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RMR Press Release

Back to Back Weekends Produce Back to Back Podiums for Team RMR

As 2005 Formula D champion, Rhys Millen and 2007 third place championship points winner and team mate Dai Yohihara take control of the Tires.com Triple crown standings with a first place in points for Millen and second place for Yoshihara. High powered vehicles and Ultra High performance street and track tires like the Bridgestone Potenza RE01R deliver the grip for the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Pontiac GTO both of which generate more than 500 horses giving Rhys and Dai the control to navigate to the top at incredible speeds.

Round four of the Formula Drift Championship saw the teams headed for the high desert and heat of Las Vegas. Team owner and lead driver Rhys Millen qualified third with team mate Dai Yoshihara placing a comfortable eight. Millen would advance from the round of sixteen to the top eight where a uncharacteristic crash into the wall at over 65 mph would end his day. Failure of an aftermarket rear differential would later be found to be the cause of the incident leaving the Red Bull, Bridgestone, Pontiac GXP with heavy front end and driver's side damage. With the early retirement of Millen from the event, still valuable points were gained as top drivers such as Foust and Forsberg were eliminated in the round of sixteen moving Millen up the Formula D leader board to sixth place only 11 points out of fifth.

But the weekend belonged to Dai Yoshihara, making his first appearance on the podium for 2008 Dai placed second for the weekend moving him up in the championship points standings to third, only 5 points shy of second and 13 points out of the lead.

With the dice rolled on round four, team RMR headed out to Colorado for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. With a heavily damaged Pontiac Solstice, three customer cars to attend to and a very curious Dai Yoshihara it was to be a long sleepless week for all. With ZERO practice in the Solstice for Millen all week, Rhys strapped into the Solstice GXP race day morning with one in mind - setting a new world record. "This one is dedicated to my fine team" - announced Millen. After drifting 156 turns, climbing to 14,110 feet Millen achieved his goal breaking last years record run by more than 14 seconds with a new world record time of 12.31.06

"The Solstice spent 12 hours on a frame puller followed by five days of tear down and rebuild. New radiator, intercooler, steering rack, engine, transmission, axles and differential were replaced along with front bumper, quarter panel and driver side door that were air freighted and painted in time from GM racing". "My crew gave me the car I needed on the day I needed it most"

"After the first 3 corners the Solstice GXP felt better than ever and I had the confidence to push to the summit". Team RMR claimed 2 podiums at Pikes Peak for 2008, with Rhys' 2wd Time Attack win and a third place finish in the 4wd Time Attack division belonging to customer/driver Brent Fletcher.

RMR would like to thank Pontiac, GM Racing, Red Bull and Bridgestone, a winning combination of the finest names in motorsport today. RMR now directs it's focus on round five of the formula Drift championship with the next stop in Monroe, WA - August 9th. Additional thanks to supporting sponsors, Sparco, Exedy, Rotora, K&W, Mobil One and HKS.

As 2005 Formula D champion, Rhys Millen and 2007 third place championship points winner and team mate Dai Yoshihara take control of the Tires.com Triple crown standings with a first place in points for Millen and second place for Yoshihara. High powered vehicles and Ultra High performance street and track tires like the Bridgestone Potenza RE01R deliver the grip for the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Pontiac GTO both of which generate more than 500 horses giving Rhys and Dai the control to navigate to the top at incredible speeds.

Round four of the Formula Drift Championship saw the teams headed for the high desert and heat of Las Vegas. Team owner and lead driver Rhys Millen qualified third with team mate Dai Yoshihara placing a comfortable eight. Millen would advance from the round of sixteen to the top eight where a uncharacteristic crash into the wall at over 65 mph would end his day. Failure of an aftermarket rear differential would later be found to be the cause of the incident leaving the Red Bull, Bridgestone, Pontiac GXP with heavy front end and driver's side damage. With the early retirement of Millen from the event, still valuable points were gained as top drivers such as Foust and Forsberg were eliminated in the round of sixteen moving Millen up the Formula D leader board to sixth place only 11 points out of fifth.

But the weekend belonged to Dai Yoshihara, making his first appearance on the podium for 2008 Dai placed second for the weekend moving him up in the championship points standings to third, only 5 points shy of second and 13 points out of the lead.

With the dice rolled on round four, team RMR headed out to Colorado for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. With a heavily damaged Pontiac Solstice, three customer cars to attend to and a very curious Dai Yoshihara it was to be a long sleepless week for all. With ZERO practice in the Solstice for Millen all week, Rhys strapped into the Solstice GXP race day morning with one in mind - setting a new world record. "This one is dedicated to my fine team" - announced Millen. After drifting 156 turns, climbing to 14,110 feet Millen achieved his goal breaking last years record run by more than 14 seconds with a new world record time of 12.31.06

"The Solstice spent 12 hours on a frame puller followed by five days of tear down and rebuild. New radiator, intercooler, steering rack, engine, transmission, axles and differential were replaced along with front bumper, quarter panel and driver side door that were air freighted and painted in time from GM racing". "My crew gave me the car I needed on the day I needed it most"

"After the first 3 corners the Solstice GXP felt better than ever and I had the confidence to push to the summit". Team RMR claimed 2 podiums at Pikes Peak for 2008, with Rhys' 2wd Time Attack win and a third place finish in the 4wd Time Attack division belonging to customer/driver Brent Fletcher.

RMR would like to thank Pontiac, GM Racing, Red Bull and Bridgestone, a winning combination of the finest names in motorsport today. RMR now directs it's focus on round five of the formula Drift championship with the next stop in Monroe, WA - August 9th. Additional thanks to supporting sponsors, Sparco, Axed, Rotora, K&W, Mobil One and HKS.