11 July 2014
Josh Files dominates practice at the Nürburgring
For the return of the Eurocup Clio to the Nürburgring, Josh Files (Team Pyro) set best time of the collective tests. The defending champion dominated the two Friday sessions, setting a best lap time of 2:19.185 to lead from championship leader, Oscar Nogues (Rangoni Corse), and 2013 Clio Cup UK runner-up, Alex Morgan (Rangoni Corse).
Two months after the Motorland Aragón meeting, the Eurocup Clio made its return to the Nürburgring. The competitors in the category had 20-minutes of track time during the first collective test that was delayed and shortened due to the heavy morning fog in the Eifel region.
First on track, Tomas Pekar (Lema Racing Team) and team-mate Ivan Pulić led early on. Josh Files (Team Pyro) and Massimiliano Pedalà (Composit Motorsport) then took over, before the Englishman swapped best time on several occasions with Alex Morgan (Rangoni Corse). On his last lap, the defending champion put in a time of 2:19.373 to lead the session ahead of his countryman and Oscar Nogues (Rangoni Corse). Mikel Azcona (PCRSport) and Eric Trémoulet (Vic’Team) completed the top five.
In the afternoon session, Josh Files and Nikolay Gryazin (Composit Motorsport) led at the start of the session. Alex Morgan then went to the top of the time sheet, before Josh Files went quicker as did Oscar Nogues.
The leader in the general classification launched the final sprint. Massimiliano Pedalà and Mikel Azcona each set best time before Josh Files answered. With three minutes to go, the winner of the 2013 Eurocup Clio and Clio Cup UK improved, stopping the clock in 2:19.185 ahead of Oscar Nogues. Alex Morgan, Mikel Azcona and Massimiliano Pedalà rounded out the top five.
Quotes
Josh Files: ”First in the two sessions while learning the track is pretty good! The car seems to be very fast in dry conditions, but it will surely rain, so we will have to see how it will be in those conditions! Tomorrow will be another day but we have to make up ground to the leaders because there are just a couple of rounds left after the Nürburgring.”
Oscar Nogues: ”It was a productive day for the entire team, we tested different set-ups. We will try to be as high up the grid as possible tomorrow, but Files looks to be very strong. However, our race pace is better, so we’ll try to win. I raced here in 2012, but the New Clio Cup is faster. Generally, we run a gear higher than with the old car and we brake later!”
Alex Morgan: ”We had a lot to learn today: the track and a new team…I am very pleased with the performance today. Motorland was difficult, it was a big learning curve with limited practice testing. With a more experienced team, especially at the Nürburgring, the beginning of the weekend is much better!"
