Tassi leads Civic Type R TCR charge in season finale
Sochi AutodromAttila Tassi produced two storming drives in the wet to end the WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup season with a pair of top-10 finishes at Sochi.
The Hungarian lined up 13th on the grid for Race One and, despite a middling start, charged through the order in the second half of the race to claim seventh place.
Delighted with the performance of his ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport Civic Type R TCR, Attila was on form again in Race Two. Despite contact at the start undoing the ground he had gained with an excellent launch, the 22-year-old still ended the first lap seventh, up five places from his grid position.
He gained two more places when the two leaders made contact on a restart after a Safety Car period and, having briefly run in the podium positions, ended up in fourth.
Nestor Girolami led the middle part of Race Two in the sister ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Civic Type R TCR, but having to defend from cars with superior straightline speed and no compensation weight in particular meant his tyres began to go off in the second half of the race and he ended up seventh.
‘Bebu’, who got the maximum out of his package over a single lap on Saturday to qualify third, earlier recovered to his grid position of 11th in Race One having slipped back at the start.
With Tiago Monteiro already ruled out with a bacterial chest infection, Attila and Nestor were the only two Civic Type R TCR drivers to contest Race Two, with Esteban Guerrieri unable to take part after a heavy crash in Race One.
Esteban, who was still mathematically in the WTCR title race at the start of the day, made a strong start from fifth on the grid to run fourth through the opening two corners.
As he looked to challenge the car ahead for third place, the Argentinian had the door closed on him while on the outside of the track and, having run over the slippery, painted asphalt on the outside of the corner, his car was pitched off into the barriers towards the end of the fast Turn 3 left-hander.
He was unhurt and able to walk away from the car, but the impact signalled the end of both his title hopes and his raceday, with the damage from the crash not repairable in time for Race Two.
Esteban ended the season as the best-placed Honda Racing driver in sixth in the Championship, with ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport fourth in the Teams’ standings.
What a weekend to finish the season. Missing out on Q2 on Saturday was a bit disappointing, but I was really happy today when I saw the rain. After an OK start in Race One the first lap was just about keeping position, but after that I found more and more grip and really enjoyed the car and being able to hunt people down. I had an excellent start in Race Two but lost the momentum when someone closed the door on me, but even so I was seventh by the end of the lap. Afterwards, I was confident with where the grip was again. It’s a great way to end a hard season for myself, so thanks to the team and Honda; despite some difficulties, it was still a good year.
What a weekend to finish the season. Missing out on Q2 on Saturday was a bit disappointing, but I was really happy today when I saw the rain. After an OK start in Race One the first lap was just about keeping position, but after that I found more and more grip and really enjoyed the car and being able to hunt people down. I had an excellent start in Race Two but lost the momentum when someone closed the door on me, but even so I was seventh by the end of the lap. Afterwards, I was confident with where the grip was again. It’s a great way to end a hard season for myself, so thanks to the team and Honda; despite some difficulties, it was still a good year.
I really enjoyed qualifying, where I was able to extract 100% of the car’s potential and show that the one-lap performance is there. During the races, in Race Two especially, I tried to keep my rivals behind but they were flying on the straights. That meant I was taking a lot out of the tyres and suddenly near the end they were gone. It was frustrating to see that difference in speed; you can see it visually in the dry, but I was surprised it was like this in the wet too. Thank you to the team and Honda for their support, and I’m wishing Tiago a speedy recovery - I feel sad that he was not here, I would have liked to be on track with him.
I really enjoyed qualifying, where I was able to extract 100% of the car’s potential and show that the one-lap performance is there. During the races, in Race Two especially, I tried to keep my rivals behind but they were flying on the straights. That meant I was taking a lot out of the tyres and suddenly near the end they were gone. It was frustrating to see that difference in speed; you can see it visually in the dry, but I was surprised it was like this in the wet too. Thank you to the team and Honda for their support, and I’m wishing Tiago a speedy recovery - I feel sad that he was not here, I would have liked to be on track with him.
It wasn’t a nice end to the year, unfortunately, but it could have been much worse had I been hit after my crash. I have to take the positives; these incidents are part of motorsport, but you are not always conscious of the risks until something like that happens. I think that, at this level, we are drivers who leave space for each other but the other car started the corner on the inside, so I went to the outside, and he finished it on the outside pushing me off. I’m sorry for the team that the car is in 100 pieces. Now, it’s good to have a rest, and to bring the season to an end with everything that can be learned for the future.
It wasn’t a nice end to the year, unfortunately, but it could have been much worse had I been hit after my crash. I have to take the positives; these incidents are part of motorsport, but you are not always conscious of the risks until something like that happens. I think that, at this level, we are drivers who leave space for each other but the other car started the corner on the inside, so I went to the outside, and he finished it on the outside pushing me off. I’m sorry for the team that the car is in 100 pieces. Now, it’s good to have a rest, and to bring the season to an end with everything that can be learned for the future.
Unfortunately, this was not the end to the season that we were hoping for. The whole team was relieved to see Esteban walk away from such a big impact in Race One, and the fact that he is OK is more important than anything else. There was obviously no time to repair the car so, with Tiago - who we continue to send our best wishes to - unable to race, that meant our hopes were carried by Nestor and Attila. They both did a great job to make sure we ended the season with some success, with Attila making up nine places to finish fourth and Nestor bringing home a solid finish.
Unfortunately, this was not the end to the season that we were hoping for. The whole team was relieved to see Esteban walk away from such a big impact in Race One, and the fact that he is OK is more important than anything else. There was obviously no time to repair the car so, with Tiago - who we continue to send our best wishes to - unable to race, that meant our hopes were carried by Nestor and Attila. They both did a great job to make sure we ended the season with some success, with Attila making up nine places to finish fourth and Nestor bringing home a solid finish.
The heavier rain today made it much more of a challenge for everyone, but it also meant we got to see the Honda Civic Type R TCR in its most competitive window all weekend. Attila looked really confident and that was rewarded with two strong results at the end of a hard season, which is a big positive to take from a tricky weekend, and although things were more difficult for Nestor he brought the car home to score good points both times. After his crash, it was great to see Esteban get out without assistance; it's testament to the build of the car that he was able to walk away unhurt from what was a nasty impact.
The heavier rain today made it much more of a challenge for everyone, but it also meant we got to see the Honda Civic Type R TCR in its most competitive window all weekend. Attila looked really confident and that was rewarded with two strong results at the end of a hard season, which is a big positive to take from a tricky weekend, and although things were more difficult for Nestor he brought the car home to score good points both times. After his crash, it was great to see Esteban get out without assistance; it's testament to the build of the car that he was able to walk away unhurt from what was a nasty impact.
