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1904 De Dion Buton driven by Roland Duce
1903 Clement driven by Tim Watson in Crawley
1904 Humberette driven by James Morant
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Brighton Run: 342 finishers
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Related story - 1st November, 2015:
Brighton Run for 2015
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4th November, 2015
- 380 entrants start in London
- 342 entrants finish in Brighton
More than 380 pioneering veteran cars dating back to very the dawn of motoring enjoyed unseasonably mild conditions to
take part in this year’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on Sunday 1st November.
As tradition dictates, the 119th Anniversary Run set out from Hyde Park at day break and headed 60-miles south through
a misty London and onto a sunny Sussex seafront. For only the third time in more than half a century, this year’s route
took the intrepid participants – all driving pioneering cars from the pre-1905 era – past Buckingham Palace and down The
Mall before heading past Big Ben and over Westminster Bridge. The capital’s early morning mist added to the period
Victorian atmosphere.
The first few cars began to arrive on Maderia Drive Brighton shortly after 10am – the 1903 Berliet driven by John
Bentley just pipping the 1904 Fiat of Dutchman Jan Bruijn to the honour of being first past the finishing post.
The ceremonial tearing up of the red flag took place prior to the start of the event. The symbolic ritual harks back
to the original Emancipation Run, held on 14th November 1896, which marked the milestone Locomotives on the Highway Act
and raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14mph abolishing the need for a man walking ahead of the
cars waving a red flag.
The annual Run is thought to be the only event anywhere on Earth where so many veteran cars parade in such numbers.
Entries included Genevieve from the eponymous 1953 film, a large number of cars from the US celebrating this year’s
American theme and significantly the 1901 Isotta Fraschini – chassis number one – the very first car to wear the famous
‘IF’ badge which was making its VCR debut this year.
One impressive finisher was the steam-powered 1888 Truchutet driven by Daniel Ward – the oldest car on the run –
believed to be one of the earliest vehicles to have ever completed the event.
In total 342 of the starters managed to complete journey from Hyde Park to the Sussex coast before the 4.30pm
deadline, thus receiving a coveted finisher medal.
Having been introduced in 2013, the Veteran Car Run now includes a regularity section, where participants have to
average a precise speed between two controls. It was the 1900 Georges Richard of Rodney Fowler that claimed the coveted
trophy.
E&OE.
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