Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

WTCR Hungary warm-up with Attila Tassi

WTCR Hungary warm-up with Attila Tassi

This weekend’s WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup round not only marks the return of the cars to the circuit after a six-week break, but also the trackside return of fans en masse, as the Hungaroring prepares to open its doors for the ever-popular Race of Hungary weekend.

Chief among those being cheered on by the home faithful will be Honda Racing driver Attila Tassi, who this weekend competes for the fourth time at his local circuit on the world stage.

Hailing from nearby Budapest, Attila, who became a WTCR race winner at Estoril in June, tells us how he’s spent the last month and a half off from racing and how he’s been preparing for his biggest weekend of the 2021 campaign.

Question: There has been a longer break than expected since the last race in early July. What have you been doing since then?

Attila Tassi: It was a longer break than expected, but to be honest I was just training as normal, as I had been at the beginning of the season and before then. Because we were expecting to be racing in Italy in between until that round was postponed, my down time was fairly similar so the training didn’t change - I’m usually going to the gym every day, and I’m also playing tennis a lot. Still, it was a longer than expected break, so I'll be really happy to be back in the car this week.


Q: You mention tennis, which is something you’ve added more of to your training. Why do you find it useful? And have you taken any inspiration from your compatriot Márton Fucsovics' performances at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarter-finals?

AT: In this hot weather, it's very, very good to play tennis and it gives you very good cardio, so that's why I’ve added more and more of that into my training. Márton Fucsovics is an amazing Hungarian talent in the world of tennis - hopefully, one day, maybe I can play against him for a set or two! But for me, the most important thing with tennis is to train my fitness and my cardio because in the car it can get really hot, so that's what I'm trying to focus on and to train on; to be able to concentrate for 30 minutes in such high temperatures.


Q: You became the latest driver to join the WTCR winners' club at Estoril in June. How good did that feel, particularly after resisting so much pressure in that race?

AT: To win in Estoril was an amazing feeling! Obviously it wasn't perfect because Tiago, my team-mate, had to pit from the lead, so I was feeling sorry for Tiago. If we view it from a different point of view though, I should have won in Portugal two years ago but unfortunately I had to stop. But at Estoril it was a very special win, I would say it's a better win than I could have imagined because I had three cars behind me and they put me under a lot of pressure, they were much faster and I had a little bit of a damaged car from race one. I was struggling in the second sector and I had to defend for almost all the race. I needed my 100% focus to stay ahead and not make a mistake because if I had done so, I might have lost not one but two or three places as well. It was an amazing first win!


Q: Does it take any pressure off coming to your home event knowing that you have already ticked that box of winning a race?

AT: The pressure doesn’t just go away, but I always try to race without pressure because I think that's the best way to achieve good results. I'm very happy that I already ticked the box of winning a race this season, but obviously it would be amazing to win at the Hungaroring. There will be Hungarian fans there, so I'm very very happy to be back in front of the home crowd; I hope there will be many, many spectators cheering for us, for Honda, for ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport and ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, so I'm really hoping for a good result.


Q: Spectators will be allowed back at the Hungaroring, as you mention, and the Hungarian fans are among the most passionate anywhere. What kind of boost do you get from seeing them and their support of you?

AT: It's very special to race at the Hungaroring. I can remember in particular back in 2017, when I drove the previous-generation Honda Civic Type R TCR in the TCR International Series and won both races, there were so many fans. Even in the race where we have the earplugs in and the car is very loud, you could hear the spectators cheering from the main grandstands that we have on the main straight. The support has been just as good in the WTCR when we have had fans present; it’s amazing, it gives you a lot of inspiration.

Q: So far in the WTCR a Hungarian is yet to win in front of their home supporters. How would you assess your chances of doing so this weekend?

AT: You always want to achieve the goal of winning the race, and in WTCR there hasn't been a Hungarian winner at the Hungaroring. Obviously I would be very happy to break that spell, but to be honest with the Italian round postponed we are still carrying 60kg compensation weight and will be running heavier than we would otherwise have expected to, so it will be a very, very tough weekend I think. In Hungary in recent years we've been competitive, but with this heavy weight I don't know how it will be. But we are aiming for the best and hopefully we will be able to fight for the top positions - we will see come qualifying at the earliest.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
U.S. Tech Stocks Slide on AI Boom Concerns
White House Confirms Talks Over Intel Stake
Trump Suggests U.S. Could Support Ukraine ‘By Air’
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
UK Government Tries to Sue 4chan for Breaching Online Safety Act
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
"Every Centimeter of Your Body Is a Masterpiece": The Shocking Meta Document Revealed
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×