Team Pyro’s Josh Files hopes to wrap up the 2013 Renault Eurocup Clio Championship in style, striving for race wins in the title-deciding round – Rounds 11 and 12 – of the ultra-competitive one-make saloon car series at Motorland Aragon (2-3 November).
The newly-crowned Renault UK Clio Cup Champion catapulted himself to the top of the Eurocup standings by achieving a brace of emphatic victories in Rounds 9 and 10 at Circuit de Catalunya just over a week ago (19-20 October).
The 22-year old from Norwich spectacularly transformed a 23-point deficit to an 11-point lead over chief title foe Massmiliano Pedala with a dominant display, and will hope to continue in that vein upon his return to Spanish soil for the highly-anticipated season finale at Motorland Aragon.
The 5.34km-long track is based near Alcaniz in Spain and was penned by world-renowned circuit designer Hermann Tilke in conjunction with Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Test and Reserve Driver, Pedro de la Rosa.
Files once again has very little knowledge or experience of the Spanish venue, but believes he’s capable of acquainting himself with the circuit’s intricacies quickly and keeping his championship rivals, Pedala and Nicolas Milan, at bay.
“I kind of know where Motorland Aragon goes after spending some time on the simulator at iZone, but it’s always different driving the circuit in real life,” said Files. “As always, I’ll just have to suck it and see, which has worked so far – I never expected to come away from Catalunya in the lead of the championship after taking two victories, so I'm in a much healthier position than I thought I would be!
“When racing on a circuit you know well it’s very easy to over-drive. Despite what people may think, when you’re not familiar with a track, you take a more tentative approach and somehow go quicker. I think reining myself in and making sure I drive within myself at 95 per cent is the best way of winning a championship anyway. I have an 11-point lead in the standings so I’ll be targeting additional race victories to get the job done.”
Renault Eurocup Clio Championship qualifying is scheduled for 8.30 on Saturday (2 November), with Round 11 at 13.15. Round 12 – the final race of the season – is scheduled to begin at 12.45 on Sunday (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.