As London\u2019s Hyde Park patiently awaited sunrise last Sunday, nearly 400 crews were scurrying through the pre-dawn chill, getting ready to begin their annual trek from the capital to the coast as part of the 2016 Bonhams Veteran Car Run, otherwise known as the London to Brighton Run.<\/p>\n
A number of significant anniversaries were marked at this year\u2019s event as it\u2019s been 120 years since the first \u201cEmancipation Run\u201d in celebration of England\u2019s Locomotive on the Highway Act, and 130 years since Karl Benz revealed his \u201cPatent Motorwagen,\u201d the three-wheeled, gasoline-powered vehicle that is regarded as the world\u2019s first automobile. As part of the latter celebration, Daimler Benz entered a number of early Benz and Mercedes cars from its museum<\/p>\n
One of them was a 1901 Benz Spider driven by ex-F1 team owner turned TV pundit Eddie Jordan. A London to Brighton novice, Jordan quickly adapted to the somewhat slower pace of Benz, and hailed the day as right up there alongside anything he had savored in his motor sport career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a fabulous experience, it surpassed all my expectations ten fold,\u201d Jordan enthused. \u201cThis equals the best day I\u2019ve ever had in F1. You can\u2019t describe it. Everybody should make the effort to come out and see the Run, or try to participate if they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another F1 \u201cname\u201d taking part was former team owner Ross Brawn, who completed the course in his 1904 Wilson Pilcher<\/p>\n
Following the ceremonial tearing of the red flag by Jordan, the cars set off alongside Buckingham Palace and down the Mall before heading past Big Ben and over Westminster Bridge to begin the journey to the coast.<\/p>\n
Of the 392 starters, 351 made it to Brighton ahead of the 4:30 p.m. deadline to claim a coveted finishers\u2019 medal. Appropriately in a year celebrating German cars, the first car home was the 1903 racing Mercedes (above) driven by Chris Scott from Jersey that arrived in the sunny seaside resort shortly after 10 a.m. With its mighty 9.2-liter engine delivering an impressive 60bhp, perhaps that was no surprise.<\/p>\n
The Royal Automobile Club\u2019s Peter Read, Chairman of the Motoring Committee, said: \u201cOnce again this remarkable event \u2014 the world\u2019s largest gathering of veteran cars and the globe\u2019s biggest free-to-view motoring event \u2014 was a huge success, a fitting tribute to the men and machines who first put the world on wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n