Trevor Jackson
A LATE run by Dan Day has seen the Legend of the Lakes hill climb record fall in dramatic style.
In his penultimate run of the weekend Day beat his previous best time of 49.89 seconds, set back in 2017.
He equalled that time on on his seventh of the weekend, but on his second-last time up the hill the clock displayed a time of 49.88 to set a new benchmark.
However, Day went one step further and in the top 10 shootout lowered the mark even further, squeezing everything possible from his Subaru for a scintillating 49.45-second run.
It was a record Day had hoped to break but took his best effort right on the death-knock.
“Crossing the line my dash flashes up a time so I instantly know where we are at,” he said.
“You feel on the limit of grip in every corner and braking zone so you know it is going to be something special when you cross the line and you haven’t missed any gears.
“I knew the last one was good but I didn’t expect it to be a 49.45.
“I am ecstatic with that.
“I was definitely trying my hardest.”
The weekend was certainly no cake-walk for Day, who had his share of gremlins pop up.
An issue with the new paddle shifters for the gearbox saw him unable to find fifth gear as he ran up the open section of the hill past the Devil’s Punchbowl.
That was one area Day could pick up time with the new turbo and engine setup in the Subaru.
“Saturday looked a bit challenging with the gear shift issues we were having,” he said.
“All Saturday we were battling grabbing fifth gear, which cost us a lot of time on that important part of the track.
“Saturday night we looked at the data and in-car footage and decided we would lift the rev limit up out of the way and hold fourth gear for longer.
“We calculated the terminal speed would be 194 kilometres-per-hour in fourth gear, which would do the job nicely.
“We made some adjustments in the ECU and a bit taller tyres to help with the gearing and managed without fifth gear to make it all work.”
Apart from the mechanical issues, Day also faced the threat of the weather intervening.
By the time Saturday was done and dusted, Keven Mackrell held the upper hand with the fastest run.
Sunday’s weather forecast did not look promising for Day, but in the end the weather turned it on and so did Day.
“I am super happy and couldn’t have gone any better,” he said.
“It was good to have Kevin back as well because he is always there or there-abouts – I like being pushed along.
“Unfortunately he had some mechanical issues.”
Mackrell did enough early in the weekend to run second with a time of 52.06 seconds.
Each year it is suggested the limit of grip has been found.
It has taken Day five years to break his previous record, something so many people suggested could not be done.
Day said to achieve that goal meant small improvements in many areas of the track.
“Our top speed in the middle section before the bus stop, we are usually around 190kph and I think we logged 196 or 197,” he said.
“The Bosch Motorsport ABS was a big advantage because it gave me confidence to brake late into the bus stop so I could carry that speed for longer.
“We also had more power down the bottom, with the turbo coming on earlier.
“All the improvements paid off in all parts of the track.
“It is the best combination I have had the car in as an all-round hill climb car.
“It has the top end power, the speed and the low end performance for the tight stuff.”
But the question now is can Day break his own record again?
He is currently the only driver to have achieved a time below 50 seconds, with Mackrell close, but not quite there.
Day believes it is possible, but accepts the limit of grip is close.
“To be nearly into the low 49s, I am very happy with that,” he said.
“But there has to be a limit somewhere.
“There are a few people around the pits saying surely 48s are possible.
“When you get to this pointy end of times, the improvements slow down, as you look to shave off .1 of a second here and .1 there.
“We will find the limit eventually and a 48 may be possible in the right conditions, with the gear working appropriately.”
No run seems to be perfect, with Day actually struggling to find fourth gear on his record run towards the bottom of the track.
He said it would not have cost much time, but that in itself suggests a faster time can be achieved.
“It is very challenging,” Day said.
“Under 50 seconds is a short amount of time and percentage wise, to improve you are looking at micro adjustments to get it right.
“There are no areas we can pull a chunk of time out – it has to be a little bit everywhere.
“When I crossed the line on that last run I knew it was close to the limit.
“I was close to walls, just making it into corners, with everything just holding on.
“I can’t see any room for any more speed or improvement – we are probably not far off the limit of how fast we can go up that hill, but every year we will keep trying to get back to that benchmark.”
