Anton Mang

Toni Mang, origin. Anton Mang ( born September 29, 1949 in Inning am Ammersee ) is a former German motorcycle racer and five-time world motorcycle champion, and a former child actor.

• 5.1 Literature
• 5.2 External links
• 5.3 Notes and references

Career

His first public appearances, the young Toni Mang 1956-1959 in film. During this time he has been seen in at least four fairy-tale feature films, including 1959 alongside Peter Thom in a leading role of the strip The Bremen Town Musicians. After that, however, he returned to the film back.

At age eleven, Mang made ​​with a DKW RT 125 first motorcycle experience, but after initially practiced another sport in which Skibobfahren. And this relatively successful - at the age of 16 years Mang was Skibobmeister German and European junior champion. However, it pulled him towards the motorized racing, and so two years later he graduated with a 50- cc homemade Kreidler on base his first motorcycle road race, but this difference lying in seventh place due to a technical fault from.

In 1970, Mang rose along with Sepp Schlögl in the team of the then reigning 125cc World Champion Dieter Braun as a racing mechanic. Together with Schlögl and Alfons Zender developed Mang a motorcycle, called " Schlögl - Mang - Zender " ( SMZ 250). On this machine, he started at an airfield in Augsburg race and won his first victory there. In 1975, Anton Mang reached on a 350 cc Yamaha Germany's first championship win, the same year he competed in the Grand Prix of Austria at the Salzburg ring for the first time in the 350- cc class at a World Championship race. A year later, in 1976, he won his first race in the World Championship, the Grand Prix of Germany at the Nürburgring on a 125 cc Morbidelli.

His success allowed Toni Mang in 1978 as a works driver from Kawasaki in the classes to 250 - to start and up to 350 cc; thus began his path to becoming the most successful German motorcycle racer. In the 1980 season was the German World Champion in the 250 cc class and vice world champion in the 350 cc class, just behind the South African Jon Ekerold. In 1981, Mang double world champion in both the 250 - cm ³ - as well as in the 350 cc class; he was subsequently elected in Germany Sportsman of the Year 1981. Hardly less successful closed Toni Mang 1982 from. He defended the world title in the 350- cc class with the Kawasaki KR 350 and was thus "eternal champion " of this class, because it was abolished after the 1982 season. In the 250 cc class lacked end of the season only one point for a successful title defense. Quarter-liter World Champion was the Frenchman Jean -Louis Tournadre.

For the 1983 season Mang moved to the so-called " top tier ", the 500 cc category. However, he suffered a serious injury before the season starts by a skiing accident and was only able to compete for the first race in mid-August; more than a tenth place did not jump out at his comeback. The following year, 1984 Mang returned to the quarter-liter class, but without factory support. Jumped out of fifth place in the World Cup on a private 250 - cc Yamaha. Due to this success he received in 1985 for the first time a factory Honda, but could the young American Freddie Spencer not prevail against the No. 1 at the Honda factory team, but was still vice- world champion. In the 1986 season Mang encountered many strong riders and finished at the end of the fourth world championship. Furthermore, it came to the separation of Sepp Schlögl, his longtime chief mechanic and friend this season. After experts at the specialist press predicted the end of the era Mang.

However, it succeeded Toni Mang, also to conclude the 1987 season as world motorcycling champion in the 250 cc class; yet he won eight races in a row. Although the racing year 1988 began with a win, but after a heavy fall at the Grand Prix of Yugoslavia in Rijeka finished Toni Mang his career after 154 starts in the Motorcycle World Championship, 42 wins, 84 podiums, 34 pole positions and 26 fastest laps.

After the end of his career as a motorcycle racer Toni Mang promoting young talent has prescribed and organized racing training.

Since 2007, Toni Mang support along with Sepp Schlögl and Adi Stadler young young German racing driver Marcel Schroetter. In the 2008 season, he could decide to Honda, the International German Motorcycle Championship in the class up to 125 cc for himself and in 2009 to defend his title.

Personal

The toolmaker Toni Mang has its own workshop with various machines for metalworking, in which he performs contract work in the fields of pneumatics, vacuum and hydraulic applications. He has developed several technical devices, including an electronic Kanalprüfgerät and a drill for mounting on a mini excavator.

Statistics

Achievements

• 250 cc World Champion: 1980, 1981 ( Kawasaki ); 1987 ( on Honda)
• 350 cc World Champion: 1981, 1982 ( Kawasaki )
• German 250 cc champion: 1979 ( Kawasaki )
• German 350 cc champion: 1977 (on Yamaha); 1978, 1979 ( Kawasaki )
• 42 Grand Prix wins

In the World Motorcycle Championship

Filmography

References