diff --git a/steps/file-5.44/pass1.sh b/steps/file-5.44/pass1.sh
index f4762ad3..c6659542 100755
--- a/steps/file-5.44/pass1.sh
+++ b/steps/file-5.44/pass1.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 src_prepare() {
     default
 
+    # testfiles are difficult to audit here
+    rm tests/*.testfile
+
     AUTOMAKE=automake-1.15 ACLOCAL=aclocal-1.15 autoreconf-2.69 -fi
 }