Royale Racing RP16

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 Ford championship, where driver Ray Allen placed third behind drivers wheeling Lotuses each (Brazilian Formula Ford). 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 customer regarding information on the RP16: “In1972 the company was producing the RP3A F/F1600 and the RP14 Super Vee model. At the request of several customers it was decided to update the “dated” RP3A and fit the Super Vee body panels to create a different looking car. This prototype was produced in July 1972 and the car was basically an RP3A modified slightly to accept the Super Vee body. The model was then given the RP16 designation and put into production with a batch of cars being built from July to December. Six of these were delivered and raced during 1972, including exports to Ireland and the USA and the balance delivered early in 1973. No changes were made to the cars’ details in 1973 as they were considered to be the RP16 model rather than a 72 or 73 model” (1973 Royale RP16 Formula Ford).
The engine type was an Ivey Formula Ford 1600cc inline four cylinder engine, and is still in use among drivers of race clubs around the world. A 1972 Royale RP 16 Formula Ford is chassis #04 recently sold in 2018 for $14,1000 equipped with a Webster/Hewland Mk9 transaxle. However, in the 1970s, the selling price for a Formula Ford would have been about 14x less at roughly $1000. In terms of options, though, the RP16 did not have anything much different from the RP3. Its gearbox was the Hewland Mk 9 transaxle and the car is equipped with a multitubular spaceframe chassis, double wishbone, coil over front suspension and top link, lower reversed wishbone, trailing arms rear suspension. It had rack and pinion steering, disc brakes, and weighed just under 1000 lbs. The body was made of fiberglass and could be painted according to customer specifics. The electrical system was 12v. The cockpit was very spacious so as to accommodate tall drivers. Fully restored, these cars will see an asking price of $32,000 in 2020.
The body of the RP16 was basically that of the Super Vee RP14. This was a design that customers liked and wanted to see on an updated RP3. The body appealed to racers around the world, from Europe to South America to North America, and today there are several RP16s registered, some of which competed in historic races, and some of which are still running in competitions today.
Bob Lazier drove the Super Vee with the Royale and placed third in 1973, and the body of the RP16 by then had a universal appeal. The company, however, continued to experiment with designs and engineering, tinkering with the chassis and suspension to create a race car that could continue to compete at a high level. But Bob King was the main designer of the RP16, working on the original RP3 design by Bob Marston.
Bob King was not an experienced race car driver, and the cars Royale produced were powerful and required professional drivers, which is why King sold them rather than raced them himself. Alan Cornock was responsible for applying the behind the scenes touches that Bob King could not have handled on his own (Ward).
The RP16 falls right in line with the company’s other offerings, coming near the middle of its production run though on the beginning side of things. The model was basically an updated version of a model that already worked well, and because it worked well, it was handled well in races around the world and attracted a lot of attention for the company. The more attention it attracted, the more others became interested in working with the company to produce new ideas. Bob King by that point was out, however, and his legacy would be tied to the RP16, because it was the last car he would design himself at Royale Racing, the company he founded.
Thus, though Royale went on to develop several other models after the RP16, the RP16 would be forever linked with Bob King and the spirit of automotive toughness that other competitors sought to cultivate. The car’s consistency matched the company’s over the years and stood out as a simple, shining example of what made Royale a company that could last.
But with Rory Byrne of Ferrari Formula One design success joining Royale in the 1970s, King’s company was in good hands. Byrne designed the RP22 on through to the RP25, and then handed the reigns over to Pat Symonds who designed the RP26 on through to the RP29 before going on to head the Williams Grand Prix Engineering Technical Office. Bob Marston then returned in the 1980s to close out the remaining years of Royale Racing with his designs. Thus, Marston bookended the company’s race car designs by being there at the beginning and at the end, and it was his basic design for the RP3 that was updated for the RP16, which ended up being Bob King’s farewell gift to the racing world.
What Makes the RP16 Special
The RP16 is special in terms of having a large cockpit and a powerful inline four. It suspension and chassis helped to make it a top level contender and in the hands of a skilled driver, the RP16 could lead one to victory after victory. The RP16 was in a field of various other competitors, but it stood out because of the number of times in which drivers sped it to placing either first, second or third in competition.
Today, the RP16 is valued both as a collector’s item and as a car that is still worthy of the track. Most models are restored, though some can still be purchased for restoration purchases. Some 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.
Works Cited
1973 Royale RP16 Formula Ford. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-royale-rp16/
“About Royale Racing.” Royale FCS Competition Services. http://www.racingcarsforsale.co.uk/frameset-royale.htm
Brazilian Formula Ford. http://www.driverdb.com/standings/152-1970/cars/
Lawrence, Paul. Nowhere to Hide: The Story of Royale Racing Cars. TFM Publishing, 2001.
“Royale.” http://www.f3history.co.uk/Manufacturers/Royale/royale.htm?LMCL=nU3Mya
Royale Race Tires. “About Us.” http://www.royaleracetires.com/about-us/
Ward, Ian. “Royale Racing.” The World of Automobiles, volume 17. Pennsylvania State University, 1974.