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. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

from

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

on a 350 cc Velocette. In 1929 he won the 350 cc class on the Eilenriede, a non-permanent race course near

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. 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 Gr ...

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 The Eifelrennen was an annual motor race, organised by ADAC Automobile Club from 1922 to 2003, held in Germany's Eifel mountain region. Like other races of its time it was first held on public roads. In 1927 it was moved to the newly-built Nürbu ...

, 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 Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. 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. 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 and the DMV Grenzlandringrennen. He was won races at

München Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Nürburgring, Sachsenring and Kölner Kurs. He also recorded seven second place that season. 1950 saw the first Großer Preis von Deutschland after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, at the Nürburgring, where he finished fourth in his open-wheel Veritas RS. 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 (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, 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 Pranc ...

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 Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...

, 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 Preis der Schweiz, 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. 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 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 Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

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 Düsseldorf (region) 24 Hours of Spa drivers DAMC 05 people