Millen to Ring in 2009 with Truck Backflip

Rhys Millen seeks redemption for what was supposed to be a New Year’s celebration a year ago before a training accident derailed his plans.

The location for Rhys Millen’s much anticipated attempt to backflip an off-road truck at Red Bull: New Year. No Limits. has been confirmed. The flip will take place just before the clock strikes midnight (on the East Coast) on New Year’s Eve at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the exact location where Robbie Maddison broke the Guinness World Record for a motorcycle distance jump during the 2007 Red Bull New Year’s Eve event. Red Bull: New Year. No Limits. will be televised live on ESPN/ESPN HD immediately following the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (approx. 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT).

Millen will attempt to become the first person to complete and land a backflip in an off-road truck. Set to take place at the Rio, Millen’s flip demands the truck to travel a distance of 80 feet at a height of 50 feet. During his final practice before the 2007 Red Bull New Year’s event, Millen overshot the landing, resulting in injury, damage to his vehicle and his withdrawal from the event. The 36-year-old New Zealand native is fully recovered and more determined than ever. Millen’s motorsports credibility is unrivaled. He was the 2005 Formula Drift champion and 2008 Red Bull Drifting World Championship winner and Pikes Peak International Hill Climb world record holder, and has been the lead stunt driver in several commercials and movies, such as Dukes of Hazzard and Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Robbie Maddison will follow up his history-making motorcycle distance jump with another world-first performance.

“Having the opportunity and support to attempt the first-ever backflip in a truck is only going to be sweeter knowing that I will be returning back to the Rio, the place I planned to attempt this last year and the birth place of Red Bull: New Year. No Limits,” said Millen.

Shortly after Millen’s performance, Robbie Maddison, a 27-year-old Aussie, will jump his bike more than 120 feet high and land on the top of the 96-foot-high and 40-foot-deep replica Arc de Triomphe in front of Paris Las Vegas. Upon completing the jump, he will then drop off the Arc and freefall 50 feet to a massive landing ramp below. This follows his 322-foot-long jump last New Year’s Eve.

In addition to the ESPN telecast, the show will be simulcast live on www.ESPN360.com. A limited number of tickets will be available to witness Millen’s flip. Viewing of Maddison’s jump is free to the thousands of revelers on the world famous Las Vegas Strip.

For event information, as well as information on Maddison and Millen, visit www.redbullnewyearnolimits.com.