Frank Stanley Biela (born 2 August 1964 in

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

) is a German

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver, mainly competing in

touring cars Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not mov ...

and

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

. He has raced exclusively in cars manufactured by the

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. ...

marque since 1990.

Career

Biela started his career in 1983 in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

before joining the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

''Youngster Team'' programme in 1987 alongside Manuel Reuter and Bernd Schneider. He drove for the team in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

and the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide. The original DTM had resumed racing with producti ...

(the German touring car championship), where he won the race at

AVUS The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS, is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern p ...

in 1987. Biela continued to compete in the DTM in 1988, and also raced a limited season in German

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

, scoring two wins. In 1990, he moved to

, winning the DTM race at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

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 Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created ...

) 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 The Championnat de France de Supertourisme ( en, French Supertouring Championship) was a touring car racing championship organised by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile between 1976 and 2005. The championship was contested on several ...

in 1993 driving the Audi 80 (in which he won the championship in) entered by Audi into the championship pairing alongside

Marc Sourd Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

. 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 The FIA World Touring Car Cup (abbreviated to WTCR, referring to the use of TCR regulations) was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It h ...

race at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

in the new

Audi A4 The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first ...

, which quickly became one of the dominant touring cars of the mid-1990s. Biela also competed in the

Super Tourenwagen Cup The Super Tourenwagen Cup, or German Supertouring Championship, was a touring car racing series held between 1994 and 1999 in Germany. The championship was established when BMW and Audi both left the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) in 19 ...

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 Joachim Winkelhock (born 24 October 1960) is a German motor racing driver. The younger brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock, Winkelhock was born in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart. The youngest brother, Thomas Winkelhock, and Manfred's son Markus ...

respectively. During the AVUS Berlin race in September 1995, Biela's Audi struck

Kieth O'dor Kieth O'dor (5 April 1962 – 11 September 1995) was a British racing driver, born in Salisbury, who competed primarily in touring cars. He scored Nissan's first win during the super touring era in both the British Touring Car Championship an ...

'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. 1996AudiQuattroA4

For 1996, Audi decided to enter a works team of two A4s in the

BTCC The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

. Biela was selected to lead the team; alongside team-mate

John Bintcliffe John Simon Bintcliffe (born 7 February 1966 in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is a motor racing figure. He has been involved in the British Touring Car Championship as both driver and team owner. He won the Renault Clio Cup ...

, 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 The WTCR Race of Macau, previously Guia Race of Macau and WTCC Guia Race of Macau, is an international touring car race, and currently a round of the World Touring Car Cup. It is held on the temporary 6.2 km Guia Circuit on the streets of Ma ...

. 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 Alain Menu (born 9 August 1963) is a Swiss racing driver who is currently working for Team BMR as a driving coach. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice ...

. Biela then left Britain to return to the German

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. In 1999, Biela abandoned touring cars in favour of joining the

Audi R8 The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006. The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufac ...

sports car project, racing under the Audi Sport Team Joest name. It was a good match, and Biela excelled in

over the next few seasons, winning several classic events at the wheel of the R8 as well as three

ALMS Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread practice in a numbe ...

races. The highlight of Biela's time with the R8 team was three successive victories (2000-2002) in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

alongside

Emanuele Pirro Emanuele Pirro (born 12 January 1962) is an Italian racing driver who has raced in Formula One, touring cars and in endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans which he has won a total of five times. Two times Italian Karting Champion (19 ...

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 Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany. Early years As a combined driver/team owner, Reinhold Joest first began t ...

(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 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, he missed the pit lane after just 15 laps and ran out of fuel. He finished 5th and 3rd in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, 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 The 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 74th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place over 17–18 June 2006. The winners of the race were Frank Biela, Marco Werner, and Emanuele Pirro, driving the Audi R10 TDI. For the first time in the history o ...

, alongside Pirro and new team-mate

Marco Werner Marco Werner (born April 27, 1966 in Dortmund) is a professional racer from Germany. He is a winner of the Triple Crown in endurance racing. In his early career, Werner finished runner-up in the Formula Opel Euroseries in 1989 and runner-up in t ...

, Biela took his fourth victory to date in the classic race. He repeated the victory with the same car and team in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

Honors and awards

His greatest achievements include winning: * 1991

German Touring Car Championship with an

Audi V8 The Audi V8 (''Typ'' 4C) is a four-door, full-size luxury sedan, designed, manufactured and marketed by Audi in Germany from 1988-1993, as the company's flagship. As the first car from Audi to use a V8 engine, also was the first Audi to combine ...

(he has also finished 2nd and 3rd in DTM) * 1993

French Touring Car Championship The Championnat de France de Supertourisme ( en, French Supertouring Championship) was a touring car racing championship organised by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile between 1976 and 2005. The championship was contested on several ...

* 1995 short-lived Touring Car World Cup one-off race * 1996

in 1996 (finishing as runner-up the year after) * 1996

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

Guia Race The WTCR Race of Macau, previously Guia Race of Macau and WTCC Guia Race of Macau, is an international touring car race, and currently a round of the World Touring Car Cup. It is held on the temporary 6.2 km Guia Circuit on the streets of Mac ...

* 2000, 2001, 2002

with an

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans with an Audi R10 * In a 2005 poll conducted by Motorsport Magazine, Biela was voted 19th best touring car driver ever. Hall of fame Le Mans-winners 2002

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 Super Tourenwagen Cup results

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

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded all races) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

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

race

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biela, Frank 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Neuss Racing drivers from North Rhine-Westphalia German racing drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship Champions Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champions 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Porsche Supercup drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Australian Endurance Championship drivers Team Joest drivers Audi Sport drivers Abt Sportsline drivers Josef Kaufmann Racing drivers Arena Motorsport drivers Phoenix Racing drivers G-Drive Racing drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers