Duryea Hillclimb was held August 19-20, 2023, and was the sixth event in the eight event 2023 PHA Championship series.
The unthinkable happened at this event, and PHA events will not be the same without Kih. We had a small ceremony at the Tower on Aug 27, and Kih’s son Alex was amazing, sharing stories. Thank you Alex.
Please also enjoy this video from Alex. In his words: “Introducing the “Kihurani Climb Dance” – thought I’d share a little something our Road to WRC videographer put together for the funeral this past Saturday. Enjoy my dad driving his favourite car, up hill favourite hill, to his favourite music.”
And while it’s very hard to make this post, this is part of the reality of our sport. So in that spirit…
Wait, who am I kidding. I am devastated, and so is every member of the PHA family. And I know that if it were me, I’d not want my incident to dominate everything. I also know that it’s easy to say what I’d want it were me, as I wouldn’t be dealing with the aftermath. But I seriously wouldn’t want everything to be put on hold…
So…. We are all grieving, and are trying to figure out how to move forward, and it’s going to be hard. I don’t think Kih would begrudge us celebrating the successes and achievements at the event, and so the rest of this post is going to do so.
BTW, as the holder of the reserved number list and in agreement with Rich Rock, #157 is permanently retired.
Congratulations to Ron Moreck, who not only beat the Special 2 class record by over 7 seconds, but also beat the course record by almost 3 seconds. Ron ran a 102.534 in his 2002 Norton.
Previously, the course record was held by George Bowland, who ran a 105.528 in 2008 in his BBR Shark.
Michael Hunter set the other course record in Inex Spec with a 136.200. Michael drives a 2002 Inex Legend.
Since this is the sixth event of the series, it’s starting to get close for the three year end overall awards – Lloyd Geib, Overall and Molti Miglia (aka Mileage).
The Lloyd Geib award is calculated based on position in class and on how many participants were in that class. Ten points are awarded for first place, and then 10 points are awarded for each driver you beat in the class. It’s no surprise that the top three positions are in SMR, as this is one of the largest classes this season. Eric Johnson is currently in first place with 270 points, Michele Aubele in second with 260 points and Bryan McCrae in third with 240 points.
The Overall award is calculated based on overall finishing position at each event, with 100 points awarded to first place, 99 to second, etc. Currently, less than 5 points separate the top 2 positions! Michael Robinson is in first place with 545 points, and Michael Frohman in second with 540 points. Ron Moreck is in third place with 497 points (he missed one event).
The Molti Miglia / Mileage award is awarded to the person who has driven the most miles in competition, and is calculated by multiplying the number of runs made by the length of the course. Only 2 miles separates the top 3 positions, with one tenth of a mile separating the top two. Michael Frohman (see Overall award above) is in first place for this award with 66.7 miles. Adam Weaver is in second place with 66.6 miles and Max Valerio in third with 64.7 miles.
For complete details as well as the class point standings, see the points document linked on the Current Schedule/Results page on this website. Also, in case you are unaware of it, we put up a document to explain exactly how the PHA Championship Series Points are calculated — see PHA Championship Series Awards on the Schedule/Results menu (or this link).
Good luck to everyone in the final two events of the season!
Thank you to Mike Vanino and Wayne Domkowski for permission to use their excellent photos in this post.
For more of Mike Vanino’s photos, please see his post on the PHA Facebook group (you don’t need a Facebook account to view them). Or visit Mike’s website for contact information: https://www.mikevaninophotography.com
For Wayne Domkowski’s photos, you will need a Facebook account to search for his many photos on the PHA Facebook group. You can contact him by email at bdi@blackdiamondimaging.com or text 908-528-2501. Here are a couple of examples of his work that you can view without a Facebook account:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3