RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

On The Learning Channel's "Rides", hosted by actor/auto racer Jason Priestley, the show airing on Tuesday, February 3, will be focused on Rod Millen and the creation of the Lexus IS430. Titled "Millen and His Boys Build, Drive and Drift", the show will cover the development, construction and track testing of the IS430 at the Willow Springs racetrack in California.

For more information, check out http://www.rides.tv Then select "Rods"

FEBRUARY 3 - RODS
What happens when you take a typical 200 horsepower V6 motor out of a new Lexus and drop in a V8? Major horsepower. That is what racecar phenom and off-road champion Rod Millen will be doing on this installment of RIDES. Interestingly enough, Rod is also a world record holder for the infamous Pikes Peak climb. We'll follow Rod as he re-engineers the entire car; chassis, suspension, drive train the whole thing. And because this show will center on a manufacture prototype, there will be a lot of time spent testing on the racetrack. And we don't mean going around in circles; we're talking Willow Springs,
one of the most difficult rally courses in the United States. With its
hairpin turns, chiquains and long straight-aways, Willow Springs is
challenging to any driver. We will also take an in-depth look at the people and technologies that are pushing the horsepower and performance games to the limits. With Lexus as the corporate tie-in for the episode, this edition of RIDES will utilize the legendary Millen as a guide through the worlds of racing, off-road, engineering and building from the garage floor up.


Over the past 30 years Rod Millen has developed an unmistakable reputation as a leader in rally racing. Trained as a surveyor in New Zealand, Rod’s first interests of surfing, sailing and beach buggy driving soon changed into a love for car racing. "I came to enjoy sliding my car around on those dirt roads," said Millen. "Pretty soon, the surf board and roof racks came off and the wider tires and sporty suspension went on. Since then I have been hooked on racing". In 1978, after becoming the first driver to win three consecutive New Zealand Rally Championships, he moved to California to compete against the top U.S. rally drivers.
A year after moving to Southern California, Rod claimed his first North American Race and Rally championship. His success continued in the SCCA PRO Rally series, the Asia/Pacific series and then the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, winning the Division C Championship in record breaking time. In a short period of road racing in 1989, Millen earned the GTU Division victory at the IMSA 24 hours of Daytona with co-drivers Al Bacon and Bob Reed. In 1991 Rod Millen joined Toyota’s off-road racing program and dominated the Mickey Thompson Stadium Off-Road Racing series, earning 12 main event victories, 15 top qualifying times and became the only driver in the 12-year history of the series to win three consecutive Grand National Sport Truck titles (1992-94).
Millen’s most recent claim to fame is a 14,110ft. mountain of Pikes Peak or "Millen’s Mountain". He owns the overall championship and the record for the fastest driving time up the mountain, in his All-Wheel-Drive Toyota Celica Turbo up the12.42 mile, 156-turn dirt road with a time of 10:04.06 (set in 1994).
Among many other title acquisitions listed in his career highlights is his win at the Race of Champions in Tokyo in 1997. There he took the 1997 title win against world rally title holders Miki Biassion from Italy and Marku Alen from Finland.
Motivated by his success as a driver, Rod founded Rod Millen Motorsport to support his various racing endeavors. As his skill as a driver became more recognized in the international race and rally community, the capabilities of his team became more and more prominent in the racing industry. Known for its expertise in successfully meeting the challenging conditions of race and rally, Rod Millen Motorsport has become sought after to provide that same technology development, successful engineering and design support to not only race and rally teams around the world but also car manufacturers, government agencies and other companies that require specialized precision engineering.

mr who

Thanks for the heads up. I'm definitely gonna catch that

Hameed

Ditto here!! A couple of days ago I watched the episode where the focus was on the new Shelby Cobra. Good show!

I went to the link you posted and it says February 3rd and not 9th........
Did you just make a typo, Glen?

There's another episode airing on Jan 20th that also looks very interesting - they visit "310 Motoring" and "West Coast Customs" - shops that specialize in customizing cars for rich people!

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Good catch Hameed.

Corrected.

Thanks !

Da Hapa

First off, thanks for the tip. I'll definitely tune in.

My one comment is that I wonder how good the program is going to be when these "experts" don't know the difference between a straight 6 and a V6.

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Well the people producing the show may or may not be experts with cars, but whoever did the write up should be fired.

That's show business.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

werd... plus just look at some lexus techs, they could be horrible too. it's kinda sad...

flipside909

LOL hahahha. You bring up a very valid subject!

Richie

Can someone put it online when it has aired?
I would love to see it.

amy011079

Oh my gosh, I have to see this!!!!!

LexmastrDS

I can't wait to see the show

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Hey, the show has interesting articles every week.

Try watching it every Tuesday, not just on the 3rd.

Richie, if only you could play my DVD-Rs, I'd send you a copy of it.

Richie

RMMGS4, I could play them if they are not regionally coded.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

rmmgs4, make a copy for me too, you know my stupid dish network schedule.

and richie, our dvds of course have no region lock and man, you should get a region free player too!

Richie

LOL, do you think I am made of money?!