Trevor Jackson
Limestone Coast motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer faced a tough test last weekend when he contested the latest round of the Australian Supersport series at Phillip Island.
Despite having some good results recently at McNamara Park and have a good handle on his new Yamaha 600cc machinery, the Island again proved to be his nemesis.
Skeer finished just the one race of three for the round, with an accident thrown in to continued his bad luck this season.
“It seems to be the usual for this year,” Skeer said, clearly disappointed with himself.
“I didn’t know what to expect going into it.
“I had pretty good pace in the top six.
“In the first race I was battling for fifth then it started raining.
“I watched a couple of riders go down and I didn’t want to risk it, so I pulled in and it ended up getting red flagged anyway.”
Skeer said he was pleased with his pace prior to the rain and hoped for a good result in the second race.
However, it did not pan out that way.
After a good start, Skeer found himself dicing for third place with Ty Lynch, who was in second place overall in the championship.
“On the second lap I was up to third and Ty looked to be having a real go,” he said.
“I came into turn 10 and thought I would go up the inside, but I realised I wasn’t going to make and grabbed a bit too much front brake.
“I lost the front wheel and my bike took out his back wheel.
“It was a pretty slow crash, with not much damage to the bike, but I felt bad for taking him out.”
That left just the one race on Sunday to complete the round.
Skeer said he realised he had not finished a race since the opening round and looked to ride just to complete it.
In the end it was a solid result.
“I got a bad start but was back up to fifth,” Skeer said.
“My times were slow but I just wanted to get some more time on the bike.
“I ended up finishing fifth, which was good.”
Skeer now heads to Tailem Bend for the final round of the season, with the hope to finish on a high.
“I know I am good at Tailem Bend so I will try to fight for the podium,” he said.
“I have the pace to run with the boys at the front, which is good to know after having so much time off.
“I would love to get my first podium in the class, so I am looking forward to it.”
