Mitch Shirra

Mitch Shirra
Personal information
Nationality	New Zealand
Date of birth	27 September 1959 (1959-09-27) (age 52)
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Current club information
Career status	Retired
Career history
Coventry Bees Coatbridge Tigers Reading Racers Swindon Robins Ipswich Witches	1975-1982 1975 1983-1986, 1988-1989, 1991 1987, 1992 1993
Individual honours
Brandonapolis New Zealand Champion Overseas final	1980 1982, 1983, 1984 1987
Team honours
World Team Cup British League Champion British League Pairs Champion	1979 1978, 1979 1978

Mitchell Owen (Mitch) Shirra (born 27 September 1958 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who rode with the Coventry Bees, Reading Racers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches in the British League.

Career summary

Shirra began riding at the Kembla Grange Speedway in New South Wales in 1973 at the age of 14, though he would consider the Liverpool Speedway in Sydney as his home track.^[1] In 1975 he joined the Coventry Bees and was loaned out to the Coatbridge Tigers for a year. From 1976-1982 he rode for Coventry 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.^[2] He returned to race for Reading in 1991, Swindon in 1992, and the Ipswich Witches in 1993.

He won the British League Pairs Championship in 1978 with Ole Olsen.^[3] In 1979 he was a member of the New Zealand team with Larry Ross, Bruce Cribb, Roger Abel and Ivan Mauger which won the World Team Cup. He won Brandonapolis in 1980 and the Overseas Final at Bradford in 1987. In 1984 he finished 3rd in the World Pairs Championship with Ivan Mauger. In 1992 he finished 2nd in the World Longtrack Championship and was only 1 point away from victory. Mitch has also won 4 New Zealand championship titles during his time on the track.

The love for anything to raise the pulse rate has also led Mitch down many other avenues throughout his life. With the help of a very good American friend John Cook 'Cooky' Mitch rode to victory in the 1988 European Jet Ski championship winning in two classes. The same year he competed in a televised competition called 'Run The Gauntlet' hosted by Martin Shaw, His team finished second.

Mitch has always been an innovator within his life pushing to the limit. Some might say that was due to his father and inventor Thomas Shirra who himself pushed on with life! Mitch won the Morgan mile title held in his home state of New South Wales on a hybrid fuel injected speedway bike in 1996.

Mitch now resides in country New South Wales, Australia where he is enjoying 'the quiet life'. He has one son Jenz Mitchell Shirra (Born in England 11 August 1981)

World final appearances

• 1983 - Norden, Motodrom Halbemond - 11th - 7pts
• 1984 - Göteborg, Ullevi - 5th - 10pts
• 1986 - Chorzów, Silesian Stadium - 16th - 1pt
• 1987 - Amsterdam, Olympic Stadium - 9th - 12pts
• 1989 - Munich, Olympic Stadium - 6th - 10pts
• 1991 - Göteborg, Ullevi - 13th - 4pts
• 1992 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium - 13th - 6pts^[4]

World Longtrack Championship appearances

• 1991 -  CZE Mariánské Lázně - 5th
• 1992 -  GER Pfarrkirchen - 2nd
• 1993 -  GER Mühldorf - 8th

References

1. ^ The Sydney Morning Herald. - 7 December 1975
2. ^ "No regret" interview with Steve Magro in Backtrack, issue 22 (Sept./Oct. 2007)
3. ^ Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). 1986 Speedway Yearbook. ISBN 0-948882-00-X
4. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

Persondata
Name	Shirra, Mitchell Owen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 September 1959
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death
Place of death