Shirra began riding at the Kembla Grange Speedway in New South Wales in 1973 at the age of 14 (he lied about his age in order to race as riders had to be at least 16 years old), although he would consider the Liverpool Speedway in Sydney as his home track.[3] Early in his career this actually led him to ride as an Australian rider, though by the late 1970s when his true age and nationality was revealed he would be considered a New Zealand rider.[citation needed]
In 1975, Shirra joined the Coventry Bees[4] and was loaned out to the Coatbridge Tigers for a year. From 1976 to 1982, he rode for Coventry[5] then transferred to the Reading Racers. In 1987, he was loaned out to the Swindon Robins but returned to Reading in 1988–1989. In 1990 he was banned from the British League for a season for bringing the sport into disrepute after failing two drug tests. Controversy about the decision soon followed and the ban was lifted by the speedway control board. After three months, Shirra returned to racing for the remainder of the 1990 season.[6] He returned to race for Reading in 1991, Swindon in 1992, the Ipswich Witches in 1993 and 1994 he was awarded best club rider that season.[citation needed]
Shirra competed in his first individual World Final in 1983 at the Motodrom Halbemond in Norden, West Germany where he finished in 11th place having scored 7 points. He was again a World Finalist in 1984 at the Ullevi Stadium in Göteborg, Sweden where he scored 10 points for a career best 5th place. He would go on to ride in another five World Finals during his career (1986, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1992). He was 6th at the Munich Olympic Stadium in 1989.
In 1984, Shirra finished 3rd in the World Pairs Championship with Ivan Mauger in Lonigo, Italy. Devastation soon followed his success towards the end of 1984. During an open meeting at Western Springs in Auckland, Shirra sustained a shattered pelvis and femur along with internal injuries.[citation needed] It was feared he would not return to racing but after a lengthy recovery he did return, and continued to have much success and countless podium finishes at a British/European and international level. One of his biggest wins would come when he won the Overseas Final at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford in 1987. In 1988, he controversially was seeded through to the Commonwealth final by the New Zealand ACU, despite failing to qualify from the New Zealand round of the world championship.[14]
In 1990, Shirra was named as the team manager for the World All-Stars team who took on England in a 3 match Sidecar speedway series ran in England. The World team consisted mostly of those from his native New Zealand as well as Australia.[15]
Shirra is also a three time New Zealand Champion, having won the title in 1982 (Western Springs), 1983 (Ruapuna Speedway), and 1984 (Penlee Speedway). He finished runner-up in the NZ Championship in 1979, 1981 and 1987, while finishing third in 1986.
* Australian rider and meeting reserve Phil Herne rode one race as Larry Ross had bike trouble ** Australian rider Alan Rivett replaced the injured David Bargh
Peter Spencer Collins is an English former speedway rider who spent his whole career (1971–1986) with the Belle Vue Aces, the team he supported as a child.
Christopher John Morton, MBE is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 115 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team, making him the third most capped England & British rider of all-time.
Erik Gundersen is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time, having won the Speedway World Champion on three occasions, the Long Track World Championship twice and the World Pairs Championship five times. He is also a seven-time World Team Cup winner with Denmark, and earned 91 international caps for the country.
Bengt Gustaf Jansson is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. He earned 107 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.
Ivan Gerald Mauger was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden. In 2010, Mauger was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
Barry Briggs is a New Zealand former speedway rider.
Ole Bjarne Olsen is a Danish former professional motorcycle speedway rider.
Eric Henry Boocock is a former motorcycle speedway rider who appeared in three Speedway World Championship finals. He was the joint manager of the Great Britain national speedway team with Colin Pratt and earned 53 international caps for the England national speedway team and 37 caps for Great Britain.
Per Christer Jonsson is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1990, and finished runner-up in 1992. He earned 65 international caps for the Sweden national speedway team and also represented Sweden in the World Team Cup on seven occasions between 1985 and 1993.
Larry Ross is a former motorcycle speedway rider from New Zealand. He earned 26 caps for the New Zealand national speedway team.
Bruce Brian Hoani Cribb is a former speedway rider from New Zealand, who rode in the United Kingdom for several teams in a career spanning over twenty years. He earned 22 international caps for the New Zealand national speedway team and 3 caps for Great Britain national speedway team.
Henry Martin Ashby is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from England, who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1968. He also finished third in the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1969, with Nigel Boocock and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the World Team Cups in 1968 and 1975.
Jiří Štancl is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Czechoslovakia. He earned 39 international caps for the Czechoslovakia national speedway team.
Bernt Eveart Persson was a Swedish international motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 102 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.
James Sydney Airey is an Australian former international motorcycle speedway rider, who rode in the 1971 World Final in Göteborg, Sweden and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup. He earned 36 international caps for the Australia national speedway team and 17 caps for Great Britain.
Vladimir Dmitrievich Gordeev is a former motorcycle speedway rider and was a member of the Soviet Union national speedway team.
Dag Lövaas is a former international motorcycle speedway rider, who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship in 1974. He earned 9 caps for the Norway national speedway team.
David Andrew Bargh is a former speedway rider from New Zealand. He earned 8 caps for the New Zealand national speedway team.
Mark Andrew Thorpe is a former speedway rider from New Zealand. He earned 2 caps for the New Zealand national speedway team.
Roger John Abel is a former international speedway rider from New Zealand. He earned one cap for the New Zealand national speedway team.
↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN0-7524-2402-5
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