By Trevor Jackson
THE Legend of the Lakes hill climb continued its rise in popularity in 2023, with Dan Day setting yet another record.
The event was once owned by Mount Gambier’s Peter Gazzard, who had claimed seven titles overall.
Day equalled that last year, but this year added to it, with his eighth straight title.
No one could touch Day this year, as he set one of his fastest time early on Saturday, which would have been good enough to claim the outright victory at the end of the weekend.
In fact, Day’s first time up the hill for the weekend stopped the clock at 49.85 seconds, enough for the weekend’s honours.
Of course Day looked to go faster and eventually achieved that goal, with his ultimate winning time a 49.86, just .4 of a second outside his outright record run achieved last year.
The event itself has continued to grow, with live streaming taking the event around the globe.
Fields were as full as ever in 2023, with Friday’s field full to the bream.
It has certainly become a must-do event for hill-climbers in Australia.
While it may seem a bit mundane, with Day so dominant for such a long time, the effort he puts into his Subaru WRX STi is phenomenal.
There is always a change to the car with the hope of setting a new course record.
For Day there is always a reason to return and he know has his eyes set on the future.
“We will definitely be back for the next two years with 10 wins in a row as our goal,” he told The Border Watch after his win in 2023.
“We will see what life looks like after that.”
