HANS SCHIRLEHans was not only my loving father but also my closest friend, we worked together in motorsport for over 15 years travelling across the globe from Australia to the USA and Europe. Always present he was a grafter and loved the racing scene.Dad’s love affair with Le-mans started in 1976 where he and his brother Chris, ran a Porsche in the IMSA category against some pretty stiff opposition from the USA with the Corvettes. This was a truly privateer attempt with 3 gentlemen drivers and only 5 crew, yet they won the class against all the odds. This is what has driven me over all these years with my own team Cirtek to achieve the un-achievable against all the odds.He first took me to Le-Mans in 1986 and I remember watching the Rothmans Porsches against the Silk Cut Jaguars and loving it. He would lift me over the fence and somehow we always managed to get into the pits without tickets!!! The annual trip to Le-mans was always something to look forward to and the planning of the trip and the rush to either Portsmouth or Dover was always eventful in our orange VW camper.Dad was old school, a proper mechanical engineer who could turn his hand to rebuild anything whether that be a Jaguar engine or a 600 hp Porsche Turbo engine, he had the ability to understand how it worked and how to fix it. His ‘special’ little tools were sacrosanct in his toolbox and god help anybody who removed them from his toolbox without first asking him.He could be argumentative and stubborn as those who have worked alongside him will testify but we just accepted him for how he was. He also liked a beer with the guys after a long day at the circuit and found many friends in motorsport swapping old tales of the good old days.After racing he had little time for other pastimes apart from the ‘Villa’ and later on he would come to enjoy clay pigeon shooting and was quite a shot, taking great pleasure in showing me how good he was at it. And trying to teach me how to shoot, without success!I have to mention his bad jokes, whenever he had a few too many he would always come out with the ‘old boy’ jokes, especially the Irish man tying his shoelace one, and would stand there do his joke and have us in fits of laughter every time.One of my proudest moments with him has to have been sitting on the grid for my first Le-mans start and him giving me a big hug wishing me well, all of that I owe to his passion for the sport. The long nights working on an engine or Peter Lloyds ‘E type’ which was in dads mind, his car, the all night drives so some circuit in Europe, he loved it all and was a huge part of his life.In the last 18 months of dad’s life he would still be one of the first in the workshop and the last one to leave, but gradually he had to slow down. I took this opportunity to spend as much time with him as possible, the memories of our trips to Thailand, Rome and London will remain with me forever and I am so glad I was able to give him something back for all he has given me.Over the last few years one very special person came into dads life, Mandie my partner. Words can’t describe how I feel about what she has done for my father, she has opened my eyes to the generosity and kindness that humans can be capable of. In the last 7 weeks of dad’s life, he moved to Mandie’s house and although a full time Macmillan nurse herself, she did all she could and more to ensure his last few weeks were the best possible and I know dad loved her very much.A quiet unassuming man with a great character my father will remain in my thoughts for all eternity, a real star….
Ever loving son, Rob...
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