This year’s Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run took place on Sunday 3 November 2019. For the fifth year running, I had the pleasure of photographing the arrivals of these veteran cars as they crossed the finishing line on Madeira Drive, Brighton on what proved to be a warm and sunny day.
A little bit of background history to set the scene, the first run was in 1896, and it has taken place most years since its initial revival in 1927. To qualify, the cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest gathering of veteran cars.
This year at Hyde Park, at precisely 06:56am sunrise, the first of the horseless carriages were flagged away with the earliest of the Victorian vehicles leading the way through Wellington Arch, down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace, Whitehall and Parliament Square and then over Lambeth Bridge. Here the 60-mile route split into two alleviating traffic congestion in South London.
As in recent years, the Bonhams Veteran Car Run provided a fitting finale to the Royal Automobile Club’s busy London Motor Week. The penultimate event in the week was the free-to-view Illinois Route 66 Regent Street Motor Show, on Saturday 2 November, which turned London’s flagship shopping street into a motoring showcase that put the spotlight on veterans and moderns alike and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. This was my first time photographing this event, it was interesting to see the lead up to the Sunday Car Run.
All the photographs below have captions on each to tell you more about the two days events.
Over one hundred stunning veteran cars were on display within the Bonhams Veteran Car Zone at the Illinois Route 66, Regent Street Motor Show, featuring the Concours d’Elegance. The cars were judged by a panel of experts and several awards were given out at the Show. A showcase of 125 years of motoring including veteran, vintage, classic, and modern-day cars.
In total, nearly ninety percent of the 400 plus starters made it to Brighton before the 4.30pm deadline to claim a coveted finishers’ medal.
First back was car number 95, a 1902 Oldsmobile, driven by Andreas Melkus who crossed the finishing line at 10.08am. Andreas has been the first to cross the finishing line for the past three years, well done to him and his Oldsmobile!
While the Run is famously not a race, the popular A. Lange & Söhne Regularity Time Trial provided a competitive element. More than 230 entrants elected to take part in the Trial by attempting to keep to a strict average speed for the stretch between Crawley and Burgess Hill. The winner was Paul Emile Bessade a 1904 Darracq who covered the 13 miles at an average speed of 10.1mph compared to his 10mph target.
In total, 120 different marques ranging from Adler (built in Frankfurt, Germany) to Yale (from Toledo in Ohio, US) were represented on this year’s Run – some, like Cadillac, Renault, Vauxhall and Mercedes, still well-known today, but the vast majority long since forgotten. Many cars and crews sported moustaches in support of Movember, the event’s official Charity Partner.
The veteran car drivers and passengers enjoyed an unseasonably mild day, it was especially warm at the finishing line - Madeira Drive, Brighton.
Half of the participants followed the traditional A23 route via Kennington, Brixton and Streatham Common; the other half journeyed via Vauxhall, Clapham Common and Tooting. The two routes then merged on the A236 just north of Croydon with the entire cavalcade reunited as it headed to the spectator-friendly halfway point in Crawley High Street, the South Downs and eventually the Madeira Drive seafront in Brighton.
To see a copy of the route please click here
As the sun began to set the last of the cars arrived at Madeira Drive.
Well, that concludes a warm Sunday on Madeira Drive, always a pleasure to photograph this event. It’s a huge contrast to the Formula One & Two events I have photographed over the past two years, it just shows how far the automobile has come!
It’s always interesting to hear the stories from the drivers and passengers as they stop at the finishing line to say a few words about their journey and the history of their vehicle and personal experiences. Some of the participants told the story about how they have been taking part in the race for the past 50 years, first as babes in arms with grandparents, to eventually sitting in the coveted driver’s seat, a true family tradition.
Thanks for reading.
Stella
