Andrew Short Shines in Oakland!
#29 Supercross.com/Honda pilot Andrew Short showed progress at the Oakland round of the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross series by having consistent performances throughout the day. Each round other than last week's LA race has produced measurable gains for the veteran rider and his Oakland result shows promise for future rounds.
The Coach Seiji personal training client had solid qualifying sessions with consistently improving lap times as the sessions progressed. Andrew adapted to changing track conditions and ended up qualifying in 9th position for the SX class.
Andrew gated well in his heat race, finding himself in third after the first turn but with clever riding emerged in the lead going into the second lane. Andrew rode strong, battling Stewart in an aggressive pass then dicing with Villopoto on a slippery sweeper, finishing the heat behind those two riders in third.
Andrew's persistent work on his starting technique again produced a great start for the 20-lap main event as he rocketed into second behind Chad Reed. Andrew rode with confidence through the first few lanes of the chaotic first lap to maintain his position as riders on every color of bike behind him battled to establish positions. Andrew rode extremely well as the laps wore on, contending with both a challenging, rutted track and determined riders. A hard charging Stewart would pass Andrew on lap two as would Villopoto on lap four. Andrew continued to ride consistent laps but would later succumb to Dungey's march through the field. Shorty would maintain his position for the second half of the main to finish in 5th, his best result this far.
Coach Seiji would like to congratulate Andrew and the entire Supercross.com/Honda squad as they continue to improve in their debut season. Coach Seiji would also like to send best wishes to Trey Canard and Ryan Morais as the continue in their efforts to recover from injuries sustained in last week's crash.