Honda exclusion "a quick way to lose fans" for WTCC

The Hondas were initially excluded from both the Hungary and the Morocco race meetings by the stewards at the Nurburgring, and while the manufacturer's appeal was successful in keeping the Hungary results, the Morocco exclusion stood.

And the latter decision was a hard hit for Honda, the marque losing its first 1-2-3 of the season and dropping back in the manufacturers' standings while Jose Maria Lopez of Citroen massively extended his lead in the drivers' championship.

Huff, who had originally won the Morocco main race from pole, told Motorsport.com: "It's 100 points between us and everyone else gains those points [we lost], of course it makes a huge difference.

"Although I think Lopez would have still won the championship this year, I think we could've given him a real fight.

"It's a shame that the fans really aren't gonna get to see that 'cause ultimately what this championship comes down is fans. And what's happened is, unfortunately, a quick way to lose fans.

"I'm disappointed for us, the team, I'm disappointed across the board, but unfortunately that's motorsport."

Interpretation of the rules

Honda Motor Europe's motorsport manager William De Braekeleer reiterated to Motorsport.com that the manufacturer has accepted the final decision.

"Well, of course, we are disappointed by the decision but we have to accept it and now there's no point to continue to argue about that," De Braekeleer said.

"We obviously, in our mind, never thought having done something wrong. It's, as usual, a way of interpreting the regulations - but, again, the decision has been made, we have to accept it and the important thing is that nobody ever thought we were cheating.

"But now we have a very competitive car, we've made big progress, and you can see here that even with a floor that's deemed legal, we still are very competitive.

"We are optimistic for the rest of the season - whether the championship is still an achievable result, it's obviously more difficult now. But that's another story."