John Filippi admitted after taking his first win in the 2020 TCR Europe series at Jarama that he ‘always tried his best’ in his bid for the championship.
Filippi won the final race of the season for Target Competition and after Mike Halder again crashed out of the second race of the day in Spain, the Frenchman moving into second in the Drivers Standings.
“We had a tricky race because we didn’t know which was the best tyre strategy, full wet or full slick, so we decided to use wet on the rear and slick on the front,” explained the round 12 winner.
“Towards the end of the race I saw that Mehdi [Bennani] was behind me, but I was able to keep him behind and it makes me very happy.
“I finished the race and the season with a victory and it’s a very good feeling.”
The Hyundai driver was in mathematical contention for the title as the final round of the season got underway, but Mehdi Bennani’s second place finish, added to by Halder’s accident, was enough for the Moroccan driver a first TCR Europe title.
Filippi added that he was adamant that he was more than pleased with second place in the championship and wanted to praise his Target Competition team.
“I’m absolutely not disappointed about the championship because I always did my best,” he added.
“It was a pleasure to work with Target and I really enjoyed it and this year everything was fine, opposite to last year when I had no good results.
“It’s a very good feeling to finish the season with a victory and with the second place in the championship. I congratulate everyone, it was a great season.”
The leading duo in the championship were eventually separated by 28 points, with third in the standings going to Nicolas Baert.