Bathurst 1000: Hydration guru Phillip Rankin to help Dave Reynolds bury his Bathurst demons
Still haunted by the physical failure that cost him his second Bathurst crown last year, Dave Reynolds has recruited a hydration specialist to ensure he survives Sunday’s 161-lap race.
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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, beginning on Thursday, to ensure he can power his way to 1000km glory after adrenal failure saw him suffer Bathurst’s ultimate heartbreak.
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The inventor of a hydration test used by WNBA teams, including the Seattle Storm, Newcastle-based hydration expert Phillip Rankin will become a permanent fixture in the Erebus Motorsport garage.
“We have a hydration specialist coming to monitor us all,’’ Reynolds said.
“His name is Phil Rankin and we call him the ‘He-man Doctor’. 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 will undergo several urine and saliva 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.
“I have scaled all my off-track commitments right back,’’ Reynolds said.
“By the time practice starts on Thursday, I will have gotten all my media commitments out of the way.
“I will be able to focus solely on racing. We have done most of that sort of stuff over the last couple of weeks so we don’t get smashed again. I still have appearances but it won’t be anything like it was last year.’’
Reynolds admitted he still had nightmares about the moment he was forced to surrender a Bathurst win.
“Is there a fear of failing again?’’ Reynolds 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.
“I slept badly most of the week but I hardly slept at all on the Friday and Saturday night. I must have had three hours of sleep in two night which is shocking when you have a long race. You needed to be well rested and I wasn’t.
“I have a lot of stress about getting to sleep on race weekends. It really plays with my mind. I am hoping it was an isolated incident because I was able to go to the Gold Coast just two weeks later and I got through that race pretty easily.’’
Reynolds will avoid drinking coffee this week.
“Sleeping is still going to be difficult,’’ Reynolds said.
“I always have trouble on this sort of weekends. I will just have to calm myself and stay right away from stimulants like caffeine.’’
Originally published as Bathurst 1000: Hydration guru Phillip Rankin to help Dave Reynolds bury his Bathurst demons
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