Successful weekend for Tiago on the Nürburgring

Tiago Monteiro has got into the points again in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) for the first time in the new season. The Portuguese pilot, who is sponsored by Brose, captured 14th place in the second race on the Nürburgring. His results in the two other races and in qualifying also indicate a clear upward trend. In the subsequent 24-hour race on the same track, Tiago crowned his weekend in the Eifel by winning the TCR class in his Honda Civic.

In the first race on the Nürburgring’s legendary North Loop course, Tiago showed that he was again a force to contend with. Starting from 19th on the grid, he produced a very courageous performance over the three laps of the over 25-kilometer circuit and was even among the points at one stage. In the end he missed out on 15th place by just 0.3 seconds. “I’m very pleased with the balance of the car. I had a good feeling and recovered a few places,” said Tiago afterwards. “Unfortunately I got a hit from behind at the first chicane on lap two and so the car was difficult to control for the rest of the race. All the same, I was heading for a spot among the points and only lost it on the last lap on the long straight.”

Monteiro gets into the points at last

After missing out narrowly the previous day, the ex-Formula 1 pilot went one better at the second attempt on the Saturday. In an eventful and changeable race, the 42-year-old was able to cross the line in the position he started in. The Honda pilot also benefited from a collision between Rob Huff (Volkswagen) and Gabriele Tarquini (Hyundai) as they battled for a place on the rostrum. Huff had to retire right away, while Tarquini was given a 30-second penalty for the incident. Yet Tiago’s pleasure at coming 14th was not completely unmarred. “We were able to get among the points, but we could have finished even higher when you look at our speed in the race,” was his post-race summary. His Hungarian teammate Attila Tassi came fourth – his best-ever result in the WTCR.

A finish in the top ten was also within the realms of possibility for Tiago in the third race. However, he suffered a bitter setback shortly after the start when his Honda Civic was hit by another car, with the result that he fell to the back of the field. “In the third race, Tom Coronel span me off the track in the very first bend. I then had to try and make at least a few positions good,” said Tiago. He also managed to do that and climbed up to 17th after an impressive effort to catch up. Just a little later, Tiago was back in the car for a successful display in the 24-hour classic in the “Green Hell.”

The Portuguese driver’s next outing in the WTCR will be on his home turf. The sixth weekend of racing will be held in two weeks’ time in Vila Real, around 100 kilometers east of Porto, the city where he was born, and marks the start of the second half of the season in the World Touring Car Cup. Tiago will be aiming to continue his upward trend there in front of his local fans.