Campos Racing has confirmed that it will field a SEAT León in the TC2 category of the World Touring Car Championshi for Corsican racer John Filippip in 2014.
Filippi is entering into his first full-season of car racing and feels that getting to grips with a world championship such as the WTCC is his best option. The Frenchman started his career in karting before winning the VdV Single Seater Challenge of Formula Master in 2013.
“I have weighed up different options for starting a professional career,” said Filippi, 19. “After making different tests I chose WTCC because I feel it represents the better opportunity. It is a competitive world championship that involves important manufacturers and famous drivers, and benefits from a global TV coverage.”
Filippi acknowledges his lack of experience and hopes that Campos’ track record with young drivers will work to his advantage. Although Campos are officially entering into their second season the team are born out of the former SUNRED squad with gave Pepe Oriola his first taste of world touring cars.
“I know it will be a diffficult task, but my target is to gain experience during my first season,” added Filippi. “I am happy to join Campos Racing that is one of the most respected teams in the series. And they also have the experience for helping young drivers to grow up, as they proved with Pepe Oriola in the past.
“With the arrival of official major manufacturers such as Citroen and Honda and the private teams, along with the presence of charismatic champions like Sébastien Loeb, the discipline will experience a renewed interest starting from this year.”
Filippi will become the 12th French WTCC driver in its history and his presence means that there will be at least four French drivers on the grid in 2014, joining Yvan Muller, Sébastien Loeb and Hugo Valente.