I missed Ivan riding for the World Famous Belle Vue Aces but distinctly remember my first few matches where everybody was talking about “Major is coming back in a few weeks”. I took this to be the leader of a military band and didn’t realise what they were talking about. The Falcons duly came and blew the Aces away thanks largely to Ivan and his inspired guest pick, Dave Morton. That was my first introduction to Ivan. He wasn’t always popular with away fans but superstars never are. Unless they’re on your team. He was famous for saying he would pick winning over popularity any day of the week. He did it all and didn’t need the Tshirt. What sticks in my mind is not his 6 World titles but the way he dragged unfashionable teams up to his level. He could have taken his pay packet and ran. But he chose to have a say across the entire team. We will never see his likes again. The Greatest.