Josh Files wraps up TCR Germany title with Hockenheim win

The 2013 UK Clio Cup and Eurocup Clio champion, driving for Target Competition, led home team-mate Dennis Strandberg to take his sixth win of the season as chief title challenger Harald Proczyck failed to finish.

It is Files' first full season in the TCR Germany series and the 25 year-old Norwich racer could have taken the title at the previous round at Zandvoort had it not been for Proczyk claiming victory in the second race of the weekend.

Come Hockenheim though, Files would have a far less complicated time and he made easy work of the tricky conditions to seal the championship with a race to spare.

Wet conditions at the start enabled Files to make the ideal getaway from pole and lead Strandberg and Steve Kirsch into the first corner.

Proczyk, the only driver capable of taking the title away from Files coming into the weekend, made a poor start off the wet side of the grid and slipped to sixth on the run down to the hairpin.

The Austrian's misery continued when he outbraked himself, running straight on and dropping towards the rear of the field and later retiring, which all but extinguished his faint title hopes.

The gap out front between Files and Strandberg's identical Honda Civics ebbed and flowed throughout the race.

Files set a series of fastest laps early on to ease out a 2.5-second lead before Strandberg - hauling Kirsch with him - reduced the deficit to just 0.6s

Files ultimately broke the will of Strandberg and the Swede had to defend ferociously from Kirsch on the final lap, leaving Files in the clear to take victory by 3.8s.

While the field spread out behind the leading trio, Benjamin Leuchter headed an entertaining battle with ex-World Touring Car Championship driver Pierre Yves Corthals for fourth.

Despite staunch defence from Leuchters for the majority of the race, Corthals eventually made it past in the closing stages.