Bill Ivy

For Canadian photographer and author, see Bill Ivy (photographer/author).

For other uses, see Bill Ivy (disambiguation).

Bill Ivy
Bill Ivy at the 1969 Eifelrennen held at the Nürburgring.
Nationality	British
Born	(1942-08-27)27 August 1942 Maidstone, England
Died	12 July 1969(1969-07-12) (aged 26) Hohenstein-Ernstthal, East Germany
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1962 - 1963, 1965 - 1969 First race 1962 Isle of Man 50cc Ultra-Lightweight TT Last race 1969 350cc East German Grand Prix First win 1966 125cc Spanish Grand Prix Last win 1968 125cc Nations Grand Prix Team(s) Yamaha, Jawa Championships 125cc - 1967 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 46 21 42 N/A 23

William David Ivy better known as Bill Ivy (27 August 1942–12 July 1969) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Maidstone, Kent.

Ivy started racing motorbikes at Brands Hatch in 1959. He raced in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship towards the end of 1965, where he finished fourth in two 125 cc races and third in a 250 cc race. In 1966, he raced for the works Yamaha team, won the first race of the year at the Montjuich Circuit in Spain, and took three more wins—not enough, however, to beat Swiss rider Luigi Taveri, who beat Ivy to the title by six points.

In 1967, Ivy dominated the 125 cc championship: he won eight out of twelve races to claim the World Championship by 16 points over Phil Read. On top of this, he won two 250 cc races in France and Belgium.

In 1968, 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 cars during the next season. Despite showing some impressive results in Formula Two, he was enticed back to motorcycling by an offer from Jawa in 1969 to race their 350 cc motorcycle. The season started promising, as he took two second places behind Giacomo Agostini. However, during practice for the fifth race, on the Sachsenring in East Germany, Ivy was touring back to the paddock with his helmet resting on the tank when his motorcycle's engine seized. He was thrown from the bike, sustained massive head injuries, and died in hospital.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results

Points system from 1950 to 1968:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1969 onwards:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1962	50cc	Honda	ESP -	FRA -	IOM 25	NED -	BEL -	GER -	ULS -	DDR -	NAT -	FIN -	ARG -			0	-	0
1963	50cc	Sheene	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	IOM 7	NED -	BEL -			FIN -		ARG -	JPN -		0	-	0
	125cc	Bultaco	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	ULS -	DDR -	FIN -	NAT -	ARG -	JPN -		0	-	0
1965	125cc	Yamaha	USA -	GER -	ESP -	FRA -	IOM 7	NED 4		DDR -	CZE -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT -	JPN 4	6	13th	0
	250cc	Yamaha	USA -	GER -	ESP -	FRA -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT -	JPN 3	4	16th	0
	350cc	AJS		GER -			IOM NC	NED -		DDR -	CZE -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT -	JPN -	0	-	0
	500cc	Matchless		GER -			IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT -	JPN -	0	-	0
1966	125cc	Yamaha	ESP 1	GER -		NED 1		DDR 3	CZE 3	FIN -	ULS -	IOM 1	NAT 3	JPN 1		40	2nd	4
	250cc	Yamaha	ESP -	GER 3	FRA -	NED -	BEL 6	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	IOM NC	NAT -	JPN -		5	12th	0
	350cc	Yamaha		GER -	FRA -	NED -		DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	IOM -	NAT -	JPN 2		6	11th	0
1967	125cc	Yamaha	ESP 1	GER -	FRA 1	IOM NC	NED 2	BEL -	DDR 1	CZE 1	FIN 2	ULS 1	NAT 1	CAN 1	JPN 1	56	1st	8
	250cc	Yamaha	ESP -	GER -	FRA 1	IOM NC	NED 2	BEL 1	DDR 2	CZE 2	FIN 2	ULS 3	NAT 2	CAN -	JPN 6	46	3rd	2
1968	125cc	Yamaha	GER -	ESP -	IOM 2	NED -		DDR 2	CZE -	FIN 2	ULS 1	NAT 1				34	2nd	2
	250cc	Yamaha	GER 1	ESP -	IOM 1	NED 1	BEL -	DDR 1	CZE 2	FIN -	ULS 1	NAT 2				46	2nd	5
1969	350cc	Jawa	ESP -	GER 2	IOM -	NED 2	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	YUG -				24	10th	0