Anton "Toni" Ulmen (25 January 1906 – 4 November 1976) was a German motorcycle and

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

from Düsseldorf, Germany. His racing career started in 1925 on a 250 cc Velocette. In 1927 he won the opening race of the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

on a 350 cc Velocette. In 1929 he won the 350 cc class on the Eilenriede, a non-permanent race course near Hannover. From 1949 to 1952, he was four times German sports car and Formula 2 champion.

Craftsman, businessman and racer

After leaving school, Ulmen served an apprenticeship as a machinist with Motorradwerkstatt Hasenclever. When he finished there, he founded Gebrüder Ulmen, with his brother Andreas. They become the representatives of

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

for Düsseldorf. It was in 1925 that Ulmen began his career in motorsport, at the Großen Deutschland-Rundfahrt on a 250cc Velocette motor cycle. Two years later can riding a 350 cc Velocette he won the first Eifelrennen, to claim the Deutsche Tourist-Trophäe, the inaugural race held on the

. In 1929, he won another major German race, the 350cc race of Eilenridederennens in Hanover. By 1930, Ulmen was a works rider for NSU.

After the War

After the war, he turned to car racing, taking a second place in his first major sportscar race, the Karlsruhe-Durlach, abroad a

BMW 328 The BMW 328 was a sports car offered by BMW from 1936 to 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II (although technically the car was designed by Fritz Fiedler). Specifications ...

. A year later, in 1947 he was awarded the title of best German sports car driver of the year. The 1949 season saw Ulmen win nine races, including the

Solituderennen The ''Solituderennen'' (eng: ''Solitude race'') motorsport events are held on the 11.4 km '' Solitudering'' race track near Stuttgart. The event and the track were named after the nearby Castle Solitude. Motorsports events were held there fr ...

and the DMV Grenzlandringrennen. He was won races at

München Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Nürburgring, Sachsenring and Kölner Kurs. He also recorded seven second place that season. 1950 saw the first

Großer Preis von Deutschland The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...

after World War II, at the Nürburgring, where he finished fourth in his open-wheel

Veritas RS The Veritas RS was a Veritas (automobile), Veritas sports car based on the BMW 328 that also raced in Formula One. It raced in five World Championship Grands Prix; the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix, the 1952 German Grand Prix, ...

. In this car, he also recorded a surprising third place in the Preis der Ostechweiz-Erlen in Switzerland, beaten only by the

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Società per Azioni, S.p.A. () is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "The Prancing Horse", in refere ...

s of Luigi Villoresi and Roberto Vallone. Prior to 1950, there was a ban on German cars and drivers completing in foreign events, after the war. He retained his German Champion title, he first won in 1949. With victories at Hockenheim, the Schauinsland Hillclimb, and the Grenzlandring, Ulmen was clear champion in the 2-litre Sports Car class. He participated in two World Championship Grands Prix in 1952, debuting on 18 May 1952, in the Großer Pries der Schweiz, but retired due to fuel tank issues. He returned for the

, where despite his Veritas's power disadvantage compared to his rivals, his finished eighth. That season also saw Ulmen win the DMV Grenalandringrennen again. During the season, he suffered a heavy crash during a practise session on the Sachsenring from which he escaped almost unscathed. He arrived at the final meeting of the 1952 season, the Avusrennen, as leader in the Formula 2 class and 2-litre sport cars. On the AVUS, lost a dramatic slipstream battle with fellow Veritas driver, Fritz Rieß, on the penultimate lap. This meant both drivers were equal on points, and according to the DMV regulations, Rieß was declared champion, as he had scored the better at the Eifelrennen. As consolidation, Ulmen was awarded the Formula 2 title, despite the fact he could take part in this race. After that he competed only occasionally in car races. Despite his retirement early 1953, Ulmen was soon, albeit briefly, behind the wheel, sharing a

Jaguar D-Type The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car that was produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Designed specifically to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, it shared the straight-6 XK engine and many mechanical components with its C-Type ...

with Herman Roosdorp to third place in his only 24-hour endurance race, the 1953 24 Heures de Spa Francorchamps.

Away from the track

Following his racing retirement, Ulmen become president of the Deutscher Motorsport Verband (DMW) and he received the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt award from President of Germany, Theodor Heuss for his successes in motorsport, the highest national award in Germany for an athlete.

Racing record

Career highlights

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

References

External links

Biography at conceptcarz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulmen, Toni 1906 births 1976 deaths German Formula One drivers German racing drivers Sportspeople from Düsseldorf Racing drivers from North Rhine-Westphalia 24 Hours of Spa drivers DAMC 05 people