IT was a big turnaround for Furner motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer on the weekend.
Skeer struggled in the opening round of the Australian Supersport Championship at Phillip Island, with a disappointing 16th place for the round after mechanical issues on his 600cc Suzuki plagued his weekend.
However, the season moved on to Wakefield Park for round two and Skeer jumped up to 11th place overall, with an impressive seventh place finish for the weekend.
That came after seventh and eighth place finishes in the two 16-lap races, which included a personal best time of 1-minute 01.120-seconds.
Once again the weekend did run to plan, this time with Mother Nature intervening in Friday’s practice, which saw the final session cancelled.
Two qualifying sessions on Saturday saw Skeer with a time fast enough to start in the top 10 on a track renowned for close racing.
The first race saw a decent start, but a small group began to create a margin ahead.
Skeer eventually worked his way past another rider, but by then could not close the gap down.
However, he continued to create a margin between himself and the rider now behind, to finish with a comfortable seventh place.
The second race saw a similar scenario, but while applying pressure to a rider in front, it nearly came unstuck.
The rider ahead pushed too hard and high-sided his bike, which Skeer was lucky to avoid.
By then Skeer was unable to catch the leading group, but managed to simply ride to finish the race, with a comfortable eighth place.
He now sits in 11th place in the championship with 41 points, just three shy of 10th-placed John Quinn.
Skeer said he was pleased with the result after the opening round put a dampener on the start of the season.
“The first round did not go to plan at all, so it was good to have a positive weekend and a more positive vibe in shed,” he said.
“I was able to go quicker than I did last year as well, which is a goal this year for every track.
“Our main goal for the weekend was to go there and get some solid points, which we did and we moved up a few positions in the championship.
“I got PBs and everything felt good, so it was good to get that solid round and forget about the negative things.”
To finish his races in seventh and eight position was an impressive result, considering the margins across the field.
“There was only two seconds splitting the field in lap times,” Skeer said.
“There were 14 riders, so the racing was always going to be close.
“I probably could have gone for sixth in the first race if I was not held up, but that is the highest I have finished in the class.”
Skeer showed plenty of maturity throughout the weekend and will look to improve his race craft on the big Suzuki as the season continues.
“I still have things to work on, to be more aggressive, where and when to pass, especially at the tighter tracks,” he said.
“I have to get the passes to stick, to get my head around going in deep and making the corner without going wide.
“The 600 class is the most competitive and I did not expect to be the perfect racer straight away.
“I know I can improve more, so next round I will look at improving in the championship overall.”
As a whole Skeer said it was a pleasing weekend, not just for the top-10 finish, but also for his continual improvement on the bike, which he said gives him confidence heading into the next round at Tailem Bend.
“The best thing for me was I could knock out consistent low lap times,” he said.
“Last year I struggled to do that.
“I found in the first race I was within 0.7 of a second all race, riding by myself and pushing enough to do low lap times consistently and not wear myself out.
“I feel good coming into Tailem Bend.
“We have had some track time there and I reckon I can improve my times.
“My overall goal now is to keep working my way back into the championship and the best way to do that is be consistent, stay on the bike and keep finishing in good positions.”
