TOUGH conditions at Wakefield Park in New South Wales were not enough to deter Furner motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer at the Australian Supersport 600 Championships on the weekend.
After pushing too hard into a corner, a crash saw the young rider simply pick his bike up and continue on with the race, which in the end saw him gain valuable points and remain in 11th place in the season standings after the weekend was done and dusted.
Round 2 of the series presented plenty of obstacles for Skeer, who had only tested once before at the track – just two weeks ago – and had never raced there before, all in only his second round on the big 600cc Suzuki race bike.
Friday saw a tough practice session, with the top 15 riders separated by just two seconds.
Saturday’s first qualifying session saw Skeer drop a second off his practice times, but the later session in warmer weather saw a slower time, dropping him back to 14th on the grid.
To add to the drama, strong winds were blowing dust across the racing surface, making for difficult conditions.
The opening race saw a poor start, but after the second turn Skeer had moved up to ninth.
After dicing for positions in a small group, Skeer crossed the finish line in 10th position.
The second race proved a real learning curve, with Skeer again dicing for position, but after losing the front end and sliding off the track, lost his early gains.
Despite the set back he picked the 165 kilogram bike up and continued, albeit a lap down, settling for 15th place, but with a valuable six championship points for his efforts.
His 12th place overall for the weekend saw him remain in 11th after two rounds in what has been described as one of the hottest fields in the Supersport category for many years.
Skeer said he was pleased with his position in the championship at the moment, after a tough weekend of racing.
“On the 600, against people who have been doing it for years, it was not too bad on the weekend, except for the crash,” he said.
“It would have been good to stay on and finish higher up.”
As for the crash, Skeer said it caused minimal damage and he sustained no injuries.
“I am fine,” he said.
“It was quite a slow crash, a bit too much lean angle and the front tyre could not handle it.
“The bike has some damage to the fairing and case covers, but I was quite surprised how easy it came off.”
Skeer said the crash was simply his fault, as he pushed hard to pass other riders under heavy braking.
“I had been pushed down to the back of a pack by a few riders I had beaten in the race before,” he said.
“I knew I could beat them so was just trying to get in front of them.
“I pushed too hard coming into the corner, which is pretty hard braking.
“Luckily it was not a big crash and I was able to get back up and keep going.”
However, once back on track Skeer said he was concerned about any damage to the bike and with just a handful of laps remaining, took his time to clean the dirt off his tyres and see how the bike was running.
In the end the race was red flagged with two laps to go.
Skeer said he had come to terms with the bigger bike this season, with the hardest part of the series being the closeness of the competition.
“It is heaps harder than what I expected,” he said.
“Last round 19 riders were split by two seconds.
“I did not expect it to be like that.
“I have never had so many riders around me at once.
“Riding the bike is not as hard as I thought it would be, it is harder learning how to race with all these guys, when to make the passes, when not to make the passes, learning the race craft.”
Skeer said he was pleased with his championship standing at this stage of the season.
“We are pretty happy to be near the top 10,” he said.
“Our goal will be in the top 10 after the Tailem Bend round, which is the next one.
“That was our goal on the weekend and if I had stayed where I did instead of dropping the bike I would have got into the top 10.”
