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LLOYD'S
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“Lloyd’s
to Brooklands Run”
Saturday 29 June 2002 saw a first in the long history of the Lloyd’s Motor Club – a photoshoot for members and their cars (and bikes) outside the Lloyd’s building! Add in a Le Mans-style echelon line-up in the Leadenhall Market and a run down the A3 to Brooklands Museum near Weybridge, Surrey, for a group photoshoot, and all the ingredients were present for a fine day’s motoring. Twenty-nine
drivers and riders signed in at the Leadenhall Market in the bright
sunshine of a midsummer morning to line up along the historic lanes of
the cobbled marketplace. The beautifully turned-out vehicles made a stirring sight in
their “Le Mans start” formation, causing many a passer-by to stop
and marvel at the assembled machinery covering over fifty years of
motoring history. The
Leadenhall Market had been opened exclusively for LMC members, and one
of the cafes had opened its doors to ensure that everyone was fed and
watered for the journey down to Brooklands.
First, though, each vehicle was driven in turn around to the
front of the Lloyd’s building for professional photographs to be taken
outside the famous landmark. The
run down the A3 was packed with Wimbledon tennis traffic as well as the
usual Saturday shoppers, so it was a challenge in itself to negotiate
the simple route; indeed, some drivers chose to travel out to the M25
and back in again, rather thank taking the direct route!
However, the majority of the vehicles soon made it to Brooklands,
where the paddock car park in front of the restored Clubhouse had been
reserved exclusively for the LMC line-up. Lunch
in the Members’ Restaurant was followed by a specially-arranged convoy
out onto the famous banking, where the cars were assembled for
photographs at the exact spot where the first-ever British Grand Prix
started in 1926. Then the
cars drove around the surviving section of the banking before returning
to the paddock for a visit to the fascinating Brooklands museum, entry
to which was included in the entry fee for the event. It
was universally agreed that the day had been a splendid success, and
many drivers expressed an interest in repeating the run in the future;
in the meantime, every driver would have a fine memento of the day
thanks to the photographs taken by Amanda Fullagar, some of which are
reproduced here.
BDH
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