Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Campos Racing's Filippi tops Barcelona WTCR testing in Cupra

Campos Racing driver John Filippi set the fastest time in World Touring Car Cup testing at Barcelona

Filippi set his fastest lap in the afternoon session, lapping the Spanish Grand Prix circuit in a best time of 1m54.443s in his Cupra TCR with a little more than 10 minutes left on the clock.

He also completed the most laps of any driver, racking up 56 in the four-hour morning session and adding 45 to that in the afternoon to surpass the 100-lap mark for the day.

Filippi ended just over a second clear of the next fastest car, with Aurelien Panis - the son of 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier - beating his Comtoyou Racing Audi team-mate Nathaneal Berthon to second place with a 1m55.452s.

Yann Ehrlacher was fourth in his Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic, with Frederic Vervisch in a third Comtoyou Audi matching his time of 1m55.782s late on.

Filippi's fastest lap completed an encouraging day for the Campos squad.

He was beaten to the fastest time in the morning by team-mate Pepe Oriola, who recorded a 1m54.698s in his Cupra.

That left the Spaniard 0.949s ahead of Filippi, while Berthon was the only other driver in that session to lap within a second of the pace in his Comtoyou Audi RS3 LMS.

Six of the seven brands competing in the WTCR world cup were represented in the top 10 in the morning.

Mehdi Bennani ended up fourth in the morning for the Sebastien Loeb Racing outfit that will benefit from support from Volkswagen Motorsport in 2018, ahead of the two DG Sport Peugeot 308TCRs of Aurelien Comte and Mato Homola.

Gabriele Tarquini headed BRC Hyundai team-mate Norbert Michelisz for seventh, with Fabrizio Giovanardi (Alfa Romeo Giulietta) ninth and Vervisch rounding out the morning top 10.

Ehrlacher was also Honda's leading runner in the morning and ended up 12th.

All but one of the season's 25 entries were present, with Rob Huff missing the test and Wednesday's media launch event due to a virus.

Leading morning times

Position Driver Team Car Time
1. Pepe Oriola Campos Racing Cupra 1m54.698s
2. John Filippi Campos Racing Cupra 1m55.647s
3. Nathaneal Berthon Comtoyou Racing Audi 1m55.663s
4. Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen 1m55.802s
5. Aurelien Comte DG Sport Peugeot 1m55.804s
6. Mato Homola DG Sport Peugeot 1m55.910s
7. Gabriele Tarquini BRC Racing Hyundai 1m56.044s
8. Norbert Michelisz BRC Racing Hyundai 1m56.078s
9. Fabrizio Giovanardi Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo 1m56.109s
10. Frederic Vervisch Comtoyou Racing Audi 1m56.152s

Leading afternoon times

Position Driver Team Car Time
1. John Filippi Campos Racing Cupra 1m54.443s
2. Aurelien Panis Comtoyou Racing Audi 1m55.452s
3. Nathaneal Berthon Comtoyou Racing Audi 1m55.728s
4. Yann Ehrlacher Munnich Motorsport Honda 1m55.782s
5. Frederic Vervisch Comtoyou Racing Audi 1m55.782s
6. Pepe Oriola Campos Racing Cupra 1m55.802s
7. Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen 1m55.885s
8. Benjamin Lessennes Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda 1m55.893s
9. Gabriele Tarquini BRC Racing Hyundai 1m55.917s
10. Gianni Morbidelli Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo 1m56.003s

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Late James Thompson deal completes World Touring Car Cup grid
Next article Yvan Muller hopes his return to racing is only for one year

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe