Josh Files holds advantage for penultimate round at Barcelona
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosts the penultimate round of the 2019 TCR Europe series this weekend, with Target Competition’s Josh Files needing to outscore title rival Luca Engster by eight points to secure the title.
Files currently heads the standings on 254 points, having claimed six podiums in total this year, including a pair of wins. He is 78 points clear of M1RA’s Engstler on 176.
There are 85 points available in each of the remaining rounds – the season-finale at Monza next month – meaning Files only requires an eight-point swing in the Hyundai driver’s favour.
Two third place finishes at the previous round at Oschersleben enabled Files to extend what had already been a healthy championship lead, with a crucial non-score for Engstler in the opening race of the weekend potentially proving critical in the title battle.
Files inherited his first podium of the weekend after post-race penalties stripped Target Competition team-mate Andreas Bäckman of victory and M Racing’s Nelson Panciatici from second place.
Brutal Fish Racing’ Dan Lloyd, who finished third on the road in his Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR, was eventually declared as the winner from Boutsen Ginion’s Tom Coronel and Files.
Coronel and Files repeated their podium finishes in the second race of the weekend, won by Wolf-Power Racing’s Alex Morgan.
While the drivers’ championship effectively a two-horse race between the Hyundai pairing of Files and Engstler, the teams’ title battle may well be influenced by the compensation weight, which was announced earlier in the week.
Target Competition lead the standings on 583 points, however the Hyundai i30 N TCR will remain at the maximum of 60kg. Their main challengers in the teams’ championship, WRT will enjoy a weight break on both Maxime Potty’s Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR and Santiago Urrutia’s Audi RS 3 LMS.
The Golf will run 50kg lighter than in Oschersleben, while the Audi drops from 30kg to 0kg this weekend. The Hyundai i30 N TCR will remain at the maximum of 60kg of compensation weight.
The weekend will start on Friday with free practice, with the first session scheduled for 13:15 CEST and the second for 18:05, both lasting 30 minutes. Qualifying will be held on Saturday at 11:40, with the usual Q1-Q2 format.
Race 1 takes place on Saturday afternoon, starting at 17:45 and lasting 25 minutes. The second race will start at 12:30 on Sunday.
TCR Europe – Barcelona timetable
Friday 20th September
13:15 – Free practice 1
18:05 – Free practice 2
Saturday 21st September
11:40 – Qualifying
17:45 – Race 1
Sunday 22nd September
12:30 – Race 2
