Josh Files disappointed with post-race penalty

Josh Files had won the first ADAC TCR Germany race in Oschersleben, but the Brit was demoted to ninth soon after the race had ended as his car was not on its tyres at the three minutes marker before the start of the race, as the sporting rules mandate.

The Target Competition driver was left very disappointed after race control imposed a post-race drive through penalty, which was converted to 30 seconds added to his race time: “It is incredibly disappointing, losing a race win like this,” admitted the Brit to TouringCarTimes. “The car was perfect and we have been fastest all weekend, and we lost it due to a minor infringement.”

The team delayed getting the car down by about three seconds, enough to trigger the penalty: “We were just a few seconds late, and yet we lost the win.”

The dominant performance the Honda driver showed during the race makes the pill even harder to swallow: “To win a race in such a way, with that kind of advantage, and then lose it for such a small detail is more than disappointing, I can’t find the words to describe it. Hopefully I can make up for that tomorrow.”

Files will start from tenth in tomorrow’s race due to the reversed grid.