Team Pyro’s Josh Files catapulted himself to the top of the standings with a brace of dominant race wins in Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2013 Renault Eurocup Clio Championship at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya (19-20 October).
With the 2013 Eurocup Clio season reaching its climax, the Norwich-based Files vowed to throw caution to the wind on Spanish soil to diminish his 23-point deficit to Massimiliano Pedala in the championship.
The newly-crowned Renault UK Clio Cup Champion immediately stated his intent, going quickest in Friday’s first free practice session and achieving pole positions for both Eurocup Clio races on the 4.65km Circuit de Catalunya.
Having set the timesheets alight in qualifying, Files duly led away from pole position in Round 9 on Saturday afternoon (19 October).
The Team Pyro contender staunchly defended against a forceful Antonio Martinez, Simone de Luca and Pedala during the opening laps, before relinquishing the lead to Martinez on lap four.
However, Files was soon back in front of the Catalonian driver and opened up what proved to be an unassailable lead to achieve his second Eurocup Clio race win of 2013 – his first since the season-opening round at Imola.
Files took command from the word go in Round 10 on Sunday (20 October), building and maintaining a healthy gap over the chasing pack to ‘do the double’ at Catalunya and achieve his third Eurocup victory.
Files shared the podium with local racer Martinez and title rival Nicolas Milan and, with Pedala finishing fifth and ninth in Rounds 9 and 10 respectively, holds an 11-point lead in the Renault Eurocup Clio Championship with only two races at Motorland Aragon left to run in a fortnight’s time (2-3 November).
“It has been a perfect weekend and I think winning the UK Clio Cup title perhaps helped me relax a little,” said Files. “I’d love to win both championships and that’s why I had to get victories at Catalunya. Nevertheless, I didn't expect to be leading the championship. The results put us in a great position for the finale at Motorland Aragon – all we need now is a race win and we’ll be untouchable.
“I was really keen to get at least one pole position before the end of the season and I knew we could achieve it based on our free practice pace. Starting the races from pole massively simplifies things in the races. Antonio Martinez was quite forceful in the first race and it was initially hard to defend against him, as slipstreaming was so effective. It was great to beat Martinez, as it would be a massive understatement to say that he knows Catalunya inside out – he literally lives around the corner! With all that in mind, I knew it would be crucial to make a break on the opening lap in race two, so that's what I did. From there, all I had to do was control the gap.”
The title-deciding round – Rounds 11 and 12 – of the 2013 Renault Eurocup Clio Championship will be held at Motorland Aragon in two weeks' time (2-3 November).
For more information on Josh Files' racing activities, please visit the official www.joshfiles.co.uk website, 'like' his Facebook page or follow @JoshFiles on Twitter.