Frank Biela facts for kids
Biela in 2006
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| Nationality | German |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 August 1964 Neuss, West Germany |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1999–2008 |
| Teams | Audi Sport Joest, Audi Sport UK, Champion Racing |
| Best finish | 1st (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007) |
| Class wins | 5 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007) |
Frank Stanley Biela (born August 2, 1964) is a famous German auto racing driver. He mostly competed in races with touring cars and sportscar racing. Since 1990, he has raced only in cars made by Audi.
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Frank Biela's Racing Journey
Biela began his racing journey in 1983 with karting, which is a type of racing with small, open-wheel cars. In 1987, he joined the Ford Youngster Team. He raced for Ford in Formula Ford and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), which is Germany's touring car championship. He won a DTM race at AVUS in 1987. Biela continued racing in DTM in 1988 and also had two wins in German Formula Three.
Joining Audi and Early Wins
In 1990, Biela moved to Audi. He won a DTM race at the Nürburgring and then the entire DTM championship in 1991. Audi left DTM in 1992, but Biela stayed with the company. He then raced in different European touring car series. These series used new "Class 2" rules for cars.
In 1993, he won the French Supertouring Championship with an Audi 80. He is still the only non-French driver to win that championship. In 1995, he won the Touring Car World Cup race in France with the new Audi A4. This car quickly became one of the best touring cars in the mid-1990s.
Biela also raced in the Super Tourenwagen Cup in Germany in 1994 and 1995. In both years, he started strong but had bad luck later in the season. This caused him to lose the championship to other drivers. During a race in September 1995, Biela's Audi was involved in a serious accident with another car.
Success in British Touring Cars
For 1996, Audi decided to enter two A4 cars in the BTCC. Biela was chosen to lead the team. With his teammate, the new Audi team was very strong. Biela easily won the championship. He finished every race and was almost always in the top ten. He also won the Guia Race of Macau, which was an amazing end to his season.
Because Audi cars were so dominant in 1996, the BTCC organizers added extra weight to all four-wheel-drive cars for the 1997 season. This made Biela's Audi much harder to drive, and he struggled at first. When the weight penalty was reduced later in the season, his results quickly improved. He finished second overall in the championship that year. After 1997, Biela returned to the German Super Tourenwagen Cup for 1998, but he didn't do as well.
Le Mans and Sports Car Racing
In 1999, Biela stopped racing touring cars and joined the Audi R8 sports car team. This was a great move for him. Biela became excellent at sportscar racing over the next few years. He won several famous races with the R8 car, including three ALMS races.
The biggest highlight of Biela's time with the R8 team was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times in a row (2000, 2001, and 2002). He won these races with his teammates Emanuele Pirro and Tom Kristensen. After 2002, Audi started to reduce its support for the R8 program. After winning the ALMS series in 2003, Biela went back to the German touring car series, but that season was not very successful.
Biela continued to race an R8 at Le Mans each year. In 2003, he ran out of fuel early in the race. He finished 5th in 2004 and 3rd in 2005. In December 2005, he was one of the first drivers to test the new Audi R10 diesel sports car, which was the R8's replacement. Driving an R10 in the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, with teammates Marco Werner and Emanuele Pirro, Biela won his fourth Le Mans race. He won again with the same car and team in 2007.
Major Achievements
Frank Biela has won many important races and championships throughout his career:
- 1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship) with an Audi V8.
- 1993 French Touring Car Championship.
- 1995 Touring Car World Cup race.
- 1996 British Touring Car Championship. He was also runner-up the next year.
- 1996 Macau Grand Prix Guia Race.
- 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2007 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races.
- 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races.
- 2001 and 2005 Petit Le Mans endurance races.
- 2003 American Le Mans Series LMP900 Drivers' Championship.
- 2005 American Le Mans Series LMP1 Drivers' Championship.
- In a 2005 poll by Motorsport Magazine, Biela was voted the 19th best touring car driver ever.
See also
In Spanish: Frank Biela para niños
