Biela began his motorsport career in 1982 in karting and became German champion in this category in 1983. He competed in Formula Ford and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), joining the Ford Youngster Team in 1987 alongside Bernd Schneider and Manuel Reuter. He won a DTM race at AVUS in 1987. He also competed in the German Formula 3 Championship until 1989, scoring a third place in 1988.
In 1990, Biela joined the MS-Racing team, driving a Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution DTM and winning a DTM round at the Nürburgring. He switched to Audi in 1991 and captured the DTM championship with the Audi V8 quattro. In 1993, he won the French Supertouring Championship with an Audi 80, becoming the only non-French driver to achieve that title. He was also a vice-champion in DTM in 1994 with the Audi 80 and finished third in 1995 with an Audi A4 quattro.
In 1995, Biela won the Touring Car World Cup race at Circuit Paul Ricard in the newly developed Audi A4. During an ADAC Super Tourenwagen Cup race in September 1995 at AVUS Berlin, Biela’s Audi struck Kieth O’dor's disabled car, fatally injuring O’dor.
For the 1996 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), Audi entered two A4 cars with Biela as lead driver. He won the championship decisively, finishing every race and almost always in the top ten. He also won the Macau Guia Race that year. Ballast penalties on four-wheel-drive vehicles hampered his 1997 defense; he finished second overall to Alain Menu. After 1997, Biela returned to the German Super Tourenwagen Cup for 1998, finishing 14th in the championship.
In 1999, Biela transitioned to sportscar racing with the Audi R8 project. On his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an Audi R8R with Biela, Didier Theys, and Emanuele Pirro finished third. He achieved three consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victories (2000–2002) alongside Pirro and Tom Kristensen in the Audi R8. After Audi reduced R8 support following 2002, Biela continued to race an R8 at Le Mans, finishing fifth in 2004 and third in 2005.
Biela returned to Le Mans success with the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI in 2006 and 2007, partnered with Pirro and Marco Werner. He won four 12 Hours of Sebring (2000, 2003, 2004, 2007) and took the Petit Le Mans in 2001 and 2005. He claimed the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) LMP900 Drivers' Championship in 2003 and the LMP1 Drivers' Championship in 2005. In 2001, he was named ADAC Motorsport Driver of the Year. A 2005 Motorsport Magazine poll ranked him the 19th best touring car driver of all time.
After 2007, Biela slightly reduced his racing duties, staying with Audi as a development driver. He started competing in the German VLN championship at the Nürburgring, winning three titles (2009, 2011, 2012) and also winning the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the same years, driving an Audi R8 LMS twice and an Audi TT RRS once. He will drive an Audi R8 LMS in the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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