PROPER preparation prevents poor performance - it might be a saying that gets thrown around a lot, but it is something that David Reynolds knows will be crucial to his Bathurst 1000 campaign.
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Last year at Mount Panroama Reynolds was the second fastest man in qualifying then won the top 10 shootout to begin the 1000 from pole position.
The defending champion then looked a strong chance of making it back-to-back Peter Brock Trophy wins when leading the race, but he was crippled by legs cramps caused by dehydration.
He was pulled from the car, leaving co-driver Luke Youlden to finish in 13th. Reynolds was "gutted", but it taught him how valuable preparation is for the 161-lap endurance epic.
He now knows "you have got to look at it as a whole week".
"My prep last year was just too much for I suppose that I could handle, I did too many appearances and talked to too many people and done my head in," Reynolds admitted.
"I was a bit knackered going into that weekend, I slept badly a few nights and just really didn't look after myself and obviously it took its toll in the last stint.
"It was a build up from the start of the week, I knew it was coming, knew something bad was going to happen, I just didn't know what it was."
Seven-times Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes used Reynolds' unfortunate end last year as an example when talking about the importance of preparation.
"We saw last year with Davey Reynolds cramping up towards the end of the race, your preparation, your hydration and your nutrition are very important. And it's not just during the week, but it's leading into the week," he said.
"For us, as soon as we roll into town on Tuesday it's non-stop until Sunday night and you've just got to make sure mentally and physically you're good to go."
