While officially not a race, the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (LBVCR) has always attracted celebrities from the world of motor sport and 2008 is no exception. 
Le Mans 24 Hour and Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Jochen Mass, Mercedes DTM driver Susie Stoddart and Red Bull Racing’s Adrian Newey will all be participating in the 112th anniversary Run on Sunday, November 2nd.
Jochen Mass took part in 114 Formula One Grand Prix, winning just one, the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. However it is as sportscar driver that Mass is best remembered, winning the world’s leading sportscar races, including the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in 1989 at the wheel of a Sauber Mercedes.
Susie Stoddart, from Oban in Scotland, is one of the world’s leading female racing drivers and is currently racing a DTM Mercedes C-Class for the TV Spielfilm Mucke Motorsport team in Europe.
Jochen Mass will drive the 1904 Mercedes-Simplex Tourer (start no. 533) from Hyde Park to Brighton and Susie Stoddart will drive the 1902 Mercedes-Simplex Tonneau (no. 206) from Hyde Park to Crawley, both cars are owned by Daimler AG. Both drivers will also be with their cars at the LBVCR International Concours in Regent Street on Saturday 1 November.
Adrian Newey is one of the leading designers in Formula One, having penned championship winning cars for Williams and McLaren, and is a renowned historic sportscar racing driver in his own right. However on Sunday 2 November he will be driving at a more sedate pace behind the wheel of the 1901 Mors (no. 136) owned and entered by The Royal Automobile Club.
Background to the 2008 LBVCR
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run Run takes place on Sunday, November 2nd and is preceded by a period related auction at Bonhams London New Bond Street Salerooms on Friday, October 31st and the LBVCR International Concours in London’s Regent Street on Saturday, November 1st.
This year the LBVCR is celebrating French manufacturers of the pre 1905 period, with over 270 of the 550 cars entered for this year’s event being made in France over 104 years ago. There are entries travelling from France and, to keep the French theme, Dancers from the Moulin Rouge in Paris will be performing at the International Concours in Regent Street on Saturday, November 1st and then appearing at the start line in Hyde Park on Sunday, November 2nd before travelling down to Madeira Drive in Brighton to welcome the finishers at the end of their 60-mile journey.
Further details on the event can be found at www.LBVCR.com.
[Source: London to Brighton Veteran Car Run]
Great to see such good coverage of this event – beautiful photos, too!