French team SP Compétition will field a pair of the latest CUPRA Leon VZ TCR cars for Aurélien Comte and John Filippi in this season’s FIA TCR World Tour.
The move means that CUPRA will be represented full-time on the TCR World Tour world stage for the first time, with Comte preparing to make his first full season in the category.
36-year-old Comte previously took part in the 2018 FIA World Touring Car Cup in a Peugeot, before moving to TCR Europe in 2019.
He returned to WTCR in 2020 for a part season in a Renault Mégane, but it wasn’t until 2023 that he returned to full-time TCR racing, being a regular race winner and title contender in TCR Italy with SP Compétition, ending they ear third overall.
Staying with the team, he moved into TCR Europe again in 2024 and took the title battle against Franco Girolami to the wire, ending the season as runner-up with one win and six podiums in total.
“After having raced in TCR since I won the European Cup back in 2017, I feel like a veteran,” said Comte. “I return to the international scene, more determined than ever.”
John Filippi, 30, has been a regular at the top level of touring car racing since 2014. The 2020 TCR Europe runner-up moved to the TCR World Tour last year, ending the season 11th overall after racing an Audi RS3 LMS TCR to a best finish of fourth in Marrakech.
Filippi also won a TCR World Tour event outright at Spa-Francorchamps in 2023, when he was principally competing in TCR Europe.
“A new team, a new car, but still the same ambition: to fight at the front and hear the Marseillaise playing at the circuits around the world!” said Filippi.
WSC President Marcello Lotti added: “I’m delighted to see SP Compétition bringing the CUPRA brand for the first time in a full season of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour.
“The Leon VZ has already proved competitive in many TCR series and I’m sure its potential will help the team and his strong pair of drivers to make an impact from the start.”