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 on August 2, 1964, is a famous German race car driver. He is best known for competing in exciting touring cars and sportscar racing events. Since 1990, he has raced only cars made by Audi, a well-known German car company.
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Frank Biela's Racing Journey
Biela started his racing journey in 1983 with karting, which is racing small, open-wheel vehicles. In 1987, he joined the Ford Youngster Team. He raced in Formula Ford and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), which is Germany's touring car championship. He even won a race at AVUS that year. He continued racing in DTM in 1988 and also competed in German Formula Three, winning two races.
Joining Audi and Winning Championships
In 1990, Biela moved to Audi. He quickly found success, winning a DTM race at the Nürburgring track. In 1991, he became the DTM champion! Audi left DTM in 1992, but Biela stayed with the company.
As new rules for two-litre Class 2 (called Super Touring) cars became popular, Biela raced in different European touring car series. In 1993, he won the French Supertouring Championship with an Audi 80. He is still the only non-French driver to win this championship. In 1995, he won the Touring Car World Cup race in France with the new Audi A4. This car soon 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. He started strong in both years, but bad luck later in the seasons stopped him from winning the championship.
Dominating the British Touring Car Championship
In 1996, Audi decided to enter a team in the BTCC. Biela was chosen to lead the team. With his teammate John Bintcliffe, the Audi team was incredibly successful. Biela easily won the championship, finishing almost every race in the top ten. He also won the Guia Race of Macau, capping off an amazing year.
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 halfway through the season, his results improved. He finished second overall in the championship that year. After 1997, Biela returned to the German Super Tourenwagen Cup in 1998, but he didn't have much success.
Success in Sportscar Racing
In 1999, Biela switched from touring cars to sportscar racing. He joined the Audi R8 project with the Audi Sport Team Joest. 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 Audi R8.
The biggest highlight 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. Biela won the ALMS series in 2003. He then returned to the German touring car series, but that season was not very successful.
Biela continued to race an R8 at Le Mans every 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 helped test the new Audi R10 diesel sportscar, which was the R8's replacement. Driving an R10 for Team Joest in the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, Biela won his fourth Le Mans victory with teammates Marco Werner and Emanuele Pirro. He won the race again in 2007 with the same car and team.
Frank Biela's Awards and Achievements
Frank Biela has achieved many great things in his racing career, including:
- Winning the 1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship) with an Audi V8. He also finished 2nd and 3rd in DTM in other years.
- Winning the 1993 French Touring Car Championship.
- Winning the 1995 Touring Car World Cup race.
- Becoming the 1996 British Touring Car Championship champion (and finishing second the next year).
- Winning the 1996 Macau Grand Prix Guia Race.
- Winning the 12 Hours of Sebring four times: in 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2007.
- Winning the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans five times: in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007.
- Winning the Petit Le Mans twice: in 2001 and 2005.
- Winning the 2003 LMP900 Drivers' Championship.
- Winning the 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
