Menu says Farfus is feeling the pressure after Morocco crash

Alain Menu has placed the blame for the crash in Morocco, which took out the two fiesty competitors squarely at the hands of the Brazilian driver.

Augusto Farfus is currently 10th in the standings, whilst Menu dropped three places from third in the championship as a result of the incident.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Alain Menu said:
“The dynamics of the accident was very simple. I had passed Farfus and I was on the outside. I left Farfus enough room to do the corner, but he tapped me twice and then hit me hardly a third. Then we ended up against the wall. I really do not understand why he did it. The next corner was in his favour and for me it would be too risky to stay on the outside, I would have given up and let him go through. The result of his move is that we both lost a race.”

“The Brazilian is a fast driver and he’s also very clever, so why would he do something like that? I had problems with him in Porto and Japan last year, we all remember what happened in Brno and all those problems with Tarquini. ”

Menu goes on to explain his theory:
“I think his problem is the pressure. Maybe he needs someone to work with him on the psychological side of racing. In Marrakech, Priaulx overtook me and got the pole for Race 2, while Farfus stayed in tenth place. The result was and enormous pressure on the Brazilian; his new teammate and three-times world champion led the race and he was passed by Barth and then by myself. I think I lost it at that time. Of course I’m sure he wouldn’t throw me out intentionally, but in fact our race finished against the wall.”

Menu continued:
“To win a championship you have to finish as many races as possible. When I won the championship in ’97, I got 22 podiums in 24 races. Last year I finished only 12 races out of 24 and that was crazy! I made mistakes and I’ve had a bad season. My goal is therefore to build on that and finish as many races as possible, and so I’m not happy to finish them this way.”

“Last year, Augusto could have won the championship, indeed, perhaps he should have done so. He scored six wins, all in the second round of the day, and was helped by all the BMW drivers, but made mistakes that have prevented him from winning.”

Farfus’s response was:
“I’m sorry about what happened, as we both lost the race. I had a puncture, but he too a way too big chance trying to overtake me.”

However, Augusto didn’t want to continue the argument:
“I don’t feel like commenting on him as a driver or as a person. We all know that the best way to defend is attacking, so I’m not attacking him as I don’t feel like I have to defend myself.”