diff --git a/lib/platform/github/index.ts b/lib/platform/github/index.ts
index f2485158d84c4780427645e61f3ebeaa0fb675bd..1848300e00faa7f5c3f0e27d283b38c081c5ccbb 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/github/index.ts
@@ -366,7 +366,9 @@ export async function initRepo({
           'Error updating fork reference - will try deleting fork to try again next time'
         );
         try {
-          await githubApi.deleteJson(`repos/${config.repository}`);
+          await githubApi.deleteJson(`repos/${config.repository}`, {
+            token: forkToken || opts.token,
+          });
           logger.info('Fork deleted');
         } catch (deleteErr) {
           logger.warn({ err: deleteErr }, 'Could not delete fork');