For the fifth time in six races, Tiago Monteiro has secured points in the FIA World touring Car Championship, this time at the legendary Monza circuit in Italy, crossing the line in ninth place in race one and seventh in race two. For Tiago, the weekend was basically determined in qualifying, the SEAT León TDI n°3 recording the 10th best time of the session to determine the starting order of the first race, However he was sent back five places on the grid after the stewards determined that he had taken a shortcut over the chicane on three occasions.
In the first race, Tiago made an excellent start which enabled him to move up several places. Constantly on the attack during the 9 laps of the 5793 meter long circuit, the SEAT SR-Sport driver did not stop climbing the order despite very worn tyres, which took several victims on the last lap.
Alas, the podium that Tiago had aimed for at the beginning of the weekend was not longer a realistic objective and he crossed the finish line in 9th position. "I moved up well but 8th place escaped me by half a second and that was a shame because it would have enabled me to start race two from pole position. But my tyres were very worn and the weekend had already started badly," explained Tiago. "Our qualifying strategy did not go well and the penalty complicated my two races even further. Despite everything, it was important to finish in the points in both races in order to remain in contact with the leaders."
Tiago’s fastest race laps in both events were faster than those set by the winners of each round, which underlines his excellent race pace.
The next round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship takes place in Belgium on the 19th and 20th of June on the Zolder circuit. Once again Tiago will have a paramount role to play for SEAT and SR-Sport.