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Three dead in Isle of Man TT race

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LONDON, England -- The final day of the centenary Isle of Man TT races on Friday was marred by the death of a rider and two spectators.

The official TT Web site named the rider as 34-year-old Englishman Marc Ramsbotham, a married man and newcomer to the event.

He died instantly in a crash at the 26th milestone on the 37.73 mile long street circuit.

A second person was pronounced dead at the scene and a third person died later in hospital. Two other people were injured.

Ramsbotttom was competing in the six-lap Senior TT which was won by England's John McGuinness in a record speed of over 130 miles per hour (162.25 kph).

The Honda rider took an amazing 54 seconds off the existing race record to finish in a time of one hour 46.44 seconds.

The Isle of Man TT has attracted criticism in the past for the number of deaths and injuries that occur, with riders reaching speeds of 200 mph (320 kph) on roads that are used by the public.

A total of 223 people had died at the TT races before this year's festival which has attracted crowds of over 60,000 to the small, self-governing island off the north-west coast of England.

This year's sole major incident before Friday was a crash in Tuesday's Superstock TT that left New Zealand's former winner Shaun Harris in a critical condition in hospital.

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