Suzuki Preview

Team Yoshimura Suzuki has announced New Zealander Craig Shirriffs will make his debut aboard its GSX-R600 for round five of the 2006 Australian Supersport Championship at Tasmania's Symmons Plains Raceway on 8-10 September.

Boasting a successful racing career on the other side of the Tasman, Shirriffs has vast experience riding and developing the Suzuki GSX-R600.

Called upon by Team Yoshimura Suzuki team manager, Phil Tainton, Shirriffs will assist with the on-going development of the new GSX-R600 Supersport machine.

After a successful test with Team Yoshimura Suzuki at Symmons Plains Raceway, Shirriffs is eager to make his debut with the factory Suzuki outfit in Tasmania this week.

"The package of the new Suzuki GSX-R600 is fantastic," Craig Shirriffs said.

"We tried a lot of different settings for shocks, springs and forks during the two day test, but ended up not too far from the settings we started with, which is very encouraging for the race at Symmons Plains.

"The GSX-R600 is amazingly quick and the chassis set-up is brilliant; the bike is so responsive and has fantastic straight line speed which is impressive this early in the development phase.

With the series returning to Symmons Plains for the first time in 12 years, New Zealander Shirriffs is pleased to be on a level playing field with the other competitors in terms of track knowledge and will be able to focus on developing the new Suzuki.

"I think for our first race meeting, a top ten result will be within our reach."

Working with Team Yoshimura Suzuki for the first time, Shirriffs has adapted quickly, easily fitting in with the factory Suzuki outfit.

"The team has been awesome and they've made me feel very welcome. They are the most professional team I have ever worked with and I'm looking forward to learning a lot with them as well as helping them with developing the 600."

Preparing the GSX-R600 race machine, Team Manager Phil Tainton is excited about the addition of Shirriffs to Team Yoshimura Suzuki's new Supersport program.

"Testing went very well in Symmons Plains," Team Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager, Phil Tainton said.

"Craig fits well on the 600 and was matching top speed with other more developed bikes.

"The GSX-R600 was stable, fast and tractable; it performed brilliantly.

"It's still early days in Suzuki's Supersport program and already the GSX-R600 is causing a stir around the paddock which is very encouraging."

Shirriffs will make his Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 debut in round five of the Australian Supersport Championship while Robbie Bugden pilots the GSX-R1000 in the Superbike class at Symmons Plains Raceway (TAS) on 8-10 September.

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