Three-time TT winner Luigi Taveri has passed away - he was 88 years old.

The Swiss competitor was also a three-time 125cc world champion.

Taveri made his TT debut in 1955 and competed in 22 races.

He finished 16 times - 12 resulted in trips to the podium.

David Cretney MLC, a man who has himself raced on the Mountain Course, says Taveri was one of his heroes growing up:

Luigi Taveri, FIM Legend at the 2016 FIM Gala in Berlin

Born 19 September 1929 in Horgen, Switzerland, Luigi Taveri was to become not only one of the most decorated riders in the history of the FIM Circuit Racing World Championship but also one of the most versatile, as the only man on record to have scored points in six Grand Prix classes: 50cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and Sidecars.

Making his debut in the 350cc class in the Swiss Grand Prix at Berne in 1953, Taveri claimed his maiden win two years later in the 125cc race at Montjuich, Spain, the first of his 30 wins and 89 podiums in all classes, including three Isle of Man TT victories. After runner-up finishes in both 125cc and 250cc during the 1950s with MV Augusta, Taveri's career blossomed when he joined the Honda factory team in 1961.

Their first world title together came in 1962, in the 125cc class, a season that also saw them achieve podium finishes in the 50cc and 250cc classes, including a win at the first ever Finnish Grand Prix at Tampere. A further 125cc title followed in 1964 and then again in 1966, Taveri's final campaign, aboard Honda's famous 20,000rpm, five-cylinder RC149. A final win at the 125cc Italian Grand Prix in 1966, some 11 years and 133 days on from his first, crowned one of the longest winning careers in the history of the sport.