Josh Files experienced the highs and lows of motorsport in the latest round of the TCR Germany series but remains in pole position to retain his championship title.
'It was a weekend of two halves,' said the Poringland racer after being knocked out of race two having being mixed up in a violent start line accident involving Dino Calcum's Opel.
'The best news is Dino was okay as the crash was one of the hardest I've seen,' said the race one winner.
The Target Competition team had worked hard to get Files' Honda Civic dialled into the Nurburging and the local racer stormed around the German circuit to post impressive lap times which left him third on the grid for race one.
The local racer then made another of his stunning starts and jumped into the lead of race one followed by pole man Mike Halder and Niels Langenfeld however a midfield collision brought out the safety car and nullified the race.
Once the race resumed Files managed to keep the lead despite the best efforts of his rivals until a second safety car interrupted events.
Racing resumed with three minutes remaining and at the start of the final lap Halder pulled level with Files' Honda but the local racer held his nerve and kept the lead for win number four for the season.
'To win the first race in such style with such a fight was a great feeling and it made me immensely proud of all the effort we as a team put in, and this was our reward,' added Files afterwards.
Files would start the second race from grid eight, as the fastest top ten are reversed for race two, and he made another lightning start.
However, at the front of the grid Max Hofer made a slow start and in defending his position made contact with Calcum which knocked him into Files, breaking the Honda's front suspension, and saw the Opel smash into the safety barrier.
The series will resume in late September with Files 77 points ahead of Halder with Langenfeld a further 14 points in arrears while Files' Target Competition team also leads the teams championship.
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