24h Le Mans
Less media-friendly than Derek Bell and more reserved than Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela is nontheless a member of the (very) exclusive club of five-time winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, just like the first two mentioned. The German driver amassed his five trophies, as well as all of his various wins and titles, with Audi for whom he remained an ambassador after his retirement from motorsports.
Frank Biela took off his gloves and hung up his helmet in 2008, Audi having chosen not to renew his contract despite a career entirely devoted to the German marque. Indeed, after F3, the German had turned to super-touring races and quickly became an official Audi driver.
Biela achieved his early acclaim in 1991 with the title in DTM. After Audi took leave of the super-touring championship, the German driver left for the Championship of France for Supertouring, which ended at the end of 2005, that he won in 1993, becoming the only foreign driver to have clinched that title. He then crossed the Channel and became a BTCC champion in 1996.
A legendary Audi driver, it was natural in the early 2000s that he be recruited for the German manufacturer's endurance program even though he did not have any experience driving a prototype. Along with Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro, Biela gave the Audi R8 its first win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000 before following up with two consecutive victories, in 2001 and in 2002. He did the same with the Audi R10 TDI in 2006 and in 2007, still with Pirro, Marco Werner having replaced Kristensen.
Like Kristensen, nine-time winner with whom he won his first three victories at Le Mans, Biela was successful 50% of the time at the 24 Hours, reaching the first step on the podium five times in 10 participations. In all, the German driver claimed a podium finish seven times - achieved with teammate Pirro.
Though the duo was inseparable for nearly a decade at Le Mans, it was often separated in the other classic endurance races and in the American Le Mans Series, the championship in which the German marque competed, officially or otherwise, between 2000 and 2008. Indeed, Biela won four times at the 12 Hours of Sebring (2000, 2003, 2004 and 2007) while the Italian won twice.
Two, the number of times Biela won at Petit Le Mans, in 2001 and in 2005, and also the number of titles he earned in the ALMS, in 2003 and in 2005, a decidedly successful decade both for Audi and for Frank Biela who wasn't necessarily the fastest, but who was certainly capable, between two cigarettes, to carry out stints like clockwork flawlessly.
Happy Birthday Frank!
Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: Copyright - Michel JAMIN / ACO
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 18 2006, RACE. Frank Biela on his way to a fourth victory at Le Mans, the first for an Audi R10 and a diesel car.
