January 2010
The desire to win in today's modern generation of rally driver means they spend just as much time ensuring they're in the best condition, as they do their cars. Regular visits to the gym every week and carefully monitoring of their diet is all part of the quest for victory.
Diet is so important infact, that Stevie Brown has a professional Dietician, Steven Cameron, on hand at every event. We caught up with Steven before the 2010 season starts.
When you're not working with the Stevie Brown Motorsport Team, do you attend any other rallying events?
I have been to a number of different events such as the Carlow stages, the WRC stages in
Are there any motorsport events that you attend regularly?
Yes, I have been to the International motorsport show 3 times, The Tour of Mull 4 times and the Jim Clark International rally time 5 times. I still remember seeing Barry Johnston's jump in 2007; your 10 second YouTube clips just don't do it justice! I also watch and sometimes help a few of my friends who are involved in stock car racing.
The service team often work long hours with little opportunity for rest. How do you ensure fatigue does not become an issue?
I think a number of people will have been in the situation where they think, 'have the bonnet pins been shut?' or 'Have the wheels been torqued?' or felt the rumble strips of the motorway whilst driving on long journeys home from events. These situations can arise from fatigue or poor preparation.
Fatigue itself comes in two main forms, which are physical and mental. Physical fatigue causes muscle weakness reducing the ability to carry out physical tasks such as removing, repairing or lifting objects. While mental fatigue can cause problems with your level of concentration, or ability to cope with stress, which in turn may affect your ability to carry out allocated tasks.
Preparation before the event is therefore important for each team member to reduce fatigue.
Whether it be:-
- Introducing healthier options into your diet.
- Increasing your physical activity level to improve strength or stamina.
- Familiarising yourself with the tasks that you have been allocated.
- Becoming aware of the layout of where everything is stored in the service barge
- Being well rested before the event.
- Not having that extra 2 or 3 drinks down the pub the night before.
With the inside of the rally car often reaching temperatures in the high 30's, de-hydration can often be a problem. How do you ensure the crew maintain fully hydrated?
Dehydration may occur if the crew member does not replace the fluids lost through sweat which is produced by the body to aid its natural cooling process. Sweat itself is made up from almost 99% water and 1% salt. Dehydration may lead to physical and mental fatigue.
A 2% weight loss through water has been shown to noticeably reduce a person's concentration and physical performance. Dehydration may therefore cause a navigator to lose their place in the notes or cause the driver to miss that ever so important call. Which may cause an over shoot at a junction or in the worse case scenario a trip into a ditch or surrounding scenery, losing the crew time, or worst of all ending their rally.
Drinking small volumes (sips) of water before, during and after sporting events has been shown to reduce the risk of dehydration. However, during a sporting event itself the use of isotonic sport drinks has been shown to be more effective than just water. These drinks, in addition to water contain between 6-8% carbohydrates (sugars), and additional additives to replace vitamins and minerals that may be lost in sweat. Isotonic drinks are absorbed at a similar rate to water, and should not be mistaken with Hypotonic sport drinks that are best used during sever dehydration.
It is best not to experiment with these drinks on the event itself. So instead of wasting a lot of money buying crates of drinks that may never be drunk. Try one or two bottles of different varieties and flavours the next time you exercise to find a product you like and would enjoy drinking whilst competing.
One way to check if you are at risk of becoming dehydrated is by looking at the colour of your pee! It should be a pale, light straw colour and not dark.
Often the crew's bodies are experiencing extreme forces with braking, accelerating and going over jumps and bumps. Does this affect the digestive system?
I'm not 100% sure on this question, but I am sure that some driver's styles may cause a side effect on some co-drivers digestive systems! As stress or anxiety has been shown to effect gastric emptying, this is when your stomach contents are passed into your intestines. In some individuals this may cause them to feel nauseous, vomit or have diarrhoea. If this occurs, it is best to have small but frequent meals and drink sips of fluids to maintain energy and fluid balance. It is best to attempt to do this, than have nothing at all.
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