23 FRANK BIELA

CHAMPION:1996

Frank Biela’s star was spotted early on. At just 19 years old, he was spotted by Ford as a talent for the future, and it supported his career alongside Manuel Reuter and Bernd Schneider.

As well as funding him in singleseaters, it drafted Biela into its DTM programme and Biela was an immediate hit. He switched to Audi in 1990 and was at the forefront of the new Super Touring regulations. When the A4 model replaced the Audi 80 as the German firm’s weapon of choice, Biela enjoyed unprecedented circuit racing success.

He won the DTM in 1991 and then went on to the two-litre Super Tourenwagen Cup, where he was also prolific.

But it was Audi’s decision to enter the British Touring Car Championship that marked one of his most decorated tin-top spells. The four-wheel-drive car powered him to eight victories in that season and he only finished outside the top 10 in two of the 26 races that year.

He had been expected to continue his dominance but a weight penalty imposed by the rulemakers for 1997 made life a lot harder for the German. The extra ballast was reduced halfway through the season and allowed him to race at the front again, but he lost out in the title fight to Alain Menu’s Renault Laguna.

After his BTCC days, Biela went on to be a mainstay of Audi’s Le Mans programme, and took five victories in his 10 attempts at the French classic.