London to Brighton Veteran Car run - some of the celebrities you may spot on the day

The couple will share Lord (Irvine) Laidlaw’s 1904 Panhard-Levassor for this year’s run from Hyde Park to the Sussex seafront.

Television presenter Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs is another of the famous faces taking part this year.

Plus world renowned supermodel Yasmin Le Bon will be driving a 1901 Wolseley.

The first of the remarkable, pioneering horseless carriages dating back to pre-1905 will leave Hyde Park as dawn breaks at 6.59am and for the next couple of hours a huge variety of remarkable vehicles will stream down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace on to The Mall.

The vehicles will make their way south into Sussex to the spectator-friendly halfway halt in Crawley High Street.

This also marks an important stage on the run as it’s the start of the Regularity Time Trial, the only competitive element of the event.

Finishing 13 miles away in Burgess Hill, the Regularity Time Trial requires drivers to get as close to a chosen average speed as possible.

After Burgess Hill, the cavalcade tackles yet more scenic but demanding Sussex roads over the rolling South Downs, passing through Hassocks and Clayton before re-joining the A23 for the run into Brighton and the seaside finish on Madeira Drive.

Adding to this year’s spectacle, many of the busy pubs along the 60-mile route will opening early and supporting the event’s charity partner The Movember Foundation.

Veteran Car Run Pubs Supporting The Movember Foundation

The Feathers, 42 High Street, Merstham, Redhill, RH1 3EA

The Black Swan, Old Brighton Road, Pease Pottage, Crawley, RH11 9AJ

Red Lion Inn, Handcross, Haywards Heath, RH17 6BP

The Jolly Tanners, Staplefield, Haywards Heath, RH17 6EF

Victory Inn, Warninglid Road, Staplefield, Haywards Heath, RH17 6EU

Rose & Crown, London Road, Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, RH17 5BS

White Harte Inn, South Street, Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, RH17 5LB

The Potter, 129 Station Road, Burgess Hill, RH15 9ED

Burgess Hill Inn, Keymer Road, Burgess Hill, RH15 0AD

Friars Oak, London Road, Hassocks, BN6 9NA

Jack & Jill, Brighton Road, Clayton, Hassocks, BN6 9PD

Acknowledged as the longest running motoring event in the world and attracting huge wayside crowds numbering tens of thousands as well as numerous entries from right around the globe, the annual pageant dates back to 1927. It was founded to commemorate the Emancipation Run of 1896, which celebrated the new-found freedom of motorists granted by the ‘repeal of the Red Flag Act.’

The Act raised the speed limit to 14mph and abolished the need for a man carrying a red flag to walk ahead of the cars whenever they were being driven.

Aside from the start all timings on the day are approximate.

As the guide below indicates, the first cars are expected at the Crawley halt from 8.20am with the last leaving by 2pm.

The first car is due at the Madeira Drive finish at shortly after 10am while, to be sure of a coveted finishers’ medal, participants need to make it to the finish before sunset at 4.30pm.

Approximate times in Sussex

8am - 12.15pm: Gatwick – A23

8.20am - 2pm: Crawley High Street

8.45am - 2.30pm: Cuckfield High Street, B2114

8:55am - 3pm: Burgess Hill – B2036

9am - 3.30pm: Clayton Hill – A273

10.04am - 4.30pm: Brighton – Madeira Drive