News broke late last fall and took many by surprise: just a year into his retirement after 16 professional supercross and motocross seasons, Andrew Short was joining the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rally team.

Short made his debut at the 2017 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship in Morocco and then set off for the 2018 Dakar Rally—arguably the most grueling off-road race in the world.

Despite breaking his ankle with just two days to go in the event, Short finished an impressive 17th in his debut.

“For me, looking back at it, it went really quick. I was excited to go to Dakar—it was honestly a dream come true,” he told us in February. “From my perspective, I’ve always heard so much about the race and have even read some books on how the race used to go through Africa. In 2009, the race switched to South America for safety issues. I read how big the race was and didn’t really know what to expect. 

“I was amazed by just all the experiences and the people standing along the side of the road. They say there’s more than four million people standing on the side of the road throughout the event. You go through all the different conditions, from the massive sand dunes and riding and racing on the beach to the high altitudes in Bolivia in the mountains. It’s really tough conditions in Argentina. Between all that, as well as and competing against the other riders and dealing with the marathon stages, it is super hard.” 

Short is now preparing for a return to Dakar, which takes place in Peru this year and starts on January 6.

Husqvarna recently released a video of Short and teammate Pablo Quintanilla preparing for the event.