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Teen Tassi to challenge hero Michelisz for Hungarian supremacy on #WTCR2019SUPERGRID

Attila Tassi is the first teenager to join the #WTCR2019SUPERGRID, the TCR Europe race winner getting his chance to impress on the world stage in a KCMG Honda Civic Type R TCR – and take the fight to established hero and former mentor Norbert Michelisz for Hungarian supremacy.

Michelisz is a top touring car talent at home and abroad having challenged for the FIA World Touring Car Championship title in 2017 and won during WTCR / OSCARO last year.

While Tassi plans to use 2019 to grow his experience, he’s been a frontrunner in TCR events in each of the last three seasons – including in 2017 when he drove for the M1RA team Michelisz co-founded – making him one to watch and earning Honda Racing driver status in the process.

And Tassi, 19, will be in good company with the vastly experienced World Touring Car race winner Tiago Monteiro providing crucial guidance, having also signed to the Hong Kong-based KCMG outfit for the upcoming campaign, which features 30 races over 10 weekends.

With Monteiro previously announced along with Néstor Girolami and Esteban Guerrieri as a Honda-powered WTCR / OSCARO racer, Tassi’s agreement means the Civic Type R TCR-driving quartet is now complete. Meanwhile, the KCMG outfit joins ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport in representing Honda Racing in WTCR / OSCARO as a customer team.

François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCR promoter, said: “I have no doubt that Attila will be a real asset to WTCR / OSCARO. He’s 19 with great potential and it will be very interesting to watch him against Norbert Michelisz, his one-time mentor. There’s no question that Norbi will be a title contender this season and he will always be a Hungarian hero, but in ‘Attika’ he will definitely face a driver capable of attracting his own fan following and taking away some of his limelight.”

Tassi gets HELL of a chance in WTCR
Attila Tassi follows a path trodden by Hungarian national hero Norbert Michelisz by stepping up to World Touring Car racing via a stint in one-make competition in his homeland and Europe. Almost 15 years younger than his Hyundai-driving compatriot, HELL Energy-backed Tassi will lock horns with Michelisz for the first time in 2019 at WTCR Race of Morocco from 5-7 April, which is followed by WTCR Race of Hungary from 26-28 April.

“I’m absolutely delighted to become a Honda Racing driver and to step up to the WTCR for a full season with KCMG,” said Tassi. “It’s a dream come true and I’m very grateful to have this opportunity at 19 years of age. So far in my racing career I’ve always been able to fight for victories and podiums, but I know that this will be the highest-level series I’ve ever contested and I had a taste of this in my wildcard outing at the Hungaroring last year.

“There will be many circuits I have never been to before and lots of new additional things too, so I know that I have to take this as a learning year, but the environment in the team is very good for a young driver like me, so we can achieve some strong results and move forwards during the year.”
 

Zdroj: fiawtcr.com