By Trevor Jackson
THE final round of the Australian Supersport series at The Bend ended well for Furner motorcycle racer Dallas Skeer, with a fifth-place finish for the round, which gave him fourth overall for the season.
While it was another quality season of racing, the years in and demands of the sport have taken some toll on the young rider, with Skeer announcing this week he will retire.
“To finish fourth for the championship surprised me,” he said.
“I had a crash in one race and finished out of the points in a couple from running off and losing positions.
“If I was consistent I possible could have finished top two.
“I was enjoying it on the weekend, but there were a few moments during the year where I wasn’t really enjoying it at all.
“I don’t know why that was, but something had changed.
“I had made my decision to retire, then at Tailem Bend on the weekend I was having second thoughts.
“I had a few offers to ride next year, but you can’t keep going forever.
“I have a few things I want to do, I am 21 and want to set my life up for the future.
“Maybe after I have a year off I might miss it and want to come back.”
While fifth place for the round at Tailem Bend was a good end to the season and his career, Skeer said he still struggled with motivation.
The first race was red flagged twice after accidents and he found it tough to regain his adrenaline one the green flag had again dropped, despite some decent pace early on the weekend.
“I wasn’t as quick as I was last year,” Skeer said.
“I started the weekend fairly quick, but so did everyone else.
“It was lap-record pace and I was on the edge of the top-10 group in qualifying.
“In the first race they cut it back to six laps and I just rode smart and finished seventh.
“I finished sixth in the second race which gave me fifth overall for the weekend.
“I was happy with that result for my final race meeting.”
To claim a top-four position for the season was not lost on the young rider, after competing in the category since 2018 and finishing top 10 each season.
“I am not disappointed with that,” Skeer said.
“It is the highest I have finished.
“I had the pace at a few rounds to finish higher up this season, but couldn’t quite get it together.
“I was trying to find half a second and couldn’t.
“I was frustrated, I was beating myself up and wasn’t really getting quicker.
“That is when I realised I wasn’t enjoying it as much.
“But I am happy with what I have achieved over the years.
“I think I have got the most out of racing I could and I have no regrets.
“I can’t thank my sponsors enough for sticking around and supporting me my whole career.
“Overall it has been a fun ride.”
With his bikes all-but sold, Skeer can now sit back and look at what he has achieved, both nationally and locally here at McNamara Park.
“I might not know what to do with myself now,” he said.
“I might still go to the track and help out, but I won’t have any bikes to race.
“I have always been competitive, so I might look at kart racing or motocross.
“At the moment I am just looking forward to chilling out.”
