John Filippi withdraws from Vila Real race weekend

SP Compètition driver John Filippi has withdrawn from the fourth round of the 2025 FIA TCR World Tour at Vila Real this weekend.

“Filippi is not here because we had some trouble in Monza,” a SP Compètition spokesperson told TouringCarTimes. “We have had a look at the base of the car and it was ok, but he wants to get some confidence back, so he’s working to be back in Australia.”

The Frenchman suffered a double retirement during the last round at Monza while his team-mate Aurélien Comte claimed the victory in Race 2.

The team will however still enter two cars for the Portuguese event, with Comte instead partnered by local driver Manuel Fernandes Jr.

“This gave us a good opportunity here with Fernandes, so we hope that he (Filippi) will come back to Australia because we like working with him. But he lost a bit of confidence in Monza due to these retirements,” the team spokesperson said.