Reynolds has throughout his career appeared to be one of the drivers most affected by sweltering conditions in the Supercars cockpit, which can be 25 degrees higher than ambient.
In addition to the cooling systems and regular training programs that are common throughout the field, Reynolds has been looking outside the box for solutions.
Last year he installed a sauna at his Melbourne home in which he can undergo heat training. Now he’s revealed that he’s also trying to gain weight.
“It’s going to be 38 or 36 degrees on Saturday and it’s plus-25 for us in the car, so it’s really, really hot conditions,” he said.
“There’s things we can do, ice bath, cool suit, make sure all your cooling systems work in the car. The last couple of rounds our helmet fan has been a bit on the fritz and we’ve got new helmet fans.
“I’ve been carb-loading. Over the years I’ve noticed the bigger guys do it a lot easier, so I’ve been trying to put on weight. I find it really hard but I’m about two kilos up.”
Reynolds, though, knows there’s only so much that can be done.
“It’s going to be tough, but we all know it. It’s what we sign up for,” he said.
“In 2022 there was a really hot race and my car was 72-degrees for two hours and I got out and cried like a little school girl.”
For now, Reynolds is focused on making his Team 18 Camaro as fast as possible around the Adelaide street circuit.
The Tradie Beer Camaro was second-fastest at the end of Thursday’s opening practice session – his best lap set within the opening minutes almost holding on until the finish.
“My car rolled out of the truck really well,” he said.
“It’s Thursday so the track’s really green and the times aren’t very quick compared to last year, so there’s probably a lot more room in us and the track itself.
“That first run my car was like a jet and in my subsequent runs we made the car a little bit worse. We had a good base setup to start the weekend, I just hope we don’t engineer it backwards.”
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