Josh Files wins Race 1 and takes the points leadership

Josh Files took an authoritative victory in TCR Europe’s first race at the Red Bull Ring and so took the leadership in the standings, because none of the drivers who were placed on top of the classification before the race scored.
Files’ winning move was the overtaking of pole sitter Luca Filippi after the start; from that moment on, the Briton showed a superior pace, which was the evidence that the Target Competition crew had worked well to solve the problems his Hyundai car had suffered during Friday’s Practice. Not even a safety car intervention that regrouped the field prevented Files from pulling away at the restart.
L. Filippi was unable to convert the pole into his maiden Touring Car victory, but achieved his first podium result since he joined the category and completed a 1-2 finish for Hyundai. The Korean brand would have made a clean sweep without Daniel Lloyd who managed to finish third, worming his way amongst a group of five i30 N cars. Lloyd stole third place to Nelson Panciatici, who then put in a great defence driving and resisted the assaults from Luca Engstler.
Julien Briché, Gilles Magnus and Aurélien Comte who were first, second and third in the standings after Spa remained scoreless. The Frenchman’s Peugeot stopped on the track with a technical problem, Magnus was dropped out of the points by a 5-second penalty for a grid infringement and Comte was eliminated in the pile up triggered by the collision between Martin Ryba and Santiago Urrutia that eliminated Jessica Bäckman and Teddy Clairet as well.
Files now leads the standings by 12 points over Briché, while Magnus is third a further 13 points adrift.
The second race will start tomorrow at 11:30 with Tom Coronel and Gianni Morbidelli sharing the front row of the top-ten reverse grid; live streaming at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.

Race 1
1. Josh Files  (Target Competition, Hyundai i30 N), 17 laps
2. Luca Filippi (BRC Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 1.187
3. Daniel Lloyd (Brutal Fish Racing Team, Honda Civic FK7), 4.664
4. Nelson Panciatici (M Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 5.549
5. Luca Engstler (M1RA Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 5.768

Championship points
1. Files 159; 2. Briché 147; 3. Magnus 134