Anton "Toni" Ulmen (25 January 1906 – 4 November 1976) was a German motorcycle and racing driver from Düsseldorf, Germany. His racing career started in 1925 on a 250 cc Velocette. In 1927 he won the opening race of the Nürburgring 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.[1] They become the representatives of Opel 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 Nürburgring. 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.[2] A year later, in 1947 he was awarded the title of best German sports car driver of the year.
With victories at Hockenheim,[11] the Schauinsland Hillclimb,[12] and the Grenzlandring,[9] Ulmen was clear champion in the 2-litre Sports Car class.[10] He participated in two World Championship Grands Prix in 1952, debuting on 18 May 1952, in the Grosser Preis der Schweiz,[13] but retired due to fuel tank issues. He returned for the Großer Preis von Deutschland, where despite his Veritas's power disadvantage compared to his rivals, his finished eighth.[14] That season also saw Ulmen win the DMV Grenalandringrennen again.[15] During the season, he suffered a heavy crash during a practise session on the Sachsenring[10] 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.[10]
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.
