A lights-to-flag victory in Race 2 for Josh Files at the Sachsenring means the British driver is now within a handful of points of securing his third TCR title. The reigning TCR Germany and TCR Middle East champion made a superb start and, despite intense pressure for much of the race from the SEAT of Mike Halder, Files kept his cool to take the victory and extend his lead over Halder to 78 points with just two races remaining.
In all, 32 cars started the race after the Opel of Dino Calcum retired before the start. Files started from pole position after a rule infringement in Qualifying dropped Alex Morgan to the back of the grid.
Like Files, Halder made a great start and passed Kris Richard on the opening lap to move into second place. Files’ Target Competition teammate Tim Zimmermann started from third on the grid but received a drive-through penalty for jump-start. The scene was then set for a series of battles within the top ten, with Halder quickly closing to within six-tenths of a second of Files and Sheldon van der Linde fighting firstly with Moritz Oestreich for fifth place and then Steve Kirsch for fourth.
Files appeared to manage his tyres better than Halder and the challenge from the SEAT driver began to fade over the second half of the thirty-minute race. While Files’ Honda Civic began to pull away, positions at the lower end of the top ten were far from decided. A series of passing moves saw Harald Proczyk move steadily from 12th to 7th while Antti Buri fought with several drivers before eventually finishing 9th. Oestreich was denied a top ten finish on the final lap when he was passed by Max Hofer’s Audi.
Files’ winning margin over Halder was a little over 1.6 seconds, with Kris Richard’s Honda completing the podium. Behind the trio, Steve Kirsch managed to hold off the determined van der Linde while Luca Engstler finished sixth ahead of Proczyk. Florian Thoma, Buri and Hofer rounded off the top ten.
The final round of the TCR Germany series at Hockenheim next weekend will therefore decide the title battle, with Files now virtually assured of the crown for the second successive year.
