Gilles Magnus: “This track’s good for us but we mustn’t lose focus”

TCR Europe series points leader Gilles Magnus finished the first day of practice at Hockenheim in second position, just under a tenth of a second behind the rival Audi of Santiago Urrutia, and says the Hockenheim circuit is very much an Audi circuit.

With the only two Audis within the 32-car field finishing the final practice session P1 and P2, it seemed the long wheelbase RS 3 LMS is set to do well at its home circuit, with its headquarters 300km to the east in Germany.

Magnus, who leads the standings on a points tie with M Racing’s Nelson Panciatici, says it bodes well for the weekend, but doesn’t’ want to get to complacent.

“After Budapest, which maybe wasn’t the best circuit for Audi, we’re at a circuit which is good for Audi, and it’s looking good so far,” said the Comtoyou Racing driver to TouringCarTimes.

“We’re looking to take a lot of points here; we’re already pretty happy as we’re leading the championship after a race weekend which should have been difficult for us; but it’s only practice, so we need to stay focussed and see what happens tomorrow.”

The closest threat to the two Audis came from Target Competition’s Josh Files, with the British driver the Hyundai driver with the most experience of the circuit from his two seasons in the TCR Germany championship.

“Josh Files showed the Hyundai also has potential,” said Magnus. “There was only one Hyundai which was close in practice, but I think the other guys will be there tomorrow as well, so we’ll keep on working and not fall asleep as they’ll be there for sure.”