Richard Quayle is arguably the most recognisable face in the Isle of Man TT paddock.

And if anyone disagrees with that unofficial accolade, he certainly is the busiest.

Known as Milky, thanks to his apparent likeness to the Milky Bar Kid, he now plays an integral role in the running of the iconic races.

His obsession with racing started when he was about the same age as the famous Milky Bar Kid in the advert.

Like most children growing up on the island, his dad would often hoist him up on top of a hedge to watch the riders fly past during the TT.

To Milky, those riders quickly became idols, and he knew almost immediately what he wanted to do when he grew up.

And in 1997, he got his wish to race in the world-famous TT.

Just five years later, his name was etched into the history books when he became only the third Manxman to win a solo TT.

He’s still the last Manxman to win a solo TT race.

But his love affair with the event hasn’t been all roses.

Just a year after the euphoria of lifting the Lightweight Race on the Isle of Man, he was involved in a horrific crash.

Ballaspur is still known by many as Milky’s crash spot.

During the infamous incident, Milky caught the left of the roadside and impacted heavily to the right after losing control at high speed.

Retiring shortly after, he’s since done almost every job at the races to ensure that for one fortnight each year, the Isle of Man remains a motorcycle haven.

As the TT’s current rider liaison officer, alongside Johnny Barton, Milky is busy throughout the year preparing the fresh crop of newcomers ahead of their first time racing around the Mountain Course.

That’s when he’s not doing his day job, which is driving busses on the open roads of the TT course.

But during the TT fortnight, people can often see Milky picking up any odd jobs that need doing to keep everything ticking over nicely.

He said: ‘Everyone leads such busy lives now, and I’m busy throughout the year, but this time of year which is ace, it’s an enjoyable busy!’

‘We love the TT and realise it’s good for the Isle of Man so we want to work hard on the jobs.

‘I always think if you’re not working hard then there’s something wrong with you!

‘Rest of the year I just drive a bus around the TT Course, it’s mental!’

Milky said that his favourite job during the fortnight is passing on his experience to the ‘newbies’ and explained how people get in touch with him about racing the TT course.

‘We like to pass on our experience to the new lads, and it’s hard because it’s the hardest race track in the world,’ he said

‘And every year the TT gets faster and faster and faster and faster, so it gets harder for the newcomers!

‘But they have to do all the legwork, we can tell them till we’re blue in the face that they need to do this or that, but if they don’t listen or don’t take it in then it’s wasted.

‘It’s not like the old days where you had V for Victory on a VHS cassette, nowadays there’s so much to watch on social media and YouTube, so they can learn the track in their bedroom, there’s no excuse!

‘And now we can google anybody and find out whether they’re telling the truth before coming here.

‘People used to say I’m a champion of this, I’m a champion of that, but it can be rubbished now, it could be a total pack of lies, which it probably was in the past.’

Milky said that his main priority is to ensure that everyone gets home from the races safe and sound.

He said: ‘If everyone’s back safe, I can go back to falling asleep driving a bus then!’