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 east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. 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 hosts ...

, 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 commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

Bultaco Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced. Origins The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. Francesc Xavier Bultó, Francesc "Paco" Bultó ...

, Yamaha, Norton,

Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

, and

Matchless Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc Four-stroke cy ...

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; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

racing came towards the end of

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First 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 Lynd ...

, 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 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, 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,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, 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. On top of this, he won two 250 cc races in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, Ivy and teammate Phil Read 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) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

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 ''The Girl on a Motorcycle'' () is a 1968 erotic romantic drama film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull. It is based on the 1963 novel ''La Motocyclette'' by André Pieyre de Mandiargues. Released as ''Naked ...

'' for the medium to distant shots of

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

'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 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

to race their 350 cc motorcycle. The season started promisingly, as he took two second places behind

Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and racing team manager. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1963 to 1977, most prominently as a member of ...

. However, during practice for the fifth race, on the

Sachsenring The Sachsenring () is a motorsport race track, racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyc ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, his motorcycle's engine seized due to the breaking up of the lower left hand connecting rod bearing cage, at the very moment he was attempting to reajust with one hand his helmet that came loose. 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:Bill Ivy death certificate.jpg Ivy died from injuries received in the impact with the fence post. Injuries were listed as a fractured skull,

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

, 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 125cc World Riders' Champions 20th-century English sportsmen