Formula D Diaries - Las Vegas, NV

Rhys Millen
Looks like Rhys is loving his new Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Perhaps a little too much-he doesn't want to hurt it. Could be he's suffering from peak performance anxiety. A new relationship can do that to a guy.

With the Pikes Peak Hill Climb the following weekend, I knew we needed to play it safe at Vegas. We couldn't leave for the mountain with a damaged car, like last year. Between New Jersey and Las Vegas, the team had re-worked the setup for Pikes Peak, headed out to Colorado for a two-day test on the mountain and built our first RMR-developed Hyundai Lambda 3.8L V-6 engine, producing an additional 100 hp over the previous setup.

With a lot of focus on the following weekend and only 28 cars making the first lap of Qualifying, I took it conservative to just make the show. I'm guessing by the score I was given (21 points, the lowest in FD history), that the judges didn't like me playing it safe. Next lap, I went in harder and all was good until the last corner. A half-spin gave me a zero score and we didn't make the show. I was a little bummed at myself, but at least the car was in one piece. There are no judges on the mountain, just a stopwatch to prove the speed of you and your car, so I'm excited to do my favorite event of the year in the Genesis Coupe.

By Carter Jung

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