Josh Files determined to win despite wet setup issues in Macau qualifying

Despite some good performances in free practice, Josh Files dropped out of the top ten in Q2 in Macau, finishing eleventh. The newly-crowned TCR Germany champion says setup issues didn’t give him enough confidence to push in the wet.

“In Q1 I just kissed the wall, so I went back to the pits to check the car”, said the Brit to TouringCarTimes. “We thought the time was good enough for Q2, which it was. Our car is very much set up for the dry, so we tried to adapt it to the rain as much as possible, but I was wheelspinning in all gears, which I had never experienced before. In second or third gear it’s acceptable, but in all gears it’s just too hard.”

At that point Files just focused on bringing the car home in one piece: “I didn’t really push because I knew I couldn’t fight for pole position with this setup anyway, so I thought I’d just bring the car home. Tomorrow will be a fun race. I know I’m good at starting, so I hope to make a few position before Lisboa and then I want to be there in the fight for the second race, that’s the aim.”

The Target Competition driver lapped behind fellow Honda driver Tiago Monteiro, which he feels helped towards the good performances in the dry: “It helped to have Tiago (Monteiro) ahead of me a couple of times this weekend, I could see the lines of an experienced drivers, and I actually had the same with (Gianni) Morbidelli, so that surely helped. I know I was here last year, but I consider this as my first proper outing in Macau. In Q1 I was behind Tiago and going faster and faster, I was already half a second quicker than in free practice, so maybe I could have been quicker than (Pepe) Oriola. I think our pace in the dry is good, and I’m sure we can have a good car in the wet, it was just that unfortunate session today, when we weren’t competitive enough.”

When asked if he would prefer a wet or dry race, his answer was very quick: “I’m British, I love the rain! You just need to have the confidence in the car, and we need to work as a team to make sure I have that confidence in all conditions. We made some changes, but it just didn’t work. Tomorrow is another day anyway.”

Files also confirmed he will do everything he can to make sure he climbs up the grid, as the Brit focuses on getting a good grid slot for the second race, regardless of the title battle: “I’m here to race. I don’t want to get in the way of the championship, but at the same time I won’t let anyone go just for the sake of their championship. With all due respect to the others, I have no friends here, I’m my own driver and I’m here to do my race and win it. I will not put anyone in the wall, but if there’s a gap I will go for it. I know I can take more risks than the others, because they need to finish both races, so that’s good for me. They’re all going to be fighting and I hope I will be able to take advantage of it.”