BEST BRIGHTON RUN YET!
New route hailed a major success as 315 pre-1905 cars make it to the coast
Contenders on this year’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run – the world’s oldest motoring event – have praised the decision to split the route out of the capital for the first time in its history.
The 359 cars setting off from Hyde Park wore blue or red plaques depending on the routes they took, with 90 per cent making it to the finish on Brighton’s Madeira Drive. The organiser also reported a record turnout for the event’s trial, which challenges entrants to keep to a predetermined speed.
Ben Cussons, chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, said: ‘It has been another exceptional run. The split route out of London definitely alleviated the traffic problems of the past and the weather has been kind, which makes all the difference for these extraordinary vehicles.’
London Motor Week came to a close with the rumble of single- and twin-pot engines last Sunday, as a cavalcade of veteran cars made their way from Hyde Park in London to the historic Madeira Drive in Brighton, famed not only as host for pre-1905 cars but also as the seafront setting for Brighton Speed Week.
Celebrity entrants bolstered the Veteran Run’s ranks this year – famous first-time drivers included Yasmin Le Bon and former Spice Girl, Geri Horner (who shared driving duties with her husband and Red Bull Racing owner, Christian Horner). Regent Street Motor Show judge (and TV presenter) Alan Titchmarsh MBE, who judged many of the veteran cars the previous day during their stay in London, took part as a passenger.
He said: ‘ You don’t know whether you’re going to make it or not, so when you do it’s just such a sense of achievement. It was just such a magically nostalgic experience.’ He told organisers that he’d like to do next year’s run from behind the wheel.
Both the British Motor Museum in Gaydon and the National Motor ’It’s a real sense of achievement – a magically nostalgic experience’
Museum at Beaulieu put their collections on the line. What’s more, each collection’s cars finished despite considerable delays – including a misfire that nearly defeated erstwhile Top Gear presenter, Quentin Willson, in Gaydon’s 1904 Wolseley. The 60mile path to Brighton was split once clear of Hyde Park. Red- and bluecoloured entry numbers denoted each car’s path; the two routes merged on the A236 just north of Croydon near Crawley High Street, where many cars and crews took a break en-route to the South Downs and Madeira Drive seafront in Brighton. The new routes were universally praised by event regulars - many of whom spoke of calmer traffic than usual on their journey towards Brighton.