David Reynolds: “Worst feeling I’ve ever had in a race car in my life”

David Reynolds was devastated after losing the lead of the 2018 Bathurst 1000 following leg cramp and blurry vision.

“I’ve had a very big lead-up, we’ve had terrible sleep, and I just haven’t looked after myself that well,” said Reynolds.

The Erebus Motorsport duo of Reynolds and Luke Yolden were strong all weekend and headed the field for the majority of the race prior to the issues that culminated in a drive-through penalty as Reynolds was unable to hold down the clutch during a pit stop and spun the rear wheels.

“I thought my screen was foggy, but then they [removed] the tear-off and it didn’t get any better, and that’s when I realised my vision was stuffed,” said Reynolds.

“The vision was diminishing, so I was in a bad state, but I’m too competitive for my own good and I just didn’t want to give up. At the end of the day, if I stayed out, I would have crashed the car, one hundred percent.”

The 33-year-old stated after the race that he had never before experienced anything like it, despite taking part in events such as Half Ironman.

“That’s what gave up; my body just gave up at the end of the day. I’ve never had that; I’ve done Half Ironman stuff, run for three or four hours straight, and never had anything like that in my life,” said Reynolds.

The duo dropped down the order after the drive-through penalty and finished 13th in the end.

“[It’s] the biggest race of the year, I had the fastest car, I’m just bitterly disappointed, just so bitter. We’ve been the best performing team all week, everyone’s put their heart and soul into it, and I failed at the end of the day,” said Reynolds.