Frank Biela
German racing driver (born 1964)
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Frank Stanley Biela (born 2 August 1964) is a German auto racing driver, mainly competing in touring cars and sportscar racing. He has raced exclusively in cars manufactured by the Audi marque since 1990. Biela notably won the 1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Miesterschaft and the 1996 British Touring Car Championship, as well as the 24 Hours of Le mans five times[a] and the 12 Hours of Sebring four times between 2000 and 2007[b]. Biela also won the 1996 Macau Guia Race in the Super Touring class.
Career
Biela started his career in 1983 in karting before joining the Ford Youngster Team programme in 1987 alongside Manuel Reuter and Bernd Schneider. He drove for the team in Formula Ford and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (the German touring car championship), where he won the race at AVUS in 1987. Biela continued to compete in the DTM in 1988, and also raced a limited season in German Formula Three, scoring two wins.
In 1990, Biela moved to Audi, winning the DTM race at the Nürburgring and the DTM championship in 1991 before Audi left the DTM in mid-season of 1992. Biela stayed with the company, and with the rise of the two-litre Class 2 (Super Touring) rules in other series across Europe, he was entered in various European touring car series over the following few seasons such as the French Supertouring Championship in 1993 driving the Audi 80 (in which he won the championship in) entered by Audi into the championship pairing alongside Marc Sourd. Since his French Supertouring Championship victory in 1993, he is the only standing non-French driver to win it. In 1995, he won the Touring Car World Cup race at Paul Ricard in the new Audi A4, which quickly became one of the dominant touring cars of the mid-1990s.
Biela also competed in the Super Tourenwagen Cup in his native Germany during 1994 and 1995; however his home championship would bring only frustration as in both years he dominated the first half of the season, only for late-season misfortunes to derail his title challenge, losing him the crown to BMW drivers Johnny Cecotto and Joachim Winkelhock respectively. During the AVUS Berlin race in September 1995, Biela's Audi struck Kieth O'dor's already accident-stranded Nissan Primera squarely on the driver's side, fatally injuring O'dor, who died later that day in a Berlin hospital.
For 1996, Audi decided to enter a works team of two A4s in the BTCC. Biela was selected to lead the team; alongside team-mate John Bintcliffe, the new Audi team dominated the competition. Biela comfortably won the title, finishing every single race and being classified in the top ten in all but two races (an 11th-place finish and a disqualification). He also capped an astonishing season by taking first place in the Guia Race of Macau.
Because of the Audis' dominance in 1996, the BTCC organisers imposed a heavy ballast weight "penalty" on all four-wheel-drive cars for the 1997 season. With his Audi badly handicapped by the penalty, Biela initially struggled to make a serious impact. The weight penalty was halved at the midpoint of the season, and results immediately improved to the point where Biela finished second overall to eventual champion Alain Menu. Biela then left Britain to return to the German Super Tourenwagen Cup for 1998, but was largely ineffective. He finished a lowly 14th in the final standings as the A4 (in a new two-wheel-drive racing configuration) became outclassed by rival manufacturers.[1]
In 1999, Biela abandoned touring cars in favour of joining the Audi R8 sports car project, racing under the Audi Sport Team Joest name. It was a good match, and Biela excelled in sportscar racing over the next few seasons, winning several classic events at the wheel of the R8 as well as three ALMS races. The highlight of Biela's time with the R8 team was three successive victories (2000–2002) in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Emanuele Pirro and Tom Kristensen. Audi began to scale back support for the R8 programme after the 2002 season. After winning the ALMS series in 2003, Biela returned to the revamped German touring car series, driving an Audi for Joest Racing (the team which had run Biela's R8 for his three Le Mans wins); the season was not a success.
Biela continued to race an R8 at Le Mans each year with mixed results. In 2003, he missed the pit lane after just 15 laps and ran out of fuel.[2] He finished 5th and 3rd in 2004 and 2005, respectively. In December 2005 he participated in the first runs of the new Audi R10 diesel sportscar, the R8's successor. Driving an R10 (again for Team Joest) in the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside Pirro and new team-mate Marco Werner, Biela took his fourth victory to date in the classic race. He repeated the victory with the same car and team in 2007.[3]
Honors and awards
His greatest achievements include winning:
- 1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft German Touring Car Championship with an Audi V8 (he has also finished 2nd and 3rd in DTM)
- 1993 French Touring Car Championship
- 1995 short-lived Touring Car World Cup one-off race
- 1996 British Touring Car Championship (finishing as runner-up the year after)
- 1996 Macau Grand Prix Guia Race
- 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2007 12 Hours of Sebring
- 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans
- 2001 and 2005 Petit Le Mans
- 2003 American Le Mans Series LMP900 Drivers' Championship
- 2005 American Le Mans Series LMP1 Drivers' Championship
- In a 2005 poll conducted by Motorsport Magazine, Biela was voted 19th best touring car driver ever.[4]
Racing record
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
- † — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.
- ‡ A non-championship one-off race was held in 2004 at the streets of Shanghai, China.
