Anton "Toni" Mang (; born 29 September 1949 in

Inning am Ammersee Inning is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Starnberg, in the Regierungsbezirk of Oberbayern. It lies on the shores of lake Ammersee Ammersee (; English: Lake Ammer) is a '' Zungenbecken'' lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany ...

) is a former five-time

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

from Germany.

Early life

When he was 11, Mang had his first experience with motorcycles on the DKW RT 125, but soon afterwards he chose skibobbing as his favoured sport. He was successful at this sport, winning the German National Championship as well as the Junior European Championship in skibobbing at the age of 16. Still, motorsports kept pulling at him and he took part in a

50cc The 50 cc class was the ultra-lightweight class in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and formed part of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) World Championships from 1962 until 1983; when the class was replaced by 80 cc. History a ...

race on a

Kreidler Kreidler was a German manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles. Kreidler was originally based in Kornwestheim, between Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian la ...

two years later though he had to pull out of the race due to mechanical difficulties.

Professional racing

In 1970 Mang joined the reigning 125cc world champion Dieter Braun's team as his mechanic. Together with Sepp Schloegl and Alfons Zender Mang, he developed the "Schloegl Mang Zender" (SMZ 250). With this machine, he took part in a race on an airfield in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

and claimed his first victory. In 1975 he won the German Championship on 350cc

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

. Also in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

he competed in his first

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

at the Austrian round of the world championship. His first Grand Prix victory came at the 1976 125cc German Grand Prix at the 22.8 km Nordschleife Circuit at

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

on a 125cc

Morbidelli Morbidelli was an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded by Giancarlo Morbidelli in Pesaro. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the company was particularly successful in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The team won the 125 cc world champi ...

. His success earned him a ride with Kawasaki riding

Kawasaki KR250 and KR350 The Kawasaki KR250 was a racing motorcycle built by Kawasaki from 1975 to 1982 for the ''250 cc'' class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. It was powered by a two-stroke " tandem twin" engine The motorcycle won four world championships, in 197 ...

s for the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

season. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

he became World Champion in the 250 cc class and runner-up in the 350cc class behind

Jon Ekerold Jonathan "Jon" Ekerold (born 8 October 1946) is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ekerold is one of the few ...

. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

he won both the 250cc and 350cc World Championships and became German Sportsman of the Year. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, he became the last ever 350cc World Champion as the class was abolished at the end of the year. He fell just one point short of defending his 250cc championship, despite winning five races. In

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

Mang moved up to the 500 cc class, but a bad injury sustained in a skiing accident at the start of the season preventing him from competing until the middle of August. He failed to finish above tenth place in any of the races. In the subsequent year,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, Mang returned to the 250 cc class and finished fifth in the World Championship on a private 250 cc Yamaha. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, a strong performance by

Freddie Spencer Frederick Burdette Spencer (born December 20, 1961), is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships between 1980 and 1993, most prominently as a member of the Ho ...

left him in second place in the championship.

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

saw him finish in fourth place in the series. Moreover, the fruitful collaboration with his chief mechanic and friend Sepp Schloegl came to an end. In

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

he became 250cc World Champion for the third time with eight consecutive victories. At 38, he was the oldest 250 cc World Champion in the history of

history. He started the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

season with a victory, but injuries sustained in a bad crash in the

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

race in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

forced him into retirement. Mang retired with a lifetime total of 42 GP wins. The

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2001. Like

Ángel Nieto Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix ...

on lighter 50cc and 125cc machinery, Mang specialized in medium-sized 250cc and 350cc bikes, winning all five of his championships on medium bikes.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Points system from 1968 to 1987 Points system from 1988 to 1992 ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mang, Anton German motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Sportspeople from Augsburg 1949 births Living people 250cc World Riders' Champions 350cc World Riders' Champions