John Boothman and family crossed the line with perfect timing in the 1904 Norfolk
WEATHER forecasting is not an exact science, but the predictions of a downpour to coincide with this year’s London to Brighton Run proved all too accurate, with rain falling in biblical quantities throughout the day.
So why was the event held in November? After all, anyone with a slight knowledge of the English climate would realise that this is not the ideal time of year to set out in a temperamental pre-1905 machine, usually with no weather protection of any kind, for a trip to the seaside.
The date is, in fact, rooted in motoring history. In November 1896 a motley collection of horseless carriages, surrounded by an enthusiastic mob, departed from Whitehall for the famous south-coast resort to celebrate the belated legalisation of the motor car on British roads. With the exception of wartime, the Brighton Run has been a feature of the old car scene now for more than 80 years, making it the oldest motoring event in the world.
Jersey was once again well represented. The Scott family had three cars taking part, the oldest being a primitive 1895 Panhard et Levassor, crewed by Tim and Pat Scott. Unfortunately, although it initially ran extremely well, the very wet conditions got the better of it and the Panhard retired with electrical trouble in Croydon.
Their second entry fared somewhat better. The 1898 Léon Bollée, driven by Sam Scott and her boyfriend, Zak Harbison, while suffering from a broken drive-belt and, again, a high-tension electrical problem, proved more resilient and arrived safely in Brighton’s Madeira Drive during the afternoon.
The third car, a 1903 Mercedes driven by Andy Scott accompanied by his wife, Rychel, daughter of five months Fleur and a family friend, Arabella Frankel, arrived first out of the trio. Fleur slept all the way, despite the driving rain!
Ian Strang in his 1903 Maxim, with fellow Islander David Haddon aboard, had a trouble-free trip and Geoffrey and Margaret Grime (accompanied by veteran car first-timers Hamish Marett-Crosby and his wife) piloted their 1903 Gladiator to a successful arrival from behind the comparative comfort of a windscreen, hood and side-curtains. The sole mechanical fault – a broken brake-band – was remedied in Crawley and delayed them only by half-an-hour.
The Boothman family had trouble right from the start with their 1904 Norfolk. An initial electrical fault was eventually resolved, but it took longer to work out that a sporadic loss of power was the result of dirt in the carburettor. By the time this problem was cured, we were still in south London with more than 40 miles left to cover in little more than two hours.
This may not seem much of a challenge for a modern car, but it taxed the 10 hp Norfolk to its limit. However, we just scraped in ahead of the 4 pm deadline, thus preserving an unblemished record and collecting the coveted bronze medal ‘for punctual arrival in Brighton’.
By then we were all soaking wet, grubby and exhausted. Next year? You bet – we wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Article posted on 13th November, 2009 - 3.00pm
