A NEW track with relatively unknown tyre wear did not deter Furner motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer
on the weekend, with a solid performance in Round 3 of the Australian Supersport Championship.
Although a tough track with undulating corners, off-camber corners, blind corners tight corners and fast corners, Skeer managed to put on a great race against his competitors.
Skeer took his 600cc Suzuki to a seventh place finish for the weekend at “The Bend” at Tailem Bend, after three top-10 finishes, which equated to a ninth place overall in the championship in just his first season in the category.
Just one testing run at the track before the event saw little grip and good tyre wear, but since that time cars had used the track for a race weekend, which saw more rubber laid down, but also more bumps emerge.
It all added up to an uncertain weekend for all riders and Skeer made the most of his opportunities.
Skeer’s weekend began on the Thursday with practice, before a few more runs and qualifying on Friday.
With front-end grip an issue, Skeer qualified in 12th place, with another session set down for Saturday morning.
Overnight rain made the track somewhat slick, so he settled for his starting position rather than head out again with little chance of bettering his time.
In the end it was enough to provide some good results, with fast starts seeing the young rider rocket up the ranks early, before being passed and then settling into each race.
Race 1 saw him move up from 12th to sixth on the first lap, holding on for several laps before the chasing group caught up.
A small mistake saw him drop down to eighth place at the chequered flag.
Sunday saw cooler conditions and less front-end grip, which provided a few close calls.
However, Skeer again shot up to sixth off the start in the opening race of the day, before a shunt from behind saw him run wide and lose positions.
However, he regained his momentum and crossed the line in ninth.
The final race of the weekend saw another top-10 finish, with a solid weekend of racing to move up to ninth overall.
Skeer said he was pleased with his progress in the series and the results from the weekend.
“It is the best weekend we have had yet on the 600 in the Australian championship,” he said.
“To be in the top 10 in the Australian championship in my first year is pretty good.”
Skeer said the new racing surface at Tailem Bend was a tough one to come to terms with, but one he enjoyed.
“The grip level was higher than our test there, but still nowhere near what it will be after a year of racing,” he said.
“I was having a couple of front slides towards the end and the rear tyre was starting to slide around too.
“The layout is a bit of everything- undulating corners, off-camber corners, blind corners, tight corners, fast corners.
“The track surface is really thin, so there are already bumps there from the one car meeting.
“Cars do push the track up into bumps and it can be quite unsettling on bikes.”
Despite that, Skeer said the width of the track was impressive, with fast lines providing exciting racing.
Skeer said the class itself is very competitive, with riders jostling for position in close quarters.
“At one stage I had about four riders behind me and I came in to a corner a bit hot,” he said.
“They were following me and I kicked the back out to try to get it turned in.
“That slowed me up and someone ran up the back of me and ran me wide.
“It was not a big touch, but I lost two places.
“I was on the dirty side of the track so could not get on it hard, so I lost drive and another person got me in the next corner.”
Skeer said his main plan before the season kicking off was consistency, to finish every race he could and accumulate points.
So far that plan has worked, with the rookie up in the mix against more experienced riders.
“I know I am not going to be able to win this first year, but now I know where I stand,” he said.
“There are always a couple of crashes a weekend, so if we can stay on the bike and be in the top 10 every race, I could be moving up positions.
“Our goal from the start was just to keep getting points.”
Skeer now has a break before the next round in Darwin from June 28.
However, he will contest the Victorian titles in a couple of weeks just to keep in touch and build up his time on the bike.
