FORTY minutes behind the wheel of a rally car is as exhausting as a no-holds-barred game of squash, so drivers and their navigators must maintain high levels of fitness to ensure success.
Prodrive, which masterminds the Subaru World Rally Team in both the World and Asia-Pacific championships, employs a full-time doctor to oversee the health - both mental and physical - of the drivers and the support crews.
Dr David Williams travels with the team for 240 days each year and concentrates on three main areas - fitness, nutrition and mental preparation.
He tailors specific programmes to individual drivers and their navigators, but applies the same principles as he would with a long-distance runner.
His patients eat lots of carbohydrates - noodles, rice, potatoes, grains and cereals.
When not competing in an event or checking the course, the Prodrive team spends six to eight hours a week in the gymnasium building up endurance.