Comtoyou Racing will bolster the grid of the TCR World Tour for this weekend’s event at Vallelunga, entering TCR Europe regulars John Filippi and Kobe Pauwels, taking the field to 16 cars for the event.
Both Filippi and Pauwels have committed to the full TCR Europe season in 2023, with the duo currently sitting second and third in the drivers’ championship standings respectively.
Corsican racer Filippi was already scored two wins in the series, although only his most recent at Spa-Francorchamps was an outright race win, as the TCR Europe win he scored in Portimão was actually ninth on the road behind an octet of TCR World Tour entries ahead.
Young Belgian Pauwels has yet to score an outright race victory, but he was first in the TCR Europe ‘class’ at Spa, when he finished fourth on the road behind a trio of World Tour entries.
For Filippi, this weekend will mark his return to World Touring Car level. The 28-year-old last competed at the top of international tin tops in 2018 when he raced in the first season of the FIA World Touring Car Cup.
Both drivers have also contested all TCR World Tour races to-date by virtue of the season sharing its opening events with TCR Europe, and thus Filippi sits ninth overall in the standings with 58 points (36 from the top of the table), whilst Pauwels is 12th overall with 34 points.
Audi Sport Team Comtoyou is already fielding Frédéric Vervisch and Rob Huff as full-season TCR World Tour entrants.