Julien Briche does not expect to compete with Josh Files for the TCR Europe title, citing the Brit’s points advantage and allegedly faster car.
The Frenchman qualified third in tricky conditions at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this morning, his first outing in the Peugeot 308 TCR in the rain.
That puts Briche one position behind Files on the grid, the latter currently holding a 89-point advantage with 175 markers still on the table between now and the end of the season at Monza.
Files told TouringCars.net on Friday he felt Briche was a threat, as much as nearest title rival Luca Engstler (M1RA).
“For the championship, it is very difficult, as Files has already built a huge advantage,” said Briche.
“The Hyundai cars are also faster than us, so I think that finishing among the top three in the championship will be very difficult for us.”
He was, however, satisfied with a second-row starting slot in the ‘complicated’ conditions, and says the work now continues on optimising that setup ahead of the race later today at 17:20 CEST.
“P3 is quite satisfying, because for us it was a very complicated Qualifying as we had never driven with the Peugeot 308 TCR in the wet,” said Briche.
“We are very happy and now we work to see if we can optimize the setup for this afternoon’s race.
“If we manage to do so, the race will be very interesting.”