About Rory Byrne
Rory Byrne (born 10 January 1944) is a South African semi-retired engineer and car designer, most famous for being the chief designer at the Toleman (later Benetton) and Scuderia Ferrari teams of Formula One. Byrne-designed cars have won ninety-nine Grands Prix and seven Constructors' and seven Drivers' titles. This makes Byrne the third most successful Formula One designer, behind rival Adrian Newey and Colin Chapman. == Early career == Born in Pretoria on 10 January 1944, Byrne became interested in motor racing at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, firstly as a competitor and later the technical aspects of the sport. After graduating in 1964, Byrne began working as a chemist but retained his fascination for racing until the late 1960s when he, with his friends Dave Collier, Ronny, and Dougie Bennett, set up a company importing performance car parts called Auto Drag and Speed Den situated in Jules Street, Malvern, Johannesburg, and later Voortrekker Road in Alberton. It was in this period that he first began to design racing cars, putting to use his mathematical knowledge even though he lacked formal engineering training. His first car, a Formula Ford racer, was competitive and finished well in the 1972 championship. Following his success in 1972, Byrne relocated to England to pursue a career in racing car design. Purchasing an ageing Royale Formula Ford car, he began putting together the skills required to improve the design and received a lucky break in 1973 when Royale founder Bob King decided to sell the team. The new owner needed an engineer to replace King, who had also been the cars' designer, and offered the job to Rory Byrne, who spent the next four years designing a variety of cars for Royale and its customers.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.