Tiago Monteiro flew to Argentina early so that he could adapt to the climate and time difference ahead of the eighth round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) where they will visit the South American country for the first time in its history. 4.805 km’s in length, the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo will be an entirely new discovery for Tiago Monteiro.
Before he dives into the heart of the action on track this weekend, the official Honda driver took the time to discover Argentina with his teammate Gabriele Tarquini, with a road trip that took them from Buenos Aires to Rio Hondo.
Not knowing the layout of the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo and concerned about recent problems on the Honda Civic, Tiago Monteiro is not aspiring for any specific results in the Argentine races. "Our main concern is to make every effort to solve the recent problems that have appeared on the car," said the Portuguese driver. "It is only when we have done that we can talk about concrete results. The Honda Civic has repeatedly proven that it is a very competitive car, but it also has some reliability problems that we must strive to solve."
However, the novelty of the impending Argentine challenge could be very challenging with all the WTCC teams on an equal footing at the Rio Hondo track. "It seems to me that this is a very fast circuit and it may not be ideal for us," observes Tiago. "However, the many turns here will benefit our package. This diversity provides a good balance on the circuit and I hope we can use our good skills and be competitive in the race."