Bill Ivy

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Bill Ivy
Nationality	British
Grand Prix motorcycle racing career
Active years	1965 - 1969
Teams	Yamaha, Jawa
Grands Prix	46
Championships	125cc - 1967
Wins	21
Podium finishes	42
Pole positions	N/A
Fastest laps	N/A
First Grand Prix	1965 125cc Dutch TT
First win	1966 125cc Spanish Grand Prix
Last win	1968 125cc Nations Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1969 350cc East German Grand Prix

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

Ivy started racing motorbikes at Brands Hatch in 1959.^[1] His first races in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship came 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. He won the first race of the year at the Montjuich Circuit in Spain, and took three more wins. However this was not enough to beat the Swiss rider Luigi Taveri, who beat Ivy to the title by six points.

1967 saw Ivy dominate the 125 cc championship. Out of twelve races, he won eight to claim the World Championship by 16 points from Phil Read. On top of this, he won two 250 cc races in France and Belgium.

In 1968, Ivy and his team mate Phil Read were in control of the 125 and 250 cc championships. Yamaha ordered them to win one title each, with Ivy scheduled to win the 250 cc championship, and Read the 125 cc championship.^[1] 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 that he would race Formula Two cars during the next season.

Despite announcing his retirement the previous year, Ivy returned to motorcycle racing in 1969, racing a 350 cc motorcycle for Jawa Motors. The season started promisingly, as he took two second places behind Giacomo Agostini. During practice for the fifth race in East Germany, Ivy was touring back to the paddock with his helmet resting on the tank when his motorcycle's engine seized.^[2], He was thrown from the bike, sustained massive head injuries and died in hospital.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Bill Ivy - motorcycle GP rider tribute. ozebook.com. Retrieved on 15 November 2006.
2. ^ The year 1969. Racing Memory (French language). Retrieved on 15 November 2006.

v • d • e 125 cc Motorcycle World Champions     1949 - N. Pagani 1950 - B. Ruffo 1951 - C. Ubbiali 1952 - C. Sandford 1953 - W. Haas 1954 - R. Hollaus 1955 - C. Ubbiali 1956 - C. Ubbiali 1957 - T. Provini 1958 - C. Ubbiali 1959 - C. Ubbiali 1960 - C. Ubbiali 1961 - T. Phillis 1962 - L. Taveri 1963 - H. Anderson 1964 - L. Taveri 1965 - H. Anderson 1966 - L. Taveri 1967 - B. Ivy 1968 - P. Read 1969 - D. Simmonds 1970 - D. Braun 1971 - Á. Nieto 1972 - Á. Nieto 1973 - K. Andersson 1974 - K. Andersson 1975 - P. Pileri 1976 - P. Bianchi 1977 - P. Bianchi 1978 - E. Lazzarini 1979 - Á. Nieto 1980 - P. Bianchi 1981 - Á. Nieto 1982 - Á. Nieto 1983 - Á. Nieto 1984 - Á. Nieto 1985 - F. Gresini 1986 - L. Cadalora 1987 - F. Gresini 1988 - J. Martínez 1989 - À. Crivillé 1990 - L. Capirossi 1991 - L. Capirossi 1992 - A. Gramigni 1993 - D. Raudies 1994 - K. Sakata 1995 - H. Aoki 1996 - H. Aoki 1997 - V. Rossi 1998 - K. Sakata 1999 - E. Alzamora 2000 - R. Locatelli 2001 - M. Poggiali 2002 - A. Vincent 2003 - D. Pedrosa 2004 - A. Dovizioso 2005 - T. Lüthi 2006 - Á. Bautista 2007 - G. Talmácsi