London To Brighton Veteran Car Runaway Success

[Louise]

NEWS RELEASE

LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN CAR RUNAWAY SUCCESS.
Monday 8 November - The 2004 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (LBVCR) finished in true event spirit yesterday afternoon as the last of the 469 pre 1905 Veteran cars to enter arrived at the finish line in Madeira Drive Brighton after almost 10 hours of cautious driving, and pushing! by the students from the Imperial College London in their 1902 James & Browne following mechanical problems from the very start in Hyde Park, London.

The new 3-day format weekend started under the hammer with the inaugural LBVCR Auction at Bonhams on Friday afternoon with the majority of the veteran cars and 130 plus lots of Automobilia sold. 18 items were auctioned in aid of The Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity which raised over £2,000.00. Immediately following the auction Bonhams played host to the participants who had travelled from all over the world to take part in the LBVCR, the world's longest running motoring event.

Saturday and the rain stayed off for most of the day for the LBVCR Concours at Waterloo Place in Pall Mall where over 60 Veteran cars went on display with passenger rides offered along Pall Mall and around Trafalgar Square. David Jensen of Capital Radio opened the event on behalf of co-sponsor Renault UK whilst The Lord Mayor of Westminster enjoyed an historic ride down Pall Mall in the ever-popular Genevieve. Throughout the day the large crowd were entertained with the sight and sounds from a variety of early motoring vehicles and a special display of veteran cycles.

Sunday and the day augured well for veteran actor Sir John Mills, Sir Ray Tindle, Vyvyan Harmsworth and David Jenson as the four celebrities waved off the first of the 427 actual starters at 7.30am with cars heading south in groups of 10-15 every two seconds until 8.45am.

The first car arrived at Brighton just on the 10.40am estimation. Good conditions and excellent weather paved the way for the early arrivals whilst the cars continued to finish the Run to much applause from the thousands of supporters that turned out along Madeira Drive until 4.40pm - the latest arrival time for vehicles to officially finish.

Amongst the finishers, who each received a medal and certificate, was the 1896 Salveson steam car owned and driven by John Brydon. The Salveson is a 1 cylinder 10 hp open cart that relied on a very large quantity of coal and water to successfully get it to Brighton.

The 2004 Royal Automobile Club London to Brighton Veteran Car Run sponsored by Tindle Newspapers and the Daily Mail finished with 369 vehicles making it to the Sussex seaside resort. There were no major problems on the 60 mile route although much has changed since the start of the run in 1896.

For a full update on the 2004 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run together with images from the weekend and the finishers list please visit www.LBVCR.com over the coming days.