David Reynolds battled cramps on route to Sunday top 10 finish in Perth
Reynolds turned around Saturday struggles, made first 2026 Shootout on Sunday
Team 18 jumped DJR into fifth in teams' standings
"It's exactly what happened in 2018..."
That year's Bathurst 1000 is an event that still haunts David Reynolds to this day, cramping and fatigue denying him back-to-back wins with Erebus Motorsport and Luke Youlden.
The stakes might not have been quite the same on Sunday in Perth, however when cramping set in the final laps of the 200km finale, his mind went straight back to that fateful October day.
Reynolds was in ninth, and fending off Thomas Randle when he felt his physical condition worsen, however he managed to hold on to claim his seventh top 10 finish of the season.
The eight-time Supercars race winner admitted that even his pre-race preparation drew parallels to his 2018 Bathurst, admitting that a poor-handling car and a poor night's sleep may have also contributed.
"About six laps to go I was racing hard with Tom Randle, and my foot went to sleep," revealed Reynolds on the Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast.
"My calf was cramping, so I started to drive down the straight pushing my knee down, to give my calf a rest. It was ok on the brakes, but any time I went full throttle the extra flexion was painful.
"It's just a random thing. When your car's not working well you stress out more, you use more energy. I probably need to sleep better, I didn't sleep that well last night.
"It's exactly what happened in 2018. It was a terrible thought."
Regardless, a top 10 finish was by far the highlight of the weekend for Reynolds, who also recorded finishes of 19th and 15th. Reynolds also featured in Sunday's Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout, his first for the season.
Teammate Anton De Pasquale, meanwhile, was the unsung hero of the weekend, claiming two podium finishes to close to within 55 points of fourth-placed Brodie Kostecki, and 30 points of Kai Allen in fifth.
Team 18 also jumped back ahead of Dick Johnson Racing in the teams' championship, and will be the fifth team in pit lane at the upcoming Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440.
"We took a bit of a swing on Davey's car overnight, and he liked it straight away. To qualify him inside the 10 is probably the first objective," said Team Principal Adrian Burgess post-race.
"The boys are doing a great job in the factory, there's a lot of time that goes into the strategy, a lot of time into the set-ups, we're starting to execute in the pit lane which we weren't always doing, so that's obviously helping.
"But small steps, you've just to keep building and keep progressing. Everyone else in front of you is working just as hard as you are, so you've got to keep putting in."
Reynolds is 15th in the championship heading into the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 from August 21-23, where Team 18 will expand to three cars for wildcard debutant Bayley Hall.
