William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer from

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He died during practice for a race in East Germany.

The Early Years

Ivy started racing motorbikes at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...

, Kent, UK in 1959. His first race bike was a 50cc Itom. Entering his first TT race in 1962 on a ''Chisholm Itom,'' he later progressed to ride a variety of machinery on UK short circuits including

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

, Bultaco, Yamaha, Norton,

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

, and Matchless machines. He joined the Tom Kirby racing team in May 1965.

The Grand Prix Years

Ivy's big break into Grand Prix

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

racing came towards the end of

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, when he was selected as a stand-in and flown to Japan in October by Yamaha due to regular rider Mike Duff crashing in practice for the Japanese GP, suffering a broken thigh. Ivy finished fourth in the 125 cc race and third in the 250 cc class, the highest-placed of the Yamahas. ''Motor Cycle'', 28 October 1965. p.627. ''Racing Line'' by David Dixon. Accessed 8 December 2015 In 1966, he won his first race as a regular rider for the works Yamaha team in the first race of the year, the Spanish Grand Prix at the Montjuic Park Circuit,

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, and took three more wins—not enough, however, to beat

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rider Luigi Taveri, who beat Ivy to the title by six points. In

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

, Ivy dominated the 125 cc championship: he won eight out of twelve races to claim the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

by 16 points over

Phil Read Phillip William Read, (1 January 1939 – 6 October 2022) was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championshi ...

.Bill Ivy career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> On top of this, he won two 250 cc races in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. In

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, Ivy and teammate

controlled both the 125 and 250 cc championships. In the process Ivy also became the first 125cc rider to lap the famous Isle Of Man TT Mountain Course at over 100 mph. As the season progressed, Yamaha ordered them to win one title each, with Ivy scheduled to win the 250 cc championship and Read the 125 cc championship. After securing the 125 cc title, Read ignored Yamaha's orders to tie with Ivy on points. The tie break was decided on overall race times, and Read took the title. Ivy announced his retirement from motorcycle racing, stating he would race

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

cars during the next season.

Film stuntman

Ivy was the motorcycle riding stand-in in two films. He was in the 1965 James Bond film '' Thunderball'' as the stunt man, wearing a blond wig to make him look more like the character in the action sequence. He was also in the 1968 film '' The Girl on a Motorcycle'' for the medium to distant shots of Marianne Faithfull's character.

Death

Despite showing some impressive results in Formula Two, in order to further fund his car racing, he was enticed back to motorcycling by an offer from Jawa in 1969 to race their 350 cc motorcycle. The season started promisingly, as he took two second places behind Giacomo Agostini. However, during practice for the fifth race, on the Sachsenring in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, his motorcycle's engine seized due to the breaking up of the lower left hand connecting rod bearing cage. He was thrown from the bike, his helmet came off. He and the bike slid off the track where he impacted an unprotected fence post before bouncing back to the edge of the racing surface. His helmet was recovered from the opposite side of the track. File:Ivy crash report-1.jpg File:Bill Ivy death certificate.jpg File:Bill Ivy - Crashed Jawa.jpg Ivy died from injuries received in the impact with the fence post. Injuries were listed as a fractured skull,

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

, fractured ribs and a large puncture to at least one of his lungs. He was taken back to Ditton, near Maidstone, Kent where a service took place at St. Peter's Church, followed by a private service and cremation at Medway Crematorium, in Blue Bell Hill Village, Kent.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results

Points system from 1950 to 1968: Points system from 1969 onwards: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivy, Bill British motorcycle racers English motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing Sportspeople from Maidstone 1942 births 1969 deaths Sport deaths in Germany