Photo: Roy Meuronen Photography
Up-and-coming rally driver Ryley King will take another important step in his motorsport career when he contests the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay in Batemans Bay on Saturday, 25 July.
Driving his turbocharged Subaru Forester with experienced co-driver Matt James alongside him, King will make his first appearance in a round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship.
The event will also provide King with his first opportunity to undertake reconnaissance before a rally. While the crew has entered the pacenote section, they will take a cautious approach and compete using a fast roadbook rather than relying fully on pacenotes.
“Batemans Bay was a bit of a last-minute decision for us, and I haven’t competed using pacenotes before,” King said. “We will still do the reconnaissance so I can get a look at the roads and start learning how that side of rallying works, but during the event we will stick with a fast roadbook and keep it closer to what I already know.
“I would rather practise pacenotes at a rallysprint or a smaller event before depending on them in a full state championship rally.”
Despite his young age, King has already gained considerable experience across several levels of club motorsport. He began competing at the age of 12 in motorkhanas, khanacross events and rallysprints, initially driving a Suzuki Swift.
The Subaru Forester was purchased for his 14th birthday as the next step in his development, giving him the opportunity to gain experience in a turbocharged four-wheel-drive car. After completing several khanacross events and rallysprints, the Forester was taken off the road and gradually developed into a dedicated rally car. During the build, King continued gaining valuable seat time in a turbocharged, SR20-powered Datsun 200B.
“The Datsun was a lot of fun to drive and gave me the chance to keep competing while we were building the Forester,” King continued. “The Subaru has been developed slowly over time, and both the car and I have continued to improve together.”
Rallying runs strongly through the King family, with both Ryley’s father and grandfather having enjoyed successful competition careers of their own. Their experience has played a major role in King’s development, from building and preparing the Forester to helping him understand the demands of the sport.
“Everything is built and prepared in-house with the help of my dad and my pop,” King said. “Both of them are experienced and successful rally drivers in their own right, so I have been very fortunate to grow up around the sport and learn from people who understand what it takes.
“They have played a huge part in helping me develop as a driver and giving me the opportunity to keep progressing.”
King contested his first AMSAG rallysprint in the Forester at the age of 16, just two days after receiving his learner licence.
Since then, both driver and car have continued to progress, with a new engine built at the beginning of the current season.
“The car has run faultlessly since we fitted the new engine,” King continued. “We are continuing to build and develop it as we go, but the biggest priority for me at the moment is getting as much seat time as possible.”
King’s recent results suggest that steady development is beginning to pay off. After finishing second in the Clubman competition at Narooma last year, he has recorded two strong outright finishes this season, placing fifth at both Bago and Bega. The fifth-place finish at Bega is his best outright rally result to date and provides valuable momentum heading into the Lazer Rally of the Bay.
“Our goal at Batemans Bay is to finish inside the top 10 and continue the momentum from Bega,” King said. “This will be my first state championship round, so the main focus is to finish, learn as much as possible and keep building experience.”
Although King will be stepping into stronger competition at Batemans Bay, his pace in recent events suggests he could quickly become part of the battle in the middle of the field. With a reliable car, growing confidence and an experienced co-driver beside him, the young driver will be aiming to make a strong impression without getting drawn into taking unnecessary risks.
Matt James will return to the co-driver’s seat after recently enjoying a successful weekend competing in New Zealand.
“I’m very fortunate to have Matt sitting alongside me,” King continued. “He has a huge amount of experience, and having someone like that in the car is a massive help, particularly as I step into my first state round and begin learning about reconnaissance and pacenotes.”
The family-run team has also received valuable backing from BHcivil, whose support has helped King continue his progression through the sport.
“We have been very fortunate to have BHcivil supporting us,” King said. “Declan has encouraged me and supported what we are doing along the way. I owe a lot to him, as well as my dad, my pop and everyone else who helps us prepare and run the car.”
While King’s immediate focus remains on gaining experience and continuing to develop the Forester, his long-term ambitions extend far beyond club-level competition.
“I’m not sure exactly what the future holds yet, but I want to get as much seat time as possible and see how far I can go,” King concluded. “The dream would obviously be to drive in the World Rally Championship one day. You have to think big.”
With strong family experience behind him, an accomplished co-driver alongside him and encouraging recent results, Ryley King will be one of the emerging drivers to watch when the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay gets underway in Batemans Bay next weekend.
