Has Rhys Millen's years of drifting paid dividends? Looking at the results sheet of the 87th running of the historic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, we say hell yes. Mr. Millen drove his RMR Hyundai Genesis Coupe to a decisive time attack 2WD division win. The Red Bull driver also set a new world record of 12:09.397 on the 156-turn mountain course, beating his own personal best by 22 seconds, coming home 1:23 ahead of the next fastest car in his division. Notorious for extreme changes in weather, the race course begins at a 9,390-foot elevation and then climbs to the summit at 14,110 feet.
"During the 12.5-mile run, I experienced slippery pavement with rain and hail at the start line, 95-degree weather in the middle and an abrasive upper two miles of crushed granite," said a jubilant Millen. "A large contributor to the huge time reduction of this year's record-breaking run was due to the tires." Millen's heavily modified Genesis Coupe used off-the-shelf 245/40ZR18 Proxes R1R tires in the front and 265/35ZR18s in the rear.