The Emancipation Run: Motorcycles invited at last!

The Veteran Car Club’s celebratory re-enactment of the 1896 Emancipation Run (which marked the start of the British motor industry), took place in Hyde Park, London on Sunday, November 4.

The VCC is considering adopting Class 1 motorcycles, made prior to 1905, in the event entry, so this year there was a trial of a small group of these early machines.

The Veteran Car Run was first held in 1927, and 2018 was the first time that motorcycles had been included.

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The Vintage Motor Cycle Club was approached to support the trial and was delighted to accept and be a part of this internationally renowned motoring event.

Left to right. The VMCC’s John Macmillan (rider), Bob Irvine and John Rooney on Madeira Drive, Brighton.

John Macmillan, from Lanark and a member of the VMCC’s Clyde Valley Section, rode the club’s 1903 Dreadnought, and was supported by his mechanics, Bob Irvine and John Rooney, also from Clyde Valley Section.

John said: “Riding the Dreadnought through modern-day traffic was a real challenge, but enormous fun. The bike ran very cleanly throughout and the only real obstacle was the volume of traffic and the occasional long hills. I arrived on Madeira Drive in good time to collect a Finisher’s Award.”

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