Young Limestone Coast rider Dallas Skeer is looking to resume his “best ever” year on the bike when he unleashes his 600cc beast around his childhood circuit in this weekend’s 2021 OGR and Northcott Contracting Master of Mac Park.

Earlier this year Skeer had been showing plenty of speed and promise in the Australian Superbike Motorsports TV Supersport Championship against some of the best young riders in the country.

After two rounds at Winton and Wakefield Park, the Furner racer sat a solid fifth in the competitive championship and looked well placed to continue his steady rise.

However, COVID-19 restrictions were an unavoidable roadblock and Skeer has not raced since April, so he can’t wait to be back doing what he loves.

“It will be my first race since the start of April because COVID-19 has stopped everything,” he said.

“I have only been on the bike a couple of times practicing, so I think everyone is looking forward to getting back racing.”

The quiet period arrived at a bad time for Skeer, who was only just starting to regain momentum after spending almost the entirety of 2020 off the bike.

The youngster was particularly impressive at Winton where he charged through the field after recovering from an early mistake to score a career-best finish of fourth.

But despite carrying a lot of form and confidence from the opening ASBK rounds, Skeer admitted he was a touch nervous at a recent test, but believes he will be ready for this weekend’s event.

“When we were racing I was riding the best I ever had,” he said.

“I was smashing my PB’s at every track, so it has been frustrating not being able to ride a full season again.

“We have done three tests at Mac Park and I will admit I never felt more strange on a bike than in my first ride for four months.

“But now I feel really comfortable on the bike and have a lot of fun.”

Skeer believes the addition of a smart operator inside his garage has been a big factor behind his sheer pace.

“I guess we have had two full seasons on the bike and had a break in 2020, so at the start of this year we were able to put a really good team together,” he said.

“We have had a former World Superbike engineer Glen Richard working for us, who completely changed the setup of my bike which has made it easier to ride.

“It has been a combination of having a good couple of mechanics and being eager to get back to racing.”

Looking ahead to this weekend, Skeer will aim to replicate his podium finish from last year.

Treacherous conditions could not slow Skeer down as he charged towards the finish line to collect a close third behind runner-up and victory contender William Strugnell.

But with the Limestone Coast Superbike performer riding 600cc machinery, he is worried his Suzuki GSX-R600 may not have the legs to keep up with his more powerful rivals.

“It is always hard riding against the Superbikes because we are lacking 400cc and about 80 horsepower,” Skeer said.

“I feel I have the pace to finish second and could have Strugnell covered if it is dry and I pump out some 1:09 lap times.

“I obviously also want to win the Supersport races and a strong ABK rival Ty Lynch will be there.”

With the possibility of resuming his 2021 ASBK Supersport campaign starting to become slim, the Master of Mac Park looms large on Skeer’s calendar.

He said it would be a dream to complement his junior wins at his local circuit with the big one.

“The Master of Mac Park is great and I have done it almost every year of my racing life,” Skeer said.

“I won it as a junior, so I have my name up on the board and it will be great to do the same as a senior.”