Motorsport might look like a sport where you spend most of your time sitting down, but driving a race car is far more physically demanding than it appears. Fitness plays an important role in maintaining concentration, managing fatigue and performing consistently behind the wheel. That's why Cameron Quinn and fellow Circuit Excel racer Matthew Totani have been working with personal trainer Stephen Hunter to improve their physical fitness. Unfortunately, after spending a little too much time talking smack during training sessions, Steve decided it was time to put the boys in their place. His challenge was simple: Cameron and Matt would work together as a team to complete a series of workouts, while Steve would tackle the same exercises entirely on his own. Two race car drivers against one personal trainer. With the odds stacked in our favour, we were feeling reasonably confident. After all, how hard could it really be?
Our first challenge consisted of a gruelling combination of 1,000 metres of cardio, 50 barbell deadlifts and 80 wall balls. Cameron and Matt were allowed to alternate between exercises, effectively splitting the workload, while Steve had to complete the entire challenge himself. On paper, this seemed like a fairly significant advantage. However, it quickly became apparent that our confidence might have been misplaced. While Steve maintained a consistent pace, we found ourselves increasingly exhausted, desperately trying to recover between turns. The deadlifts were challenging enough, but by the time we reached the wall balls, the reality of the workout had well and truly set in. Despite having two people sharing the workload, we simply couldn't keep up. Steve crossed the finish line first, comfortably taking the opening round and leaving both of us questioning exactly what we'd signed up for. Round One: Steve 1, Racers 0. Perhaps all that talking during our usual training sessions hadn't been such a great idea after all.
After a short opportunity to recover, it was time for the second challenge. This round introduced another exhausting combination of exercises, including ski-style movements and the dreaded devil's presses. If you've never experienced a devil's press, imagine combining a burpee with a dumbbell movement, repeatedly, while already struggling to breathe. It's about as enjoyable as it sounds. Once again, Cameron and Matt could divide the workload, while Steve had to complete everything himself. Unfortunately, our numerical advantage was doing very little to help. As the exercises continued, the gym filled with increasingly desperate breathing, questionable motivational speeches and plenty of laughter. At one point, Cameron was practically defeated by the devil's presses, while Matt was doing his best to keep the team moving. Steve, meanwhile, continued demonstrating exactly why he was the professional in the room. Despite our best efforts, he claimed another victory. Round Two: Steve 2, Racers 0. The challenge was already lost, but we still had one final opportunity to salvage a little pride.
While the challenge was largely an excuse for some friendly competition, there was a serious reason behind it. Motorsport places significant physical and mental demands on drivers, even in entry-level categories like Circuit Excel. During a race, drivers must manage continuous braking and cornering forces while maintaining precise control of the vehicle, often in a hot and uncomfortable cockpit. As fatigue builds, maintaining concentration and making consistent decisions can become increasingly difficult. Improving physical fitness helps drivers manage these demands, while good nutrition and conditioning can also contribute to better endurance and recovery throughout a race weekend. In a tightly regulated category where competitors are constantly searching for marginal gains, driver fitness is another area worth improving. Many of the fastest drivers in motorsport take their physical preparation seriously, and while we might not be competing at Formula 1 levels, the same principles still apply. Of course, discussing the importance of fitness was considerably easier than actually completing Steve's workouts.
With Steve already leading two rounds to zero, the final challenge was our last chance to prove that the racers had at least some athletic ability. Unfortunately, the third workout was no easier than the previous two. With another combination of exercises and heavy dumbbell carries, any remaining energy quickly disappeared. By this point, the competitive banter had largely been replaced by exhaustion, with both Cameron and Matt struggling to make it through the final exercises. Steve, however, continued powering ahead, eventually completing the third challenge and securing a clean sweep. The final result: Steve 3, Racers 0. Two drivers, twice the manpower, and not a single victory to show for it. To his credit, Steve had delivered an incredibly impressive performance, proving that his years of experience and conditioning were more than enough to overcome our numerical advantage. We might have been thoroughly embarrassed, but it was also a fantastic reminder of just how much room there is for improvement in our own fitness.
While the result was slightly embarrassing, the fitness challenge was an incredibly entertaining way to put our training to the test. More importantly, it highlighted the value of consistent physical preparation and just how much further we can push ourselves.
A massive thank you to Stephen Hunter for organising the challenge and continuing to help us improve our fitness for motorsport. His performance was seriously impressive, and despite all the complaining, we genuinely enjoyed the experience.
However, we're not quite ready to accept defeat.
Steve might have the advantage in the gym, but Cameron and Matt have considerably more experience behind the wheel of a race car. So, naturally, we've decided the next challenge should take place on our home turf.
The plan? Teach Steve how to drive a manual car, put him behind the wheel of a Circuit Excel race car at Mallala Motorsport Park, and see how close he can get to our target lap time.
It's one thing to beat two race car drivers in the gym. It's another thing entirely to beat them on the racetrack.
Steve won the fitness challenge. Now let's see how he handles the Excel!
