Ian King

9 Time European Top Fuel Bike Champion
European and British Record Holder

Ian King is a record breaking multiple and current Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) European Champion.
Ian has won a total of nine FIM European Championships with an unprecedented four back - to - back titles, two ACU British Championships, one MCUI Irish, has broken various official European and UK records and currently holds a number of track records across Europe. He is the only British rider to have run a standing start quarter mile in five seconds and is one of only eight members across the World in the prestigious MTC Engineering Top Fuel 5 Second Club.

He built his first custom motorcycle at the age of 13 and was originally a renowned and multi award winning constructor of custom road bikes. He was introduced to dragracing whilst on a day trip with the Boy Scouts to Santa Pod, UK.

Following further trips to the UK track from the age of 17 on his road bikes to race his friends at `Run What You Brung’ weekends Ian began his race career in the SuperBike conceived Ultimate Streetbike series in the 1980’s on his own custom turbocharged road legal specials.

In 1990 he won the prestigious Dolphin Trophy at the world’s oldest running motorsport race, the Brighton Speed Trials as the quickest motorcycle over the standing start half mile seafront course.

In 1994 on a variety of borrowed street based turbocharged machines Ian won the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland (MCUI) Dragbike Championship despite competition in the form of full race machines with slick tyres and wheeliebars.

From the street classes he progressed through to the full competition Funnybike class in the UK’s Auto Cycle Union (ACU) competition on a self built turbo Methanol Suzuki before acquiring his first nitro project, a 2700cc V8 Nitro injected Puma Top Fuel Bike in 1997. However, just before the unique project was completed Ian received an offer he could not refuse for the unfinished machine from entrepreneur Ron Holland and used the funds to acquire the `Quarter Scorcher 5’ Puma from Phil and Frank Brachtvogel in 1999.

In 2001 he won an unprecedented four Top Fuel Bike Championships in the same year, the Avon Park Super Series, the Santa Pod Racers Club, the ACU UK and the FIM European Championship, becoming the only rider to have won both UK and European Championships in the same year, a feat he repeated again in 2012.

In 2006 Ian became the first racer on a Nitromethane powered dragbike to make a run in the Middle East at the Bahrain F1 circuit.

In 2010 and after many updates and improvements to the bike and control systems to dramatically improve its performance over a decade into a state of the art machine, King sold his multi-championship winning machine and conceived an all new world leading bike under the auspices of his company Puma Engineering and in conjunction with Gulf Oil International.

In December 2011 Ian became the first racer on a Nitromethane powered dragbike to make a run in India at an event in Mumbai arranged by Gulf Oil India and covered by a wide variety of TV stations and Press companies across the world.

In 2012 the Gulf Oil Dragracing Top Fuel Bike team won the prestigious FIM European Championship and subsequently won it in each of the succeeding four years to date.

In June 2013 Ian made history as the first British rider in the world to run a 5 second standing start quarter mile time and became only the sixth ever rider in the world to achieve this feat.

In July the Gulf Oil Dragracing team were personally invited by Lord March to his superlative `Goodwood Festival of Speed’ event in front of record crowds of around 150, 000 each of the three days where it drew large numbers of amazed visitors to its pit area, for warm ups on nitromethane and whilst on its way to the holding area prior to the demonstration runs `Up the Hill’. It culminated in being honoured with the Goodwood Choice Award, selected by a group of judges including Lord and Lady March as the most spectacular vehicle of the event, with legendary F1 and motorsport commentator Murray Walker describing Ian as the `hero of the moment’ and stating `I take my hat off to him’. Subsequently the team have been invited back annually to participate in this unique event.

In March 2014 Ian ran in the opening round of the USA Championship, winning the event and in the final recorded a time of 5. 878 seconds to become the 8th and final member of the prestigious MTC Top Fuel 5 Second Club.

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In February 2015 Ian participated in the GQ India Magazine Gentleman’s Ride for India’s children in Goa on a custom Royal Enfield, proceeds of which were donated to Magic Bus India.

Ian has been the subject of a great number of magazine and newspaper articles, globally syndicated television documentaries as well as being employed as an expert consultant on a number of television programmes, the most recent being an episode of `Speed’ featuring Road Racer Guy Martin who was instructed by Ian in the art of riding a Dragbike and where he supplied and gave guidance in the use of a parachute system for Guy’s record breaking down hill toboggan.

