KEY POINTS:
Feilding rider Craig Shirriffs signalled his intention of being a New Zealand production superbike championship title threat this season with five wins from five starts at the annual cemetery circuit motorcycling street race meeting at Wanganui yesterday.
Despite strong competition from fellow Suzuki rider Andrew Stroud, and American Gareth Jones, Shirriffs was unbeaten in the two Formula Wanganui and three Robert Holden Memorial races.
In the first Formula Wanganui race, Shirriffs, in one of his first competitive rides on his new GSX-R1000, led home Stroud and Wanganui's Jason Hulme before leading Stroud and Gareth Jones in the second.
He then beat Jones, Stroud and Wellington's Derek McAdam in the first Robert Holden Memorial heat, Stroud, Jones and Hayden Fitzgerald in the second, and Jones, Dave Sadowski and McAdam in the final 15-lap feature race.
Shirriffs grabbed an early lead before overshooting the corner and slipping back to fourth.
Although he did not need to win the race to claim the trophy, Shirriffs produced the only sub 50-sec lap of the race to work his way back.
- NZPA
