How Rhys Millen prepares for the 2011 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is nearly upon us. We got to spend some time with Rhys Millen and father Rod, as the Rhys Millen Racing team gets its cars ready for Colorado, and now Red Bull has put together a video clip that shows how the RMR team is progressing.

Remember we said that the Weismann tranmission was giving Millen fits? It's gone. The Hyundai-powered PM580 is no longer a semi-automatic transmission car, with Rhys instead opting for a manual gearbox. The new transmission was a gift from Rhys' father Rod, as the unit came out of Millen Sr.'s famous hill-climbing Toyota Tacoma.

Rhys is clearly more happy with the manual transmission. The car appears ready to break through a longstanding barrier, and it seems that history might just be made this year. Click past the jump to see why.