Hungarian racer Attila Tassi says he feels like he could have won the opening TCR Europe race at the Hungaroring if contact with Julien Briché hadn’t put him into the gravel trap and out of the race.
The Hell Energy Racing Team with KCMG driver started third on the grid in a damp race one, and was challenging leader Dušan Borković after a good start.
Tassi was then forced to defend from Briché, and the pair made contact at turn ten, ending Tassi’s race and leaving Briché with a drive-through penalty – which was changed to a post-race penalty when the Frenchman didn’t pit.
He told TouringCars.Net he felt incredibly frustrated as he felt he had the pace to take victory, and that the contact with Briché was avoidable.
“I was much faster than Borković I was gaining two seconds per lap,” said Tassi. “And when I got on the back of him I had to defend really hard from Briché.”
“It was a frustrating situation what happened because even in the previous corners he was pushing me and I think it was on purpose – it was not like he locked up or something.
“He was pushing me two times in the corners, which is obviously not correct in touring car racing – one touch is sometimes OK, but each corner he was pushing me and not lightly, it was hard. I don’t think that’s the way to race.”
After Briché almost made it around the outside at turn two, Tassi held on until later in the lap the pair came to blows at turn ten, leaving Tassi stranded in the gravel trap.
Tassi was confident in his race pace, and felt the contact cost him chance of a victory in front of his home fans.
“I saw him coming on the outside, I left a bunch of space for him to turn,” he said. “But I don’t even understand what he wants to do there because in that corner in wet conditions on slicks there is no way two cars can turn together.
“He just turned into me on my rear and it’s obvious. That was my race over and I was very pissed off because I think I could win the race, and if not at least a podium or P2 because we had the pace all weekend, and this is a shame.
“We could have easily avoided this accident if he is not pushing me out on purpose.”