Bill Ivy

Born August 1942. Infatuated with motorcycles since childhood, and as soon as he could leave school took a job as a mechanic at a local dealership. From the age of 16, developed an interest in amateur racing, and in 1959 made his official race debut in the big event that was Brands Hatch. Immediately got a third in the 50cc class. Then in 1962, raced (DNF) in the newly established 50cc class in the Isle of Man TT World GP. The following year notched up a 7th place. Because he was quite small at 157cm and weighing just 50kg, he had a hard time even in the 125cc class, but determined efforts in the 350cc and 500cc classes subsequently enabled him to overcome his lack of physical strength and perceptual limitations. Joined the Yamaha team from the 1965 Isle of Man TT.

In 1966, when he became a regular in the Yamaha team, his latent talents suddenly blossomed. In that year he won four victories in the 125cc class and was ranked number two. In 1967, took the title with a commanding performance that resulted in eight victories and two seconds out of 12 races in the 125cc class. However, during the 350cc official practice in the 1969 East German GP (after switching to Jawa), he crashed due to engine trouble, sustained serious head injuries, and died at the early age of 26.