I would love to watch the sidecars battling it out on the track. Nev Frost and his partner Bev Flanagan were always the ones to beat. To watch them hurling their outfit flat out into the bottom right-hander at Lydden Hill was enough to take your breath away. No amount of damping on the headstock would seem to stop his machine trying to self-destruct in an orgy of tank-slappers every time he took this corner. They would be frequently challenged by a variety of contenders, including the wildcats of Pete Hockley and Alan Crickmore, but seldom bettered.
When it came to presentation, Nev and Bev's immaculate machine plus their matching leathers and helmets would win hands down every time.
With Nev's imposing reputation as a hard rider who would never back down in a fight to the line, he was always the man to beat no matter what class he rode in. In fact at many circuits he would have a bike in every class. No mean feat when you consider how many classes there were, and there were 3 rides in each one. He was virtually never off the track, and always gave a good account of himself.
It was in the early 70's that Geoff Stevens first took an interest in racing scooters. He was a dyed in the wool, hard-bitten motorcyclist who looked more at home on a 750cc Triumph Bonneville than perched upon a Lambretta.
Despite carrying a considerable weight disadvantage to many of his adversaries in his chosen class, his very considerable experience in riding fast bikes in slippery conditions would often make up for his power to weight ratio deficit. I remember taking the works 158cc Wildcat out for a spin one day with Geoff following me on the Works 225cc. To Geoff's astonishment I could actually stay ahead of him up to almost 80mph. I pointed out to him afterwards that I only weighed 124 pounds against his *** pounds. (Let's just say he was CONSIDERABLY heavier than me.
When I tried redressing the balance by placing a sack of potatoes on the leg shields of his bike and having a run on it myself, not surprisingly it was a fair bit slower. It also killed the acceleration stone dead. I'm surprised he did as well as he did in those days carrying that burden.
Colin Armett was always the target in the 'Specials' class. Somehow he always managed to break away from the leading group and forge ahead from everybody, much to Geoff's consternation. There was no doubt about it, Colin's bike was a winner from the moment he first introduced it to the track. It appeared to chuck out at least 10% more power than anyone else's, and the only way Geoff could stay anywhere near it was by taken obscene chances on the corners to try and close the gap. Many times he would be within an ace of catching him, only to be visited by the curse of engine seizures towards the end of the race. If I remember rightly, the only time Geoff ever actually beat him was on a greasy Lydden Hill circuit, when he finally pushed Colin so hard that he fell off whilst trying to break away.

A History of Rafferty Newman 'Wildcats' (Part 4)

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