LADIES ON THE RUN
If Ladies ’ Automobile Club members from 1904 could zoom through time to stand in Hyde Park for the start , they ’ d easily spot their female contemporaries .
Above : Sabrina Brown ( née Tunnicliffe ) drives husband Rowan and chldren on the Darracq .
Left : Ruth and Sarah in 1992 , the Little Panhard ’ s 100th anniversary .
Below : Sarah Tunnicliffe and family arrive in Brighton on the Big Panhard .
Lady drivers on the Run might be outnumbered by their male counterparts , but they absolutely match them for enthusiasm , knowledge and passion . And , for many , it ’ s a family affair … Sarah Tunnicliffe and her adult children Sabrina , Caroline and William are the second and third generations of a London to Brighton dynasty .
The family ’ s involvement with the Veteran Car Run began in 1964 . That ’ s the year Sarah ’ s parents Brian and Ruth Moore first drove ‘ Victoria ’, their newlyacquired 1903 De Dion Bouton , on the event . And so began a 60-years-and-counting tradition absorbing four family generations of drivers , future drivers , and passengers ; but lady drivers in particular .
Sarah ’ s daughter Sabrina Brown comments : “ It ’ s still quite unusual for women to drive on the Run , yet in our family it ’ s always been encouraged , and that started with my grandmother .”
‘ Victoria ’ was soon joined by two Panhard et Levassors : an 1892 model the family refer to as the ‘ Little Panhard ’ and a 1902 ‘ Big Panhard ’. The smaller one was almost exclusively reserved for Ruth . “ Even though it could only travel at 8mph and required pushing up the hills , it was always an all-women car ,” Sabrina adds .
40 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run