Ian’s current machine is the most technologically advanced machine of its type in the world: -

• Purpose built Puma engine, with aluminium cases and billet steel crankshaft
• 1584cc inline 4 cylinder
• Output of 1500 Horsepower depending on tune
• 12V DOHC billet aluminium cylinder head with aluminium bronze hemispheres
• Supercharged, over 430 litres of air and fuel into the engine per second
• Fuel injected, over 11 gallons of the explosive fuel Nitromethane per minute
• 8 inch three plate multistage clutch
• Fuel injection / clutch management by electronic, hydraulic & pneumatic control systems
• 14 inch wide rear slick tyre
• Puma Engineering Chrome Molybdenum chassis, 102 inch wheelbase with aluminium bodywork
• Braking by two 4 piston callipers at front, 6 piston caliper at rear and parachute assisted
• Onboard multichannel datalogging, analysis and unique torque measurement system
• 0 – 60 mph (97 km /h) in 0. 7 seconds
• 0 – 100 mph (161 km /h) in 1. 1 seconds
• 0 – 250 mph (400 km /h) under 5. 9 seconds
• Uses exclusively Gulf Oil Lubricants and Service Aids

It will out accelerate most vehicles from a standing start including all Formula One cars and even Thrust SSC and F15 Jet Fighter planes and is approximately 50% more powerful than a Formula One Car.

Ian is a qualified FIM International Technical Steward and serves on the Road Race committee of the ACU (British) motorcycle sanctioning body.

Ian is Business Development Manager for Motorcycles at Suzuki, the iconic motorcycle manufacturer and one of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers.

Ian is also owner of the world renowned Top Fuel Motorcycle specialist, Puma Engineering. The company offers the complete range of parts to construct all combinations of nitromethane fuelled dragbikes; - supercharged and normally aspirated, single cylinder through parallel and V twin combinations to inline 4 cylinders. Commissions from customers across the globe already include state of the art Puma CrMo chassis, billet V twin engines and a number of 4 cylinder engine combinations through to complete turnkey machines. Recent developments have included Mark 2 billet Puma 3V cylinder heads, gear driven camshaft engines, innovative barrel valves developed specifically for Top Fuel Bike applications, and state of the art Carbon Fibre injector hat and precision screw supercharger combinations.

As well as offering its heavy duty Pro1 cases as replacements for the Suzuki GS /GSX engines, Puma has been developing engines and turnkey concepts for the so called `New Age’ Funnybikes to overcome the engine and gearbox problems associated with running a mid 6 second Funnybike using OEM design engine cases. Powered by inline 4 engines utilising normally aspirated nitromethane injected, supercharged / turbocharged petrol or alcohol and nitrous oxide injected combinations on a pseudo Top Fuel Bike transmission layout, these combinations permit engine setups in excess of 1000HP to be utilised if desired that could not be reliably achieved with the traditional Funnybike combinations. Available for all OEM motorcycle cylinder head stud spacing’s, crankshafts up to 95mm stroke are offered resulting in capacities of up to 2500cc.

To date, well over 100 Puma engines have been built for Top Fuel and Funnybike applications. Puma powered motorcycles have broken numerous US, European, Australian and World records over the years, and have propelled many riders to championship titles, many more than any other engine in Top Fuel Dragbike history. With power outputs of between over 1000 and 1500 HP / PS and under 1600cc, Puma engined bikes are used in the current US, European and British Championship winning bikes, and hold the accolade of propelling Korry Hogan to the fastest (250. 97 mph) run in history on a mechanically driven motorcycle on a quarter mile from a standing start.

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For more information on the team go to www. gulfoildragracing.com
Twitter: @kingracing
Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/ian. king. 73113
YouTube: https://www. youtube.com/user /kingracingpuma /videos
For more information on Puma Engineering go to www. pumaengineering.com
For more information on Gulf Oil go to www. gulfoilltd.com
For more information on Suzuki GB go to www. suzuki. co. uk
To read about the event in Mumbai in 2011 go to http://www. kingracing.com/pdf /BrutalityInMotion. pdf
To experience Ian on a 5 second standing start drag race click here: https://youtu. be /5WAKvswf3Fs
To see Ian tutor Guy Martin click here: https://youtu. be /s5-PcezSlAI
To see Ian in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at around 3. 14. 30 & 7. 41. 30 click here: https://youtu. be /977rErGjGUc