Watsonian sidecars' centenary rally attracted hundreds of visitors to Stoneleigh Park over the weekend of 18-19th August, with some riding their outfits from Belgium and Germany. However, in terms of distance travelled, Watsonian's Japanese distributor, Corofi, beat them all. Leaving Japan on 1st July, they drove their Yamaha Dragstar outfit from the eastern coast of Russia to Cabo da Roca in Portugal, the westernmost tip of Europe, finally arriving in Britain on 9th August. The Stareton exhibition hall at Stoneleigh housed a display of photographs, technical drawings, brochures and documents from the Watsonian archive, including the original patent for Thomas Watson's collapsible sidecar from 1912. There were also historic sidecars including the 1933 Brough outfit that starred in the hit 1970′s sitcoms George and Mildred and Dad’s army, kindly loaned by the London motorcycle Museum, and a 1937 Rudge/Watsonian Sports combination from Coventry Transport museum. There were even examples of Watsonian's bicycle sidecars.
By Sunday the Warwick hall was packed with an incredible array of outfits entered into the Concours, with Sunday's Best in Show awarded to the Royal Enfield Bullet 350/Watsonian outfit originally ridden by Frank Carey in the 1953 ISDT.
There was entertainment of Saturday night, with a question and answer session starring 16-times Isle of Man TT champion Dave Molyneux, 9-times winner Mick Boddice, 1960's TT veteran Norman Hanks and Stan Dibben, who won the 1953 World Championship with Eric Oliver. Guests could quench their thirst with a pint of Mr Watson's Bit on the Side, specially brewed for the event by the Pot Belly Brewery and The Bad Boys Band kept things rocking.
Among the many other attractions was a sidecar driving skills test, devised by Watsonian's technical director, and an opportunity to test ride a Royal Enfield, distributed by Watsonian since 1999.
For more information on Watsonian sidecars call 01386 700907 or visit watsonian-squire.com.
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