Infamous circuit claims Kiwi rider

Paul Dobbs. Photo / Supplied

A Kiwi motorcyclist is among the latest victims of the infamous Isle of Man TT circuit.

Paul Dobbs, 39, died on Thursday after crashing his 600cc bike on the island off England's northwest coast.

Austrian racer Martin Loicht died the same day, bringing to 229 the number of deaths in official races or practices on the 61km street circuit since 1907.

Dobbs, a motorcycle mechanic from Onewhero near Te Kauwhata in the Waikato, was a member of the New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing Register.

President Ken McGready said he had raced on the Isle of Man before. He said Dobbs' wife Bridget was at the race when her husband died. The couple have two children.

Dobbs kept a blog of his racing and in his last two entries, on June 5 and 6, he described some of his circuits. In one blog he said: "I was feeling good and the bike was behaving well.

"On the last lap my rear tyre and bad knee were crying 'enough' but I managed my fastest lap of the race.

"I finished 19th overall. My race average was over 120mph and I did a couple of 123mph (198.4km/h) laps. I broke all my records and had a great start to race week."

Dobbs' friend Andrew Stroud said the Isle of Man circuit was risky.

"There's banks and trees and lamp posts and everything all around you, there's no room to make a mistake."

The TT event is one of the most famous motorcycling races in the world.

Dobbs is the second Kiwi to die on the Isle of Man circuit. Robert Holden was killed during a practice session in 1996. He was 38.