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6
EUROPE
Files also benefitted from a bad
weekend for his most direct
competitors. Julien Briché left
Germany with only a handful of
points, as the Peugeot 308 paid a
heavy toll thanks to a track that
doesn’t really suit its characteristics,
while Luca Engstler and Mat’o Homola
could only take one 7th and one 6th
respectively as they were both
involved in incidents.
Stressing once more how well-
attended and closely-fought is the
TCR Europe series this year, the
German rounds yielded two more new
race winners (the ninth and tenth
this season), both British. Dan Lloyd
was declared winner of Race 1 some
time after the race, when Andreas
Bäckmann, who had crossed the line
first, was disqualified because the
front width of his car exceeded the
maximum 1950mm, and Nelson
Panciatici – second under the
chequered flag – was penalized for
punting Jessica Bäckman into a spin
at T1 after the start. Lloyd, who had
led for most of the race, up to when
tyre degradation obliged him to
concede two positions, was presented
with victory, the first of the season
for the Honda Civic, the maiden one
in TCR Europe for the driver and
Slovakia’s Brutal Fish Racing.
In Race 2, Alex Morgan, who started
from pole on the top-ten reversed
grid, was able to keep the lead until
the chequered flag, recording an
emotional maiden win for himself and
for Wolf-Power Racing, who recently
switched to a CUPRA after starting
the season with a Renault Mégane.
"The win was a great relief, after
struggling a lot in the first part of
the season”, commented the 32-year-
old Welshman. “I am super happy for
the team. Wolf-Power Racing has been
doing a terrific job, despite being one
of the smallest outfits in the series,
and this win comes as a very-well
deserved reward.”