A road racing and athletics enthusiast who spent a lot of time in the island over the past 30 years or more has left a lasting legacy to local sport.

Paul Collins had been an island resident for the last 10 years, but a regular visitor for the TT and Manx Grand Prix (in particular) since the mid-1980s.

Originally from Waltham, near Grimsby, he was a keen and capable motorbike racer himself, living within 20 miles of Cadwell Park.

As a teenager he spent a lot of time going to race meetings with former British champion Roger Marshall, who was from the same village.

Although ’Stealth’, as he was known to the racing community, never raced on the Mountain Course, he assisted a number of riders at the Manx Grand Prix.

He originally came to the meeting with fellow Lincolnshire racer Ian Tunstall, when they were based in a garage in the lane behind Marathon Drive.

When Tunstall stopped coming to the Manx, he assisted local rider Barry Wood of Willaston, even helping source him a TZ250 Yamaha from Market Rasen, near to where he lived.

’Paul loved the MGP more than any other meeting,’ said Barry. ’He was an absolute master working on racing two-strokes. He told me that he learned a lot from the RAF guys he knew at a nearby base. They were very meticulous, and much of their advice was incorporated into his own preparation.’

He then began helping out a mutual close friend, Russell Henley, and was with him when the latter won the 1996 Lightweight on Martin Bullock’s 250.

Stealth became close friends not only with Martin, but Alan and Mike Kelly of the Mannin Collections team.

He continued as a key part of their racing teams for several years, during which time he also struck up a great friendship with Laxey rider Nigel Beattie. Paul was a great help in the latter’s own very successful Mountain Course career.

The pair first met in 1997 when Nigel made his debut (and Paul came with the bike). They struck up a close friendship that lasted for the rest of Paul’s life.

’What struck me most was his attention to detail and how meticulous he was,’ said Nigel, who went on to win the Lightweight MGP in 2002. ’As a rider, race week can be an emotional rollercoaster, but having Paul in your corner was the ultimate comfort blanket.

’Not only was he an exceptional mechanic but he also had a unique ability to instil calmness into the most intense of situations.’

Paul always hoped that one day he would be able to live in the Isle of Man, and he was able to realise that ambition.

He started his own health and safety consultancy business (PCT Training) and moved into rented accommodation at Ashfield Lodge on Glencrutchery Road where he lived for a few years.

The house is quite literally on the side of the course exiting Governor’s Dip and he was often seen hanging out of his living room window with a pit board for riders in the MGP or TT (Bruce Anstey and Gary Johnson amongst them).

He also assisted MGP newcomers in their pit lane briefing, prior to their first race on the Mountain Course.

This time last year Paul found a property on the course at Union Mills to purchase (previously owned by former MGP winner Robin Sherry) and was especially looking forward to TT and MGP week, watching the races from his garden with friends. Unfortunately, it was not to be as the events were both cancelled.

More recently, he developed a love for running and would regularly compete in local events, sponsoring the annual Northern 10 road race for a few years.

He was a big supporter of the Noble’s Park runs and was the joint first runner in the island to achieve 100 park runs. At the time of his death he had run in 141 of the 150 to that date in the island.

Each Saturday morning he could be found helping with the set-up and encouraging others to achieve their goals, often sacrificing his own run to help them improve their time.

In the last few months of his life, Paul discussed the idea of setting up a ’Chasing Rainbows’ legacy fund that would help support local sportsmen and women chase their dreams.

He put £10,000 in the pot to set it off and donated a trophy in his name for the best newcomer in the Park Run series each year.

In 2000, while recovering from a broken leg suffered in an ice hockey accident, Paul wrote a book titled ’Chasing Rainbows’ about his passion for motorcycle racing.

In the very last paragraph he wrote the words: ’You can achieve anything you want in this life, but you have to be prepared to make it happen’.