Branch, Short join Yamaha rally team

Short comes to Yamaha after two years with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team, prior to which the American raced motocross for 16 years and was part of Team USA’s successful MX des Nations team in 2010.

Since making the switch to cross-country rally racing at the end of 2017, Short has completed three Dakars, with a best finish of sixth in 2019. The 37-year-old Texan won last year’s Rally du Maroc and was runner-up in the Silk Way Rally. 

“I’m looking forward to working with a new group of people and a brand that has enjoyed a lot of success in rally in the past,” Short said.

“My main goal is Dakar 2021, but between now and then we hope to get a lot of racing and preparation work done. I can’t wait to get it all started.”

Branch has been a privateer MX and enduro racer in his native Botswana and impressed in his Dakar debut last year, finishing thirteenth overall and top-placed rookie.

Nicknamed the ‘Kalahari Ferrari’, Branch secured his first stage win at this year’s Dakar and was inside the Top Ten on four other stages before finishing 21st overall.

In the 2019 Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, Branch was second in the Merzouga Rally and eighth in the Rallye du Maroc.

“To become a part of an official factory rally team is what I have been working hard to achieve over the last few years,” Branch enthused.

“I want to improve as a racer and believe that I have the speed to get improved results. Now I have the support of Monster Energy Yamaha, I’m excited to see what I can achieve.”

Who Branch and Short will replace in the Monster Energy Yamaha team has yet to be confirmed, but presumably Franco Caimi and Jamie McCanney will be out and Adrien van Beveren and Xavier de Soultrait will remain.

The five-round FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship was due to begin with the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on 20-26 March, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, that event has been postponed, with Round 2’s Rally Kazakhstan on 24-29 May also in doubt.