Tragic death of Mark Watson in Christmas horror crash...
By TMX Archives on 6th Jan 12
Former British Sidecar-cross champion, Mark Watson, died after he was involved in a car accident over the Christmas period.
The accident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning, December 27, when the white Ford Fiesta he was travelling in crashed into a house in Alston, Cumbria. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Cumbria Police have put out an appeal for anyone who witnessed the crash, which happened at about 2.15am, or saw the vehicle beforehand to contact them.
A spokeswoman for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said: "The car crashed into a house. A man was killed at the scene and two other people were trapped in the vehicle for a time. They were released prior to our arrival.”
Mark, from Alston, had been British Sidecar-cross champion in 2007 as passenger to his brother John, but quit the sidecar scene and turned to quad racing in early 2008.
The 26-year-old had been making a remarkable recovery from multiple injuries received in a horrendous crash when a quad landed on him in practice at the Quadcross of European Nations at Jauer, Germany, in September.
Following that incident Mark had to be air-lifted to hospital and spent three-weeks recovering while he underwent laser treatment to heal damaged ligaments and muscles in his lower back.
On the road to recovery he had recently started preparing and training for the 2012 Quad-X season.
The Cumbrian finished fourth overall in the 2011 British QuadX Championship.
He pulled off his first first overall event victory in the British MMX Championship in 2009 at a round of the series staged at Dean Moor in Cumbria.
In 2010, he finished second overall in the Goldspeed ACU British Quad Championship and was currently ranked in the top three overall in the UK.
He began winning trophies in 2004 in sidecar racing when he became British Under 21 Champion passenger. In 2007 he became British Sidecar Champion.
Since switching to Quads, he had raced for Bishop Auckland-based team of Anderson ATV, owned by Paul Anderson, himself a former British Quad Champion.
The funeral service will take place at St Augustine's Church in Alston, Cumbria, on Monday, Janury 9, starting at 1pm.
