Bob King 1938-2017
BOB KING, THE FOUNDER OF Royale Racing Cars, died shortly before Christmas aged 79 after a long illness.
King raced in the late 1950s and took a Cooper to New Zealand for the
’57 Grand Prix. But a broken camshaft in qualifying cost him the start money that would have been his fare home. He sold the car to Denny Hulme and spent 18 months in New Zealand before returning to the UK.
His fledgling Racing Preparations company later acquired the rights to Coventry Climax, but then branched out into racecar construction for 1968. Over 25 years, Royale built hundreds of cars from Formula Ford to Formula 2 and GTP sports-prototypes.
King was instrumental in supporting the young Tom Pryce and promoted young designer Rory Byrne, who in turn was succeeded by Pat Symonds.
He is survived by his wife Pamela and three children, including former singleseater racer Stuart, now a respected race engineer.