31 Jul R.I.P. TONY BRABNER
It is with heartfelt sadness that we say farewell to one of Killarney’s most colourful scrutineers, Tony Brabner, who passed away on Monday 27 July at the age of 87, from complications following back surgery.
Tony was an erudite and knowledgeable classic car enthusiast, described by his fellow scrutineers as a “walking encyclopedia of classic cars”, with a particular love of Lancias – cars as quirky as he was.
He owned a number of Lancias over the years, including a rare high performance Stratos (of which less than 500 were ever produced) which he restored himself.
Tony was a professional photographer who carried out commissions for, among other manufacturers, Lola Cars. This gave him a keen eye for detail – a quality many racers at Killarney later had cause to respect.
He was also a racer in the 1970s – he never lost his love for speed and was renowned as a hard driver well into his eighties! – and later became a scrutineer in the UK.
For many years he lived for six months of each year in Britain and six months in Cape Town, and during this time became a regular scrutineer at Killarney, both for Main Circuit and Drag Racing.
Tony always saw things in black and white – to him a thing was either right or it was wrong.
“That’s not how we did it at Donington,” was one of his favourite sayings, as was referring to a crash helmet as a ‘skid lid’, a term often misunderstood by local competitors.
He will be remembered by his fellow scrutineers for his knowledge, attention to detail and his dry sense of humour, and by competitors for his refusal to compromise on safety issues.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Zee.