AS the Australian Superbike Series fast approaches, Furner racer Dallas Skeer is gearing up for his third straight season.
The season kicks off with round one on February 27 to March 1, with Skeer ready for the challenge.
Skeer began as a 16 year old and has now just turned 18, with two full seasons in the Supersport 600 category on the 600cc Suzuki under his belt.
So far his venture has been successful, with a 10th place overall in his rookie season, followed by a seventh place last year.
Last season could have been even better, had it not been for an accident in the final round.
Despite that setback, Skeer pushed on in a lot of pain and finished with a credible result.
The off-season has seen plenty going on at Furner, with his two Suzukis undergoing some changes to their livery – yet to be completed – and a lot of practice, both in the Limestone Coast at McNamara Park, plus further afield at Phillip Island.
Skeer said it sets him up for a serious tilt at a top-five finish in 2020.
“I have been doing a lot of riding at Levi Day’s On Track rider training at Mac Park and we went to ASBK testing at the end of January at Phillip Island,” he said.
“We had Glen Richards there who is an ex-British champion.
“He helped set our bikes up because that was a track we were struggling with.
“I went 0.8 of a second quicker than I have ever gone around there, so come the races I can be right up the front and be competitive.”
Apart from Richards on board to help out with some bike set up, Jason Carberry joins the team at each race meeting as head mechanic.
“Jason went to two meetings last year, but is coming to all of them this year,” Skeer said.
“He is a factory-trained Suzuki mechanic and is really good with the GSXRs.
“He can pretty much pull them apart with his eyes shut.
“Glen will not come to our race meetings, but will try to get to testing at Winton.
“He said last year he could see the potential in me and he wanted to come on board and help where we are struggling.
“He knows the speed I have to ride at and push the bike to is a bit past dad’s knowledge.
“I have been trying to out-ride the bike, so we thought we would get the best of the best.
“It has all worked out pretty good.”
From the outside it may appear Skeer has made huge inroads into the competition in his first two seasons.
He went up from 250cc and Moto3 machines to the big 600cc Suzuki and has been impressive, both in the ASBK and on “home soil” at McNamara Park.
His seventh place in the 2019 Supersport series was certainly impressive, but Skeer is focused on better returns in 2020.
“We want to finish top five this year,” he said.
“We definitely want to be on the podium at least a couple of times for the races.
“I have got a fourth place, but have not been any higher than that.
“I have been a fifth a couple of times and I am pretty confident I can get a podium.
“There is still pretty much the same riders and a couple of young kids who will go pretty good.
“I’m not really sure where I will sit until we start racing.”
Skeer expects his improvement at Phillip Island to play a big role in his push for a top-five finish, with the series heading to the iconic track twice.
He said that, along with another season under his belt, would put him on the front foot as the season kicks off.
“I feel we have the base information now to put together a solid year with some good consistent performances,” he said.
“We have two really good bikes, so I feel I can be competitive.
“I have learnt a lot over the past two years and now we just have to put it all together.”
