Bill Ivy was born on
August 27th 1942 in Maidstone Kent. He was tragically killed whilst
practising for the 1969 East German 350cc Grand Prix at the Sachenring.
Ivy’s career started
when he was 17 on a 50cc motorcycle. His first race was at Brands
Hatch. In his first year of racing he set a new short circuit
lap record for the 50cc class.
Ivy won the British
Championship for the first time in 1965 when he turned professional.
In 1966 he won the King of Brands title and also obtained his
first win for Yamaha at the Spanish Grand Prix. It was in this
year that his career took off. In 1967 Ivy won the 125cc World
Championship. In 1968 Ivy announced his retirement and decided
to go into Formula 2 car racing for 1969. He did however return
to the motorbike Grand Prix scene in 1969 to help fund his wish
to race Formula 2 cars. He was signed for the Jawa factory to
ride a 4 cylinder 350cc two stroke.
Our pin badge shows
Ivy on the Yamaha 125cc which he rode in the 1968 Isle of Man
TT and set the first 100mph lap on a 125cc machine.