Complete Italian Superturismo Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Audi Sport Italia | Audi 80 Quattro | MNZ 1 |
MNZ 2 |
VAL 1 |
VAL 2 |
MAG 1 |
MAG 2 |
BIN 1 |
BIN 2 |
MIS 1 |
MIS 2 |
VAL 1 |
VAL 2 |
MUG 1 9 |
MUG 2 6 |
PER 1 10 |
PER 2 DSQ |
VAR 1 1 |
VAR 2 1 |
MUG 1 9 |
MUG 2 3 |
11th | 57 | |
| 1996 | Audi Sport Italia | Audi A4 Quattro | MUG 1 |
MUG 2 |
MAG 1 |
MAG 2 |
MNZ 1 |
MNZ 2 |
BIN 1 |
BIN 2 |
MIS 1 |
MIS 2 |
IMO 1 |
IMO 2 |
PER 1 |
PER 2 |
PER 1 |
PER 2 |
VAR 1 4 |
VAR 2 Ret |
VAL 1 |
VAL 2 |
20th | 10 | |
Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | ROC Competition | Audi 80 Quattro Competition | AVU 1 |
WUN 1 |
ZOL 2 |
ZAN 1 |
ÖST 10 |
SAL 15 |
SPA 4 |
NÜR 3 |
2nd | 98 | ||||||||||||
| 1995 | ROC Competition | Audi A4 Quattro | ZOL 1 1 |
ZOL 2 1 |
SPA 1 3 |
SPA 2 Ret |
ÖST 1 2 |
ÖST 2 1 |
HOC 1 1 |
HOC 2 1 |
NÜR 1 3 |
NÜR 2 3 |
SAL 1 17 |
SAL 2 10 |
AVU 1 7 |
AVU 2 17 |
NÜR 1 Ret |
NÜR 2 5 |
3rd | 391 | ||||
| 1998 | Abt Sportsline Team Audi | Audi A4 | HOC 1 13 |
HOC 2 Ret |
NÜR 1 14 |
NÜR 2 12 |
SAC 1 Ret |
SAC 2 11 |
NOR 1 20 |
NOR 2 Ret |
REG 1 10 |
REG 2 5 |
WUN 1 8 |
WUN 2 Ret |
ZWE 1 13 |
ZWE 2 11 |
SAL 1 14 |
SAL 2 9 |
OSC 1 11 |
OSC 2 8 |
NÜR 1 6 |
NÜR 2 11 |
14th | 242 |
Source:[6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Audi Sport UK | Audi A4 quattro | DON 1 1 |
DON 2 1 |
BRH 1 1 |
BRH 2 4 |
THR 1 1 |
THR 2 3 |
SIL 1 11 |
SIL 2 1 |
OUL 1 2 |
OUL 2 2 |
SNE 1 2 |
SNE 2 DSQ |
BRH 1 2 |
BRH 2 8 |
SIL 1 3 |
SIL 2 2 |
KNO 1 1 |
KNO 2 2 |
OUL 1 2 |
OUL 2 1 |
THR 1 2 |
THR 2 3 |
DON 1 4 |
DON 2 3 |
BRH 1 4 |
BRH 2 1 |
1st | 289 |
| 1997 | Audi Sport UK | Audi A4 quattro | DON 1 Ret |
DON 2 3 |
SIL 1 7 |
SIL 2 Ret |
THR 1 1 |
THR 2 Ret |
BRH 1 9 |
BRH 2 6 |
OUL 1 3 |
OUL 2 Ret |
DON 1 1 |
DON 2 3 |
CRO 1 4 |
CRO 2 17 |
KNO 1 2 |
KNO 2 1 |
SNE 1 3 |
SNE 2 9 |
THR 1 2 |
THR 2 1 |
BRH 1 1 |
BRH 2 5 |
SIL 1 8 |
SIL 2 15 |
2nd | 171 | ||
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Audi Sport Team Joest |
 Didier Theys Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R8R | LMP | 360 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2000 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
 Tom Kristensen Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 368 | 1st | 1st |
| 2001 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
Tom Kristensen Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 321 | 1st | 1st |
| 2002 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
Tom Kristensen Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 375 | 1st | 1st |
| 2003 |  Audi Sport UK Arena Motorsport |
Perry McCarthy Mika Salo |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 28 | DNF | DNF |
| 2004 | Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx |
Allan McNish Pierre Kaffer |
Audi R8 | LMP1 | 350 | 5th | 5th |
| 2005 |  ADT Champion Racing |
Allan McNish Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R8 | LMP1 | 364 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2006 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 380 | 1st | 1st |
| 2007 | Audi Sport North America |
Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 369 | 1st | 1st |
| 2008 | Audi Sport North America |
Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 367 | 6th | 6th |
Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
Perry McCarthy Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R8R | LMP | 304 | 5th | 5th |
| 2000 | Audi Sport North America |
Emanuele Pirro Tom Kristensen |
Audi R8 | LMP | 360 | 1st | 1st |
| 2001 | Audi Sport North America |
Emanuele Pirro Tom Kristensen |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 370 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2002 | Audi Sport North America |
Emanuele Pirro Tom Kristensen |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 327 | 5th | 5th |
| 2003 | Infineon Team Joest |
Marco Werner Philipp Peter |
Audi R8 | LMP900 | 367 | 1st | 1st |
| 2004 | Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx |
Allan McNish Pierre Kaffer |
Audi R8 | LMP1 | 350 | 1st | 1st |
| 2005 | ADT Champion Racing |
Emanuele Pirro Allan McNish |
Audi R8 | LMP1 | 361 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2006 | Audi Sport North America |
Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 117 | DNF | DNF |
| 2007 | Audi Sport North America |
Marco Werner Emanuele Pirro |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 364 | 1st | 1st |
Source:[8] | |||||||
Complete Porsche Supercup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
‡ Not eligible for points due to being a guest driver.
Complete Bathurst 1000 results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 |  Allan Moffat Enterprises |
Klaus Niedzwiedz |
Ford Sierra RS500 | A | 161 | 2nd | 2nd | [10] |
| 1990 | Allan Moffat Enterprises |
Klaus Niedzwiedz Pierre Dieudonné |
Ford Sierra RS500 | 1 | 151 | 10th | 10th | [11] |
| 1997* | ORIX Audi Sport Australia |
Brad Jones |
Audi A4 Quattro | 161 | 2nd | 2nd | [12] |
* Super Touring race
