28-year-old British racer Josh Files has been crowned the 2019 TCR Europe drivers champion.
At the temple of speed, Monza, driving his Target Competition prepared Hyundai i30 N TCR car, he finished the season with a podium and victory in the final races. Target Competition had already secured the teams title in Barcelona making it a clean sweep of championships.
Heading to Monza, Italy, for the final round of the year Files was optimistic of his chances to fight for more podium finishes. During both Free Practice sessions Files again showed his season long pace by finishing them both in 3rd.
In Saturdays two-part qualifying Files managed to go faster again, but this time it was only enough for 9th on the grid as the competition found a turn of speed. His closest rival Julien Briché was on Pole position to add to the excitement of the final event.
In race 1 Files made an excellent start from 9th and charged his way through to 6th position by the end of lap 1. On lap 2 he made another 2 places to take 4th with 3rd place driver Santiago Urrutia already 3 seconds ahead. Lap after lap Files made inroads into the Audi driver and then attacked for the last podium place at the Parabolica on lap 9. He stole the last rostrum spot before then chasing the two leaders down, and whilst he closed the gap significantly there was not enough laps left to mount an attack. He therefore finished 3rd after a storming drive through the field.
Race 2: The championship went down to the wire. Files had to finish only 11th and Briché had to come into the top 2 from 9th on the grid. Starting 2nd Files again made an excellent start and attacked Maxime Potty into the second chicane for the lead. Now at the head of the field Files tried to break the tow, but given how effective it is, he was unable to pull away, constantly under pressure from the Honda now of Dan Lloyd. Briché carved his way up to 3rd, and then took second place on lap 9. With Files and Briché now duelling it out for the race win and championship, the tense battle ensued lap after lap until the very last corner of the race. Files held his own and under the intense pressure took not only the last race victory of the season but the championship title too.
“This is absolutely mega!!!” Beamed Files. “What a way to do it, what a team to do it with and what a great competitor in Julien. He pushed us to the bitter end which makes it even more special what we have achieved just now, I honestly can’t tell you how much this means, it’s amazing!”
“I have to thank everyone at Target Competition, they have done an amazing job this year with our Hyundai i30N TCR cars, and they are also Teams’ champions too. Hyundai motorsport have built a fantastic car, and special thanks also has to go to our many supporters, including of course AirWalk and Autodis, as without every single person involved, this year wouldn’t have been possible”
“This is a special team, a special feeling and a special year. I won’t ever forget this feeling!”
TCR Europe ended after 14 races of intense battles and action. On his way to the title Files secured 3 victories, 8 podiums, 3 fastest laps, 4 front row starts and one pole position.