FURNER motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer finished his final season on a Moto3 250cc bike in style, claiming two Limited class titles on the weekend.
Skeer headed to Mallala for the final rounds of the South Australian title and the Cafnix club title, with little room to move.
He held a lead of nine points in the Cafnix series heading into the final round and just eight points in the SA title.
A win in the first two races meant he would need to only finish the final race to claim the titles, with the pressure on from the word go.
Up against the likes of Ducati 695cc machines in the up-to 700cc class, it would not be an easy task.
However, Skeer took it all in his stride, with wins in the first two races of the weekend and a third place in the final race to finish first overall for the weekend with the two titles in hand.
“It is pretty good to finish the year off like that,” he said.
“It is probably my second biggest achievement besides second in the national title.
“I had it down on paper as one of my goals and I achieved that, which makes me feel even better about it.”
Skeer said his main goal at the start of the season was to win the South Australian title, but consistency was always going to be the deciding factor.
“One of my goals was to get the South Australian Limited Championship and I knew I could do it, but I knew it would be hard,” he said.
“In the limited class it is up to 700cc bikes and I’m on a 250.
“Because there were only four rounds I had to try to win every round.
“If I DNF’d it could have messed the whole season up, so to be consistent was the main thing.”
Skeer remained focused throughout the season, claiming two round wins on his way to the titles.
But in that time he was forced to play catch up each round, with the bigger bikes faster off the line and down the striaghts, but his Moto3 more nimble through the corners.
That called for a level head from the young rider.
“Being on a 250 I do not get off the line too well,” he said.
“The first race last round I was held up by slower guys and the leaders had a five second gap, but I caught them by the end of the race and just managed to get second.
“Every race the same thing happened.
“I would get passed off the line and have to catch them the whole race.
“With these Limited bikes, if they get away by 10 seconds, you are not going to catch them.”
Despite such a tight margin heading into the final round, Skeer said he was not too nervous.
“I was probably more nervous at the last round because I had not raced at Mallala since the start of the year,” he said.
“I knew they would all be practising there and we did not have the chance to get there.
“After I won that weekend, I knew I could do it again.”
The weekend saw Skeer’s final race as a junior and his final race on his Moto3.
Next year he steps up to the 600cc class to chase the Australian title.
That will certainly be a real test of his ability, but he is feeling more confident now after a tough season honing his skills.
“I think my race-craft improved heaps this season,” he said.
“Racing against the bigger bikes, I had to be aggressive and get in front whenever I could.
“Then I had to stop them from coming past, because they have about 40km more speed than me.
“It was the best I could have done.
“You always want to finish on a good note.”
