Millen roars back to take Pikes Peak record from Dumas

Colorado Springs, August 12 - Veteran Pikes Peak International Hill Climb star Rhys Millen (Huntington Beach, CA) needed only a few minutes to erase the new course record at Pikes Peak, leading off the Time Attack division with a blistering 9:46.164 to wipe out the just attained new mark of 9:46.181 set by Romain Dumas of France in the Pikes Peak Open division.

Millen drove his 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe to the summit finish line with perhaps the best race in the history of America’s second oldest motor sports race behind the Indy 500 and added another chapter in the famed history of the Millen family at Pikes Peak.

Rhys Millen, Time Attack (Set new Pikes Peak Course Record in 9:46.164

"To finish on the same second within two-hundredths of a second of each other with both of us dealing with rain in the last sector. I pretty much gave it in and said the smart thing to do is to push for the class win, but we pushed so hard right up to sector. This is unbelievable!" exclaimed Millen.

#47 Porsche GT3R: Romain Dumas

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

The new record holder added, "I drove as hard as I could, the course was so slippery on the first three-quarters of the course, and I just pushed that little Hyundai Genesis as hard as we could. No warning lights, the engine ran flawlessly from the start and again to being slick to the finish on the rain and to beat such a world champion as the Porsche team, in Dumas. This is a victory, this is my biggest victory in the past 18 years on Pikes Peak.

"You know, we came here and I guess, the day just kind of fell into our hands, with the upset of Paul Dallenbach crashing, good friend, I wish him the best, and the upset of Durant in the dacia, those were the two that we needed to beat on race day, and unfortunately they kind of took themselves out, and gifted us the win. But, you know we could of saved up for second and let Dumas have the win, but that’s not in my nature.

"It is unbelievable right now!!"

Source: The Colorado Springs Sports Corporation