FURNER motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer has returned from the “Top End” after another successful round of the Australian Supersport Championships on his Suzuki 600cc machine.
Skeer finished a credible sixth for Round 4 of the series at the Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin after ninth and eighth place finishes in the two races.
The result moved the rookie up to an impressive eight overall for the season.
It was a tough round for the young rider, with the mercury hitting 32 degrees, proving a real challenge to both bike set-up and physical fitness.
Skeer arrived in Darwin on Thursday morning on a 1am flight, then was on track in the afternoon for the initial practice session, leaving little time for preparation.
“I did not have any time to acclimatise, but it was not too bad,” he said.
“When you were racing it was the hardest because you had 14 laps to do and you just had to put your head down and keep pushing.”
However, Skeer took it all in his stride and chased a good set-up in qualifying that would see him through the weekend.
“We struggled a little bit with set-up Thursday and Friday,” Skeer said.
“We had a one-hour practice on Thursday, then Friday was three practice sessions.
“Saturday we were playing around with set-up.
“It was quite hot and the first qualifying session was when I first really pushed to try to get a good lap time, because it was in the morning and was cooler.
“We knew in the afternoon it would have been hotter and we would not go any faster.”
In the end Skeer qualified 11th, but soon worked his way up in the opening race for his ninth place.
He continued that on Sunday with an eighth place, fighting the conditions all the way.
“It was one of the hardest races I have ever done on the 600,” he said.
“We knew our tyres would not last quite as long because the track temperature would be high.”
“We also knew it would be greasy because the cars had raced there a couple of weeks ago.
“We struggled with the front end a little bit, which was a combination of the track, the heat, our suspension set-up and the tyre, but we got pretty much where we expected to be.”
The hot weather affected the tyres, with less grip available, which ultimately caused a couple of riders to lose grip and crash.
However, Skeer said a big focus for him was consistency, to ensure a finish and another bag of points.
“I knew if I stayed focused and stayed on the bike I would do pretty well,” he said.
“My goal was to stay consistent and stay in the top 10.
“Towards the end I was starting to catch up to the guys in front and thought I could make a pass, but I could feel with the front tyre I would not be able to put as much break pressure on coming into the corners.
“It was a lot different to other places where the tyres are a bit more consistent throughout the race.”
Skeer said yet again it showed a big difference on the 600cc bike than the 250cc Moto 3 machine he rode last year.
“The smaller bikes you can just open the throttle and they are not going to move around too much,” he said.
“These ones you have to make sure you have it on the bigger part of the tyre when you open the throttle, otherwise it can high-side you, especially at Darwin when the tyres go off.
“There is heaps more to do on the 600 than the Moto 3.”
Overall, Skeer said he was pleased with the result and was enjoying the challenge the new class had thrown up this season.
“It was our best round yet,” he said.
“We expected to be in the top 10 at this stage and we moved up one place this weekend.
“The next bloke in front of me, I know I can beat him, so hopefully we can be in seventh after next round.
“It is the most fun I have ever had.”
