Tiago Monteiro has finished his pre-season testing on a positive note when along with Honda and teammate Gabriele Tarquini, the Portuguese driver spent two days on the Autodromo Nazionale Monza Circuit in Italy. This was ideal preparation for the upcoming 2013 season opener as the legendary Italian circuit will host the opening round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, WTCC, on the 23rd and 24th of March 2013.
In total, the Honda Civic has completed more than 700 km with the team finding several solutions that will assist in a good start to the championship. Tiago Monteiro, Garbriele Tarquini and the entire JAS Motorsport Honda team are confident that they will be among the top of the hierarchy, but they are also aware that there is still work to do.
"It’s been a long and intense winter," summarizes Tiago Monteiro, "Over these two days, we mainly focused our work on race simulations and qualifying. I focused on qualifying and Gabriele on race simulations. I think we are on the right track, but we still have work ahead of us. There are countless alternatives that we have not had time to test yet and we’ll look at them next weekend at Monza."
With the season fast approaching, the first signs of excitement are present. "After so much hard work and dedication, we are really looking forward to the competition we measure and see where we stand. The first race in Monza will be crucial to assess the quality of our work and identify areas for improvement. This year, the development will be constant. We are all, without exception, highly motivated and confident."
Tiago Monteiro will have the opportunity to conduct a shakedown before heading back to Monza for the opening round of the championship. In the meantime he returned to Portugal to comment on the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Australia on Channel SportTV, last weekend.