Bill Ivy

Bill Ivy was an English Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent, born in 1942. He began racing at Brands Hatch in 1959, made his Isle of Man TT debut in 1962 and joined the Tom Kirby racing team in 1965. A stand-in ride for Yamaha at the end of that season led to a works place, and in 1967 he dominated the 125cc class, winning eight of twelve races to take the world championship by 16 points over Phil Read. In 1968 he and Read controlled the 125 and 250cc classes, and Ivy became the first 125cc rider to lap the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course at over 100 mph. He also worked as a motorcycle stunt double in the James Bond film Thunderball. Ivy was killed in practice for a race at the Sachsenring in East Germany in July 1969.