| Andrew Short has claimed a solid third place overall result at the 2018 Desafio Inca rally. Using the three-day event in the dunes of Peru as a learning experience the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rally star now hopes to continue building on his speed and navigation ahead of next January’s Dakar Rally.
Making the switch to rally competition less than a year ago following a highly successful career in motocross and supercross, in Peru Short put in the best performance of his rally racing career to date. Kicking off the three-day event with sixth in the first stage, the American went on to claim another strong result with fourth on day two of the Desafio Inca. Wrapping up the rally with 12th in stage three, Andrew was just eight minutes behind event winner Paulo Goncalves.
For Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla, day three of the Desafio Inca rally proved to be one of mixed fortunes. Starting the day strongly and determined to battle for the overall victory, the Chilean rally star was frustratingly unable to finish the stage after suffering a minor technical issue. Pablo is already looking ahead to the Morocco Rally in October, where the FR 450 Rally powered rider will look to seal the third consecutive World Championship of his illustrious career in rally racing.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing will return to action at the Morocco Rally on October 3 to 9.
Andrew Short: “I am really satisfied with my performance at this rally. It was good to ride alongside the best riders in the world and learn from them. I could see their rhythm and how they navigate in the dunes. Stage three was quite different to the first two days. We weren’t grouped up with the other riders so I had to navigate a lot during the day. I did my best to avoid mistakes and my speed was a little bit slower than the other two days. Overall, this event has been loads of fun and to ride that terrain over here in Peru has been really good for the future. Hopefully I can keep building on my speed and navigation so that I can be ready for the coming Dakar.”
Pablo Quintanilla: “I might have been unable to finish the last stage, but overall I learned a lot this weekend here in Peru. I started the stage quite well today, but after a few kilometres I had a small technical issue that didn’t let me finish the stage. This is part of racing, we accept it and move on. Today I was ready to battle for the victory but it just wasn’t meant to be. Looking back at the weekend here in Peru, it was a good experience for me. Looking at the positives, I felt really good in the dunes and got some good racing miles ahead of the Dakar. I felt fast from the get go and I am happy with my race pace. We now head to Morocco for the final round of the World Championship at the Morocco Rally. I feel good at the moment and I will do my best to get the title for the third year in a row.”
2018 Desafio Inca Rally – Stage 3 Provisional Classification
1. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) 01:55:08
2. Toby Price (KTM) 01:57:10
3. Sam Sunderland (KTM) 01:57:24
4. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 01:58:09
5. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 01:58:24
6. Franco Caimi (Yamaha) 01:58:42
…
12. Andrew Short (Husqvarna) 02:03:54
2018 Desafio Ruta Inca Rally – Overall Classification [Provisional]
1. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) 10:08:13
2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 10:11:04
3. Andrew Short (Husqvarna) 10:16:37
4. Ignacio Cornejo (Honda) 10:18:15
5. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 10:19:09
6. Kevin Benavides (Honda) 10:19:17 |
