HYDRATION KEY FOR
Reynolds determined not to make same mistakes, writes JAMES PHELPS
A HYDRATION expert dubbed “Dr He-Man” has been hired to shadow Dave Reynolds at Mount Panorama this year with his team hoping science can stop another Bathurst breakdown.
Still haunted by the 135th lap physical failure that cost him his second Bathurst crown, Reynolds has revealed that an internationally renowned “biological theory of ionisation” specialist had been recruited to his team to ensure he survives Sunday’s 161-lap race.
Reynolds will submit himself to a series of urine and saliva tests to ensure he can power his way to 1000km glory after adrenal failure saw him suffer Bathurst’s ultimate heartbreak.
The inventor of a hydration test used by WNBA teams, including the Seattle Storm, Newcastle-based hydration expert Phillip Rankin will be a permanent fixture in the Erebus Motorsport garage during the Bathurst weekend.
“We used him in Adelaide earlier this year and he is awesome. He will monitor everything that goes in and comes out to ensure nothing happens again,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds will undergo several urine and salvia tests to ensure he is optimally hydrated.
“We call them battery tests,’’ Reynold said.
“He takes our urine and measures all our salts, carbs and gives us a hydration rating. I am confident he will have me in perfect shape.’’
Reynolds estimated losing three litres of fluids every hour during last year’s race contributed to the severe body cramping which forced him to retire with just 26 laps to go.
“It was called adrenal dysfunction,’’ Reynolds said.
“And hydration was a big issue. My adrenal system just stopped and my body used all its energy up. That led to cramping. I was sweating and cramping, I just couldn’t continue.’’
Reynolds has also cut back on his pre-race commitments after estimating 37 hours of promotional work in the three days leading up to the race contributed to his physical exhaustion.
Reynolds said he still had nightmares about the moment he was forced to surrender a Bathurst win.
“Is there a fear of failing again?’’ he said.
“Yes. It didn’t look good on my behalf. Nobody wants to fail 900km into a 1000km race. I have thought about it all year and it is something I never want to go through again.
“But I know it was all circumstantial. It was about the lead-up. Through the whole lead-up I was completely buggered. By the time I got to the track I was stuffed and it just got worse and worse each time I got in the car.”
Reynolds will avoid drinking
coffee this week.
“Sleeping is still going to be difficult,’’ he said.
“I always have trouble on these sort of weekends. I will just have to calm myself and stay right away from stimulants like caffeine.’’
Reynolds has revealed he knocked back offers from three rival teams to stay loyal to his band of brothers.
Declaring his crew the “best in the business’’, the Bathurst champion admitted it was this rag-tag crew of mechanics, engineers, and rattle-gun men that inspired him to sign a record breaking 10-year deal with Erebus Motorsport.
“I have never been with a team I have enjoyed so much,’’ Reynolds said.
“I am a bit of an oddball and I fit here. I have never been able to fit a mould but for whatever reason I fit here.
“I walked in here and felt at home straight away. They get me and that is a big deal for someone as strange as I am.’’
Reynolds and his crew have been part of one of the remarkable V8 transformations.
Down-and-out battlers when Reynolds quit heavyweight outfit Ford Performance Racing to join Erebus four years ago in a V8 bombshell, they are now a Bathurstwinning team and a championship threat.
“This was probably the worst team in pit-lane when I joined,’’ Reynolds said.
“Their performances were not very good to be kind. To see everything grow in the last four years, I am proud to be a part of that. I was third in the championship and left to come to a team not in the top 15.’’
Among the favourites to win this week’s Bathurst 1000, starting with practice today, Reynolds credited the 22 people that work on his car for giving him his Mount Panorama chance.
“I am nothing without my team,’’ Reynolds said.
“In this sport you are only as good as the people behind you, and I am lucky to have some very good people.
“I heavily rely on the guys around me and I would like to think that they rely on me sometimes. I see myself as someone that is able to inspire a bit of confidence and I think that is what you have to do as a driver.
“We also get each other. They know what I want, and I know what they want. We also have some good times. We are always having a laugh. We try and make work addictive.
“We have assembled the best people and built a fence around them. We want them to want to stay here and we don’t want any of them poached.’’