Page 68 - ISSUE_54

JOHN SHORT
450 MX / 15TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / ARMSTRONG DESIGN / TILLS
>> If you went to Supercross event this year and watched qualifying you might have caught yourself wondering who the #88 on a Suzuki was in the 250 class. Well that was John Short and his Supercross speed was on point. Unfortunately the funds to go racing on a 250 in the outdoor series was not in the budget, luckily Maxim Motorsports helped out the TPJ Racing Privateer with a couple of brand new 450 Yamahas. Short missed the first three rounds of the series but has been a factor in the top 20 since entering the series.
This weekend at round 7 John was able to get his first top 15 overall finish and had his best moto finish in the second moto at The Wick (14th).
His finishes may seem surprising considering that John finished 36th in quali- fying, that’s 22 positions worse then his moto two finish! What might even be more surprising is that John didn’t get good starts to get his great finishes. He actually started near 30th position in both races and didn’t start to gain many positions until late into the second half of the races. For example Short made three passes in the final 5 minutes of moto two to record his best finish this season. Fitness is no issue for the privateer Yamaha rider, will this come into play in the second half of the season.
68 GRITMOTO • JULY 9, 2017