Anton Mang

Anton "Toni" Mang (; born 29 September 1949) is German former motorcycle racer. He is a five-time world champion in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

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 Mang, and he took part in a 50cc race on a Kreidler 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 and claimed his first victory. In 1975 he won the German Championship on 350cc Yamaha. Also in 1975, he competed in his first Grand Prix at the Austrian round of the world championship.

Mang's first Grand Prix victory came at the 1976 125cc German Grand Prix at the 22.8 km Nordschleife Circuit at Nürburgring on a 125cc Morbidelli. His success earned him a ride with Kawasaki riding Kawasaki KR250 and KR350s for the 1978 season. In 1980, he became World Champion in the 250 cc class and runner-up in the 350cc class behind Jon Ekerold. In 1981, he won both the 250cc and 350cc World Championships and became German Sportsman of the Year. In 1982, 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, 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, Mang returned to the 250 cc class and finished fifth in the World Championship on a private 250 cc Yamaha. In 1985, a strong performance by Freddie Spencer left him in second place in the championship. 1986 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, Mang became 250cc World Champion for the third time with eight consecutive victories. At the age of 38, he was the oldest 250 cc World Champion in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing history. He started the 1988 season with a victory, but injuries sustained in a bad crash in the Rijeka race in Yugoslavia forced him into retirement. Mang retired with a lifetime total of 42 GP wins. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2001.

Like Ángel Nieto 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 Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 Points system from 1988 to 1992 Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points Rank Wins 1975 350cc SMZ FRA- ESP- AUT6 GER- NAT- IOM- NED- FIN- CZE- YUG- 5 26th 0 1976 125cc Morbidelli FRA- NAT- NED6 BEL13 SWE- FIN7 GER1 ESP4 32 5th 11977 125cc Morbidelli VEN2 AUT- GER3 NAT4 ESP- FRA- YUG7 NED4 BEL3 SWE14 FIN- GBR8 55 5th 0 500cc Suzuki VEN- AUT- GER8 NAT10 FRA- NED- BEL- SWE- FIN- TCH- GBR- 4 25th 01978 250cc Kawasaki VEN7 ESP- FRA- NAT- NED- BEL7 SWE9 FIN4 GBR1 GER5 TCH10 YUG2 52 5th 1 350cc Kawasaki VEN- AUT- FRA- NAT- NED- SWE- FIN- GBR- GER6 TCH7 YUG6 14 16th 01979 250cc Kawasaki VEN- GER3 NAT- ESP10 YUG6 NED4 BELDNS SWE4 FIN- GBR3 CZE4 FRA5 56 6th 0 350cc Kawasaki VEN- AUT3 GER2 NAT4 ESP- YUG6 NED4 FIN4 GBR- CZE2 FRA- 63 4th 01980 250cc Kawasaki NAT1 ESP2 FRA2 YUG1 NED3 BEL1 FIN2 GBR2 CZE1 GER3 128 1st 4 350cc Kawasaki NAT- FRA4 NED3 GBR1 CZE1 GER2 60 2nd 21981 250cc KawasakiARG14 GER1 NAT3 FRA1 ESP1 NED1 BEL1 RSM1 GBR1 FIN1 SWE1 CZE1 160 1st 10 350cc Kawasaki ARG7 AUT2 GER1 NAT2 YUG1 NED1 GBR1 CZE1 103 1st 51982 250cc Kawasaki FRA- ESP3 NAT1 NED1 BEL1 YUG- GBR2 SWE2 FIN6 CZE8 RSM1 GER1 117 2nd 5 350cc Kawasaki ARG- AUT2 FRA- NAT4 NED2 GBR3 FIN1 CZE2 GER2 81 1st 1 1983 500cc Suzuki RSA- FRA- NAT- GER- ESP- AUTNC YUG- NED- BEL- GBR12 SWE10 RSM10 2 18th 0 1984 250cc Yamaha RSA5 NAT10 ESP7 AUT2 GER4 FRA1 YUGNC NED4 BEL7 GBR11 SWEDNF RSM8 61 5th 1 1985 250cc Honda RSA2 ESP3 GER3 NAT5 AUT2 YUGNC NED3 BEL3 FRA2 GBR1 SWE1 RSM2 124 2nd 2 1986 250cc Honda ESP2 NAT1 GER2 AUT- YUGNC NED2 BEL18 FRA- GBRNC SWENC RSM4 65 4th 1 1987 250cc Honda JPN8 ESPNC GER1 NAT1 AUT1 YUG7 NED1 FRANC GBR1 SWE1 TCH1 RSM6 POR1 BRA7 ARGNC 136 1st 8 1988 250cc Honda JPN1 USA8 ESPNC EXP7 NAT10 GER8 AUT10 NED3 BEL3 YUGDNF FRA- GBR- SWE- TCH- BRA- 87 8th 1