Josh Files put in a faultless drive to convert pole position into a race victory in the opening TCR Europe race at Hockenheim, and with it moves into the overall championship lead.
The Target Competition racer made the best start from the front row and from thereon in managed the gap – and a safety car restart – to put the Hyundai i30 N TCR in the winners circle for the first time in the series this season.
Luca Engstler came out on top of a thrilling scrap for second with Maxime Potty, whilst erstwhile points leader Gilles Magnus slipped to eighth at the chequered flag.
Most of the pre-race talk had been about whether Files, looking to continue his success story with Hockenheim after claiming two TCR Germany titles at the 2.8-mile Baden-Wurttemberg circuit, could keep behind Magnus’ Audi RS 3 LMS.
That question was never fully answered, with the Belgian slipping back to fourth at the start as first Engstler, then Potty got past before the sharp right-hander at Turn 1.
Whilst Files set about building his eventual 3.5-second gap at the front, compatriot Dan Lloyd’s Honda Civic Type R collided with Aurelien Comte’s Peugeot 308 TCR at Turn 2, rendering him a retiree on his debut in the category with front-left damage.
Magnus seemed to struggle in the opening exchanges, dropping back to sixth behind a thrilling four-car scrap for the runner-up spot, Engstler holding on from Potty, Hungaroring race-winner Julien Briche and Andreas Backman.
The TCR Benelux points leader was thrown a lifeline, however, as Mat’o Homola’s beached Hyundai at Sachs Kurve necessitated a safety car period.
Concerns that Files’ first victory of the campaign might be under threat from the restart proved unfounded, with the Brit powering clear to build up a 1-second lead before the cars even crossed the line to resume racing.
From thereon in it proved relatively straightforward for Files, who duly took the chequered flag 2.465 seconds clear to assume the championship lead.
He also became the first repeat podium finisher of 2019, with Engstler and Potty similarly delighted by opening their silverware account for the year.
Briche would eventually finish a slightly distant fourth after fending off Backman by half a second, with Santiago Urrutia the leading Audi in sixth after making progress at the restart.
That included a pass on the other Audi of Magnus, who took eighth behind Comte.
Teddy and Jimmy Clairet made their way up through the midfield to round out the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively.
The second and final race at Hockenheim is scheduled to take place tomorrow at 10:35 BST.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 9 | Josh FILES |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 22:57.274 | 1:48.464 | 1 |
| 2 | 8 | Luca ENGSTLER |  |
M1RA Motorsport | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 2.307 | 1:48.896 | 3 |
| 3 | 88 | Maxime POTTY |  |
Team WRT | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 12 | 2.791 | 1:48.683 | 4 |
| 4 | 24 | Julien BRICHÉ |  |
JSB Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 12 | 3.691 | 1:48.550 | 10 |
| 5 | 19 | Andreas BÄCKMAN |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 4.309 | 1:48.706 | 5 |
| 6 | 55 | Santiago URRUTIA |  |
Team WRT | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 12 | 5.531 | 1:49.590 | 7 |
| 7 | 7 | Aurélien COMTE | |
DG Sport Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 12 | 7.181 | 1:49.402 | 6 |
| 8 | 16 | Gilles MAGNUS | |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 12 | 7.468 | 1:49.397 | 2 |
| 9 | 111 | Teddy CLAIRET | |
Team Clairet Sport | Peugeot 308 TCR | 12 | 9.760 | 1:50.229 | 17 |
| 10 | 112 | Jimmy CLAIRET | |
Team Clairet Sport | Peugeot 308 TCR | 12 | 10.275 | 1:50.496 | 16 |
| 11 | 50 | Tom CORONEL |  |
Boutsen Ginion Racing | Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR | 12 | 10.530 | 1:49.595 | 21 |
| 12 | 12 | Nelson PANCIATICI | |
M Racing | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 11.200 | 1:50.190 | 23 |
| 13 | 26 | Jessica BÄCKMAN | |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 12.639 | 1:49.969 | 9 |
| 14 | 62 | Dušan BORKOVIĆ |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 15.962 | 1:50.652 | 14 |
| 15 | 27 | John FILIPPI | |
Vuković Motorsport | Renault Mégane RS TCR | 12 | 16.188 | 1:50.344 | 20 |
| 16 | 25 | Natan BIHEL | |
M Racing | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 16.383 | 1:50.791 | 29 |
| 17 | 3 | Davit KAJAIA |  |
PCR Sport with Georgia | CUPRA TCR | 12 | 16.820 | 1:50.962 | 28 |
| 18 | 96 | Abdulla Ali AL-KHELAIFI |  |
QMMF Racing by PCR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 12 | 17.010 | 1:50.923 | 22 |
| 19 | 10 | Viktor DAVIDOVSKY |  |
PSS Racing Team | Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR | 12 | 17.315 | 1:50.975 | 26 |
| 20 | 5 | Alex MORGAN | |
Wolf-Power Racing | Renault Mégane RS TCR | 12 | 19.981 | 1:51.668 | 30 |
| 21 | 46 | Olli KANGAS |  |
WestCoast Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 12 | 20.170 | 1:51.720 | 25 |
| 22 | 17 | Martin RYBA |  |
Brutal Fish Racing Team | Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR | 12 | 21.637 | 1:51.440 | 31 |
| 23 | 99 | Dániel NAGY |  |
M1RA Motorsport | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 12 | 22.677 | 1:51.106 | 18 |
| 24 | 21 | Marie BAUS-COPPENS | |
JSB Compétition | CUPRA TCR | 12 | 40.665 | 1:50.842 | 32 |
| 25 | 23 | Tamás TENKE | |
Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA TCR | 11 | + 1 LAP | 1:49.065 | 24 |
| R | 81 | Stéphane VENTAJA | |
Team Clairet Sport | Peugeot 308 TCR | 6 | DNF | 1:51.574 | 27 |
| R | 70 | Mat’o HOMOLA | |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | DNF | 1:51.481 | 11 |
| R | 30 | Luca FILIPPI |  |
BRC Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 4 | DNF | 1:53.104 | 12 |
| R | 34 | Stian PAULSEN |  |
Stian Paulsen Racing | CUPRA TCR | 2 | DNF | 1:55.574 | 13 |
| R | 44 | Lilou WADOUX | |
JSB Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 2 | DNF | 2:03.125 | 19 |
| R | 123 | Daniel LLOYD | |
Brutal Fish Racing Team | Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR | 1 | DNF | 1:58.975 | 8 |
| R | 45 | Gianni MORBIDELLI | |
WestCoast Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 1 | DNF | 2:00.979 | 15 |