Paddy Reid, guest of honour for the Centenary Manx Grand Prix in 2023, has died at the age of 82.

The former RAF man won the Senior MGP in 1973 by a wide margin of three minutes and six seconds at a new record average speed of 96.89mph.

It was a race of some attrition, with Don Padgett leading Reid by 2.6 seconds at the end of the opening lap.

Dave Williams leapfrogged into the lead from an initial third place with a record lap of 99.58mph on the second circuit. The first 100mph lap in the Manx had been achieved by Phil Haslam two days earlier in the Junior.

At one-third distance, Williams led Padgett by 22.8s with Reid third at another 13.8s.

Having increased his lead to 53s at the only pit stop of the race, Williams retired at Ballaugh on lap four when his Cowles Matchless suffered a big-end failure, elevating Reid into a 12-second lead over Padgett.

With one lap remaining, Reid led by 51s from fellow 350cc Yamaha rider Padgett, but the latter suffered ill-fortune when his bike rolled to a halt at the Ginger Hall Hotel. This left Reid with a substantial lead over the Aermacchi of Joe Thornton, with John Goodall at another 13.2s on the Seeley Matchless in third.

One day earlier, Reid finished runner-up to friend and fellow RAFMSA team member Sgt Dave Arnold in the postponed Lightweight.

Long-time Isle of Man resident Arnold won at a race record speed of 97.23mph by a margin of 42.8s from Reid who set the fastest lap of the race in 23 minutes precisely (98.39mph).

Born in Antrim, Reid only rode in three races on the Mountain Course, eighth (best newcomer) in his debut, the 1972 Lightweight won by Phil Carpenter, and never competed in the TT.