London to Brighton - Veteran Car Run
The Run is open to all motor vehicles (3 wheels or more) built before January 1905. This date excludes plenty of classic veterans, but certainly assures a quality field of thoroughbred veterans.
The cars leave London's Hyde Park in groups of 10-16 cars every 2 minutes. The rule of thumb being that the older the car, the earlier it leaves! The Run takes just under 2 hours depending on how many coffee stops.
The actual event has an extremely interesting history, with the Veteran Car Cub - believed to be the oldest club of its type in the world - explaining how the event came about.
They say the most asked question is why they chose to run the event in November, when England experiences some of its most inhospitable weather.
It all dates back to November 14th 1896, when just past midnight the "Locomotives on the Highway Act" came into force. Saturday 14th saw the first Run and it is now known as a red letter day in the history of British motoring.
The emancipation Run from London to Brighton celebrates the passing into law of the "Locomotives on the Highway Act", which raised the speed limit for 'Light Locomotives' from 4 miles per hour to 14 mph. This was reduced to 12 mph before the act come into force. The act abolished the requirement for the car to be preceded by a man on foot.
The need for the man on foot to carry a red flag had actually been abolished in 1878, but the Locomotive Act was still widely known as the 'red Flag Act'. At the start of the 1896 Run, a red flag was symbolically destroyed by Lord Winchilsea. In 1996 a re-enactment of the start saw a red flag destroyed by the current Lord Winchilsea. It was repeated in 2007 by the Run's Steering Committee and is likely to be a part of all future Runs.
The Run on Saturday 14th 1896 was a demonstration that the automobile had come to stay. The organisers' instructions stated: "Owners and drivers should remember that motor cars are on trial in England and that any rashness or carelessness might injure the industry in this country."
The Run from the Metropole Hotel in London to the Metropole Hotel in Brighton had 58 vehicles listed to start but 25 dropped out before the day. Only 13 or 14 reached Brighton, although it is believed that one car or possibly more had been taken down to Brighton by train and covered with mud before crossing the finishing line!
The following year saw 44 cars participate, while the number rocketed to 135 entrants in 1898.
In 1902, 193 cars took part, while the following year saw the speed limit raised to the 20 mph and with no further need to celebrate a 12 mph limit the Runs stopped.
In 1927 the Run, keeping as close to the original 1896 day as possible, was reintroduced by the Daily Sketch and the Sunday Graphic. The Run has been run annually ever since with the exception of the war years (1939~45) and petrol rationing (1947). It has been reported that one car did the Run in 1947 using his precious petrol ration.
All Runs from 1927 to the present day, according to the official programmes, started in London and finished in Brighton and kept almost to the A23, the main London to Brighton road.
In 1930, The Royal Automobile Club - as Britain's senior motoring club - took over the organisation of the Run. It was King Edward VII who, in 1907, commanded that The Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland should be known as The Royal Automobile Club. The Royal Automobile Club is the governing body for motor sport in Britain.
More interest than usual was aroused in 1971, when Her Majesty the Queen entered (but alas did not drive) a 70-year old Daimler originally owned by her great grandfather King Edward VII and once driven by her father, King George VI. The car has been on many a Run since 1971 and completed the 56 odd miles driven by HRH Prince Michael of Kent and staff from the Royal household. HRH Prince Michael of Kent, President of The Royal Automobile Club, is a regular participant. He has driven a variety of vehicles, including the royal 1900 Daimler, the RAC's 1900 Simms and the VCC's 1902 Wolseley.
Other vehicles include a 1903 De Dion Bouton, an 1899 Wolseley, a 1903 De Dietrich, a 1904 Mercedes and a 1903 Napier Racing car. The Run has been known by a number of names over the years, with the 1929 Run called, the "Old Crocks Run to Brighton".
Since 2003 the event has seen a Concours held on the Saturday for participating vehicles. This year's event again followed tradition and left Hyde Park at 7am on the 1st of November.
