The Impact of Royale Racing on Race Club Engineering Introduction

Royale Racing was established in 1968 by Bob King in Great Britain. The company produced single seater race cars until 1987 when the company closed its production facility. King had had some experience in working on speedway cars in New Zealand in his youth and after returning to Great Britain he opened a car lot, selling road cars. His father owned a motor showroom, which is where King learned to take his interest in cars in the first place (Ward). Operating his own lot, he acquired a used Elva on a trade-in and kept it around with the intention of racing the car—but the car caught the attention of other consumers and because he had experience in the speedway, he found that he had a skill set that was in demand in a niche market in England. Thus, he soon found himself preparing other race cars for other people interested in racing. With his newfound—or rather renewed—passion in race car preparation, he established Racing Preparations, which focused on preparing cars using Coventry Climax engines. He was not alone, though: Alan Cornock came aboard to help move the business along. However, the enthusiasm for Coventry Climax engines dropped off by the late 1960s, so King and Cornock decided to take the company one step further and move on to actual race car production, and that is how Royale Racing was born (“Royale”). This paper will describe the history of the company behind the RP16 and how that model came about and what made it special.

History of the Company

Over the course of the company’s nearly two decade long run, 735 race cars were produced (“About Royale Racing”). The first car Royale Racing produced was the Royale RP1 in 1968, a Formula Ford. This was the start of the company’s production line of F Fords and Super Vees. When King retired in 1976 for health reasons, Alan Cornock took over at the helm and refocused production on F Ford and Ford 2000 lines. Cornock would end up being involved in the production of every single one of the 731 cars produced under the Royale Racing badge. At the end of the company’s run, Royale had become one of the most prolific race car manufacturers. Whereas most race car manufacturers last only a few years due to the volatility of a niche market sport like club racing, Royale managed to last decades (Lawrence).

Across 11 classes, Royale Racing produced 48 different models, and every model was used to win at least one race, as the record books show (Royale Race Tires). The first major production line was the RP2, which was used to some success in the Brazilian Formula...

Ray Allen continued to drive Royale cars, and drove the RP4 to victories in the Formula F100 class in 1970. Royale had success in 1971 in the Super Vee and Royale Racing cars took first and second places in the race. The company’s line had success in America as well.
The RP16

In 1972, the RP16 was built. It was simply an updated RP3 with the bodywork of the RP14 and was used in the Formula Ford. Designed by Bob King on the original R3 design by Bob Marston, the RP16 saw the largest number of cars built at 60. It would not be until 1975 with the RP21 that a model would have a bigger production line. The entry level class of single seater open wheel formula racing suited the RP16 especially well.

Alan Cornock, who took over Royale Racing in the 1970s would write to a...…retain their original instruments, but most have rebuilt engines, updated safety harnesses, and some with additional body work. The overall design and shape of the RP16, however, continues to make it seem a thing of beauty to those who appreciate its line, contour, and styling.

The RP16 stands out like a bullet from the rifle of the gun—not a bullet with butterfly wings but rather a bullet with wheels that grip the road and keep the driver hurtling forward. Videos of the RP16 still running laps on the track have been uploaded to YouTube that show how fierce and fast the car still remains. It is a car that Bob King could be proud of and that drivers into the racing club world are still fond of, no matter where they are.

Conclusion

The race club world was made a little bit better with the arrival of Bob King and Alan Cornock in the late 1960s. Their work at Royale Racing helped to bring a level of consistency to the field that is rarely seen among manufacturers. With the help of Bob Marston, the original designer of the RP3 and the body shape of the Super Vee RP14, Bob King created an updated model that became the most in-demand model of Royale Racing at that point. The car was wheeled to numerous victories around the world and helped bring a level of attraction to Royale that would keep the company going for several more years. Bob King would retire after putting out the RP16, but the company would keep going. Today, it is as much a collector’s item as a car that can still be raced. It is still registered by owners today and used in competition. Its flattering design and contoured body make it one of the more attractive Formula Ford race cars to come out of the 1970s.

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