Ivor Lloyd - Obituary

While it must be acknowledged that there were, and are, many great Canadian road racers both before, and after Ivor’s racing career in Canada; Ivor was somehow, unique and special.

Quite frankly, Ivor Lloyd was, in a manner of speaking, the Wayne Gretzky of motorcycle road racing in Canada in the 1960s. Few, if any would argue that Gretzky is the absolute skilled craftsman at his profession of ice hockey; and those of us who were fortunate enough to see Ivor Lloyd display his skills and craftsmanship on a racing motorcycle, will readily afford him a similar accolade.

Ivor was by any standard, a superb motorcycle road racer, and with his smooth polished style, he made it all look deceptively easy. Many of us who tried to match his pace though, soon found otherwise, and very quickly realized we had some homework to do, and in many cases, a lot of homework! Poetry in Motion could be a phrase fittingly applied to Ivor’s riding style, especially on the #71 Alex Duff – Manx Norton that carried him to so many victories!

Ivor had already made his mark and was recognized as one of the best. on the fiercely competitive short circuits in his native Wales and England, winning championships, and several of the highly coveted silver replica awards on the world renowned Isle of Man circuit, before emigrating to Canada. When he arrived on the scene and began racing here, quietly and without any fanfare, for he was a very modest and unassuming man, .the bar. was raised substantially. Ivor became the new benchmark for any Canadian road racer aspiring to achieve excellence. I believe it could very safely be said that the standard and level of road racing in Canada improved substantially as a direct result of Ivor’s impact and influence, and it has never looked back. Ivor’s respected name and reputation soon spread to the USA and his racing talents were much in demand by several top race teams, including the well known Bob Hansen race team, sponsors of the best motorcycle racers in North America.

Above and beyond his racing expertise, Ivor was genuinely well liked, admired and respected by all in the motorcycling community, simply for the gentleman he was. As mentioned before, he was a modest and unassuming man, and never known to boast or brag about his accomplishments. He was always approachable, had a ready smile, and a good sense of humour. Perhaps a fitting and self evident testament and tribute to Ivor’s esteem, is the fact that most of us have remained in touch and friends for more than forty years, and long after the last chequered flag had fallen.

The Canadian motorcycling community recognized, and celebrated Ivor’s racing accomplishments and contributions by paying him our highest honour and inducting him into, (the only recently established), Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2009. Had the Hall of Fame existed, when Ivor was at the top of his game he certainly would have been inducted at that time.

As a champion motorcycle racer, Ivor’s name, his accomplishments and contributions will be celebrated and remembered for all time, as he so rightly joined the elite ranks of the very best in Canadas motorcycling Community. Ivor will also always be remembered and appreciated as a good friend. And I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say it was a pleasure and privilege to know him.

Thanks Ivor and Godspeed.

By Dave Lloyd