2:04 pm, October 12, 2023
An inquest has been opened into the death of Trade Price Cars founder Dan Kirby.
The 37-year-old father-of-two, who was a keen racing driver, died on September 19 at the age of 37, sparking tributes from across the industry.
Kirby, a former Car Dealer Used Car Awards winner, appeared on Car Dealer Live in 2020 and led Trade Price Cars’ racing team in the 2019 and 2020 BTCC seasons.
Essex Live said an inquest into his death was opened at the county coroner’s court on Tuesday (Oct 10).
It quoted area coroner Michelle Brown as saying that a documentary inquest will hopefully be held in the next few weeks. She added that police had confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances.
Documentary inquests – also known as short-form or Rule 23 inquests – are held when the events surrounding a person’s death are clear and there have been no actions of a third party to cause concern, nor do any witnesses have to be called.
The coroner records a verdict at the documentary inquest, having heard a summary of the evidence.
Car Quay’s Jamie Caple told Car Dealer last month: ‘Dan was a very talented and driven individual, motor trader, racing driver and a former multiple-time award winner at the Car Dealer Used Car Awards.
‘He was held in such high regard by those who ever had the pleasure of dealing with him, and you only need to look at the comments and tributes made to him across social media to see what he meant to so many people.’
A spokesman for Octane Finance, which Kirby co-founded, said: ‘We are deeply saddened to have lost one of our own Octane family members. The industry we love has lost a shining star.’
Adam Weller, a motorsports reporter and former Car Dealer journalist, said: ‘I had nothing but positive interactions with Dan, both at the track and in my old job at Car Dealer.
‘I was merely an industry colleague, but he made time to make conversation several times. That I’ll never get to shake his hand and catch up again is very sobering.’
