2016 marked 130 years since German engineer Karl Benz revealed his Patent Motorwagen, a petrol-powered three-wheeler regarded as the world’s first automobile. In his honour, that year's Run had a German theme which was supported by Daimler Benz who entered a number of early Benz and Mercedes cars from its museum. One of these, a 1901 Benz Spider, was driven by ex-Formula 1 team owner turned TV pundit Eddie Jordan. A London to Brighton novice, Jordan quickly adapted to the somewhat slower pace of Benz, and hailed the day as right up there alongside anything he had savoured in his motor sport career.

“What a fabulous experience, it surpassed all my expectations ten fold,” he enthused. “This equals the best day I’ve ever had in F1. You can’t describe it. Everybody should make the effort to come out and see the Run, or try to participate if they can.

“It’s remarkable just how well Mercedes built these cars. They were great engineers in their time and the fore-runners of what we see in Grands Prix today. In fact, the only thing missing was a heater… ”