Rhys Millen breaks own production car record, fights through adverse final sections at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Rhys Millen has driven enough Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climbs to know the turns and curves of the “Race to the Clouds.”
He’s also driven it enough to know what it takes to set records. Millen broke his own production car record Sunday in a BMW M8 with a time of 10:12.024. It beat out his previous mark set in 2018 of 10:18.488. His time finished 18th out of 58 finishers.
In his 27 attempts, he’s also captured a pair of King of the Mountain titles.
With all the knowledge that comes with 27 attempts and a pair of wins on the mountain, every race day is still different. The first two sections of the race featured warm pavement and grip, while the final two sections had a layer of dust and less traction. Millen doesn’t drive more aggressively to set a record, but he knows what the splits need to be.
“Nothing really changes in the drive style on race day because you’ve done all your homework prior to coming here,” Millen said. “On the day, it’s about adapting to the races and each of the four today drove different than in qualifying. You start to figure things out after the sharp corners — we gave up 11 or 12 seconds off of our target time, but we knew we were still on pace for the record.”
Millen arrived and began preparing for the race weeks ago.
The biggest issue before preparation could even start was settling on a car. He drives a new one each year, and was picking between BMW models like the M2, M3 and M8.
The key to his selection was engine-to-weight ratio, and a preference for a four-wheel drive option to better climb the hill. Millen’s selection was the BMW Competition M8 which stands as the company’s fastest recorded production car despite its race day weight of over 4,000 pounds. Several of his competitors brought vehicles that were sub-2,000 pounds.
“The weight of it can be like towing a trailer, but the four-wheel drive and engine in that thing were perfect for the mountain,” Millen said. “We knew those things would be huge in the mountain, even with the weight. It’s also a grand touring coupe which is made for luxury. The balance in the M8 was the pick and it achieved the goal.”
Exhibition division driver Rhys Millen drives a 2023 BMW M8 through the final hairpin during The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday near the summit of Pikes Peak.