every race but the optimism takes a catastrophic hit with every struggle. If he had results even similar to those he has achieved every other year on big bikes he could more easily continue to drink the orange kool-aid but not only have his results suffered, so has his trademark consistency. In a sport where you’re only as good as your last race, Andrew must be reeling at the turn his results have taken since signing up for the “medium” bike.
Matthes- I’ve been a critic of that machine since I saw the holeshot master, the I can start on anything guy, Mike Alessi, all of a sudden turn into a mid-pack guy off the line. The 350’s a great bike for sure but when you’re disking the tracks up, laying down gallons and gallons of water there simply is no replacement for displacement. On the 350, you have to be perfect, miss a shift, screw up in a turn and you’ve lost all of that precious momentum. Which if everyone else is on the same bike, is no big deal but the exact same thing happens to a 450 and the guy just turns the throttle and gets fixed up immediately.
Now Shortys a ways back in the points but that was due to a mechanical at the first round and a crash at the opening lap at Texas that left him some 15-seconds behind the rest of the pack. So his points deficit is huge and it’s not an indication of the bike. Still, the 29 was a constant podium threat outdoors and now he’s not so what has changed?
He’ll never admit it but I know for sure that he’s got to have the track come around to him before he’ll have success. He needs that mud/sand to be pushed off a bit and for the traction to be perfect. Too much and the bike is bogged down a bit and too little and it makes it hard to ride perfect and on that edge where he needs to be. Perhaps this is it, we’re seeing the best that Andrew can do but I doubt it, I look for him to start getting up into that Metcalfe, Millsaps 4th, 5th place range soon. You can watch him at the race and he’s in shape, he’s going for it but it’s not quite there yet.
I’m not ready to bury the bike completely like it sounds you are Swizzle but check back with me after Pala!
Moser- Simply stated, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is wrong with Shorty. The guy is a picture of beauty, fitness, and consistency. The beginning of every motocross national season that comes to mind has been plagued with bad luck for Short, and because he’s so amazingly consistent this season has been no different.
He literally rode the life out of his bike in both moto’s at Hangtown, the obvious explanation being nobody had ever ridden the KTM 350 so fast, hard and long the poor stead couldn’t hold up to the pounding. This point/counterpoint is less of a “what’s wrong with Shorty” and more of a “what’s wrong with the KTM 350” this is fine by me as you shouldn’t question a man integrity just because you can’t see his eyebrows.
Disenchanted? You kiss your mother with that mouth? We’re talking about Andrew Short anytime the guy throws a leg over a motorcycle I become enchanted while watching. KTM was forthright with Andrew and Rodger that they wanted to develop the 350 (the bike of the future) and that the bike was going to need some work to get on point. No one has been hood winked here. Much like my never-ending devotion to Shorty, KTM has made a commitment to the 350 and more importantly is providing the resources to see that through. If KTM wasn’t providing the necessary support to improve the bike I would see Shorty and Rodger getting disenchanted, but this isn’t the 1996 Factory Suzuki team.
The KTM 350 works great in Europe and although the tracks are much more diverse on the GP circuit, race wins are race wins and holeshots are holeshots the bike has plenty of both. Starts are key to any race and I have no doubt Shorty get’s his starts dialed and once he does it’s going to make things much easier for the other 35 minutes. I’ll pay to have a little led light installed on the handlebars if that’s what it takes.
Shorty is like those sexy European trains you see in the movies (without the cigarette smoke) he takes a “short” while to get rolling but once he’s up to speed he just keeps coming and coming and can’t be stopped. With Shorty’s hometown race this weekend in Colorado look for him to have his best ride of the nationals thus far. Don’t forget Shorty saved the American MXDN team in Colorado last year.